The church takes seriously Christ’s command to “feed my sheep.” That’s why it is so disturbing to hear of the severe vandalism unleashed on the church by an individual. As reported in the Erie Times-News,

The damage was extensive: A U-shaped kneeling rail at the white-oak altar was snapped off and thrown into the pews. The baptismal fount was chipped, and the organ had been tipped over. It no longer works, the church secretary, J.J. Lee, said.

“It looked horrible in here,” Lee said.

Church members spent several hours Monday repairing the damage. They found candles, vases, hymnals and crosses that had been thrown across the room. Several of the pews had been torn from the floor.

Here’s an explaination of Ash Wednesday from Catholic.org:

Following the example of the Nine vites, who did penance in sackcloth and ashes, our foreheads are marked with ashes to humble our hearts and reminds us that life passes away on Earth. We remember this when we are told”Remember, Man is dust, and unto dust you shall return.”

Ashes are a symbol of penance made sacramental by the blessing of the Church, and they help us develop a spirit of humility and sacrifice.

Roman Catholics are joined by churches of many different denominations such as United Methodists, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Episcopalians,  who mark the day with special services.

It’s been an idea for a long time.

Creating a place online where Christians from throughout Erie and Northwestern Pennsylvania could find out what’s happening in our community and come together to pray for each other and celebrate what God is doing in our lives and in this region.

That’s what TheChristianBanner.com is all about. News and features, photos and videos of our faith community. Inspiring stories of life change. Details on legislation and devleopments that may affect your family. Opinion pieces from national Christian leaders. Book reviews, the latest music releases, and perspectives on media and culture.

We want to serve the churches of Erie and the area with a forum to get the word out on their special events and services. We’ll feature blogs from area pastors and ministry leaders. And what we are most excited about: we will give a free one-page website to every Christian church in Erie County who wants one. If your church is interested, make sure keep watching the Church Directory page for when we open that up.

Right now, we are in beta development, which means that much of the site will be under-construction and kind of, for lack of a better word, ugly. But over the next few weeks we hope to get all our departments in good order.

So pray for us and please tell us that you found us! E-mail info@thechristianbanner.com or tweet @christianbanner on Twitter. We would love your input as we go fully online.