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Police and sheriff’s deputies in the Titusville, Florida area call a rash of break-ins and vandalism at churches in the area an epidemic, according to a report from WESH television. The TV station says at least seven churches have been targeted. The station posted a video report to YouTube.

Destruction done by the vandals includes graffiti referencing Satan, broken furniture and instruments and broken windows. Damage at First Presbyterian Church was estimated in the tens of thousands.

The motive of the vandal or vandals is not known.  No other information has been released by law enforcement.

An Atwater, Ohio church is celebrating its 200^th anniversary.  The congregation will mark the two-century mark with a special service on Sunday. According to a Facebook event listing, the celebration will include Heritage Fifes and Drums and an Abraham Lincoln impersonator.

The church was established March 21, 1818. To put this in perspective, this was 43 years before the start of the civil war and only 15 years after the Louisiana Purchase.

The church will display a hand-written copy of the congregation’s dedication sermon from 1841 when the building was completed, according to an article in the Record Courier newspaper.

Police in Manorville, Long Island have not yet determined a vandal’s motive for smashing out the face of a statue of Jesus at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Island Church.

The vandalism happened between Saturday evening and Sunday morning.  A report from ABC7 says investigators have not yet determined if the incident is a hate crime. The news outlet said the Suffolk County Police Hate Crime Section is, “taking a closer look” into the incident.

“Come and talk, if you want to talk about your issues with God or with the church…We’ve been praying. We’ve even been praying for the perpetrator, that hopefully he will convert and change his ways in life,” said Rev. Roy Tvrdik to News12 Long Island.

Police ask anyone with information about the vandalism to call Suffolk Crime Stoppers at 1-800-220-TIPS.

Police in Pennsylvania say they arrested a man responsible for vandalism at two churches.

Richard A. Lowe, 40, of Meadville, Pennsylvania, is charged with two counts of vandalizing a place of worship according to a report from The Meadville Tribune newspaper.  Police say Lowe put graffiti on the buildings of St. Agatha Roman Catholic Church and The Altar International House of Prayer.  The graffiti included vulgar and derogatory messages.

Jail records show as of 8 a.m. Thursday Lowe remains in jail held in lieu of $10,000 bond.  If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.

Two congregations in Jasper, Texas found anti-Christian messages scrawled on church doors this week.  The messages included vulgarities such as “(Expletive) all Christians.” The hateful messages were found at the Jasper Pentecostal Church and St. Paul Lutheran Church in Jasper, according to a report from KJAS Radio. The church buildings are only a few miles apart.

“We have no clue who did it, but we certainly wish they didn’t. But, I pray for those people and I forgive them,”said Mark Follett, pastor of St. Paul Lutheran church to 12NewsNow in nearby Beaumont, Texas.  Pastor Follett told KTRE television this is the first time his church has been vandalized.

A spokesperson for the Jasper Police Department said the vandals did not get inside either building.