YORK COUNTY, S.C. — A woman is in the York County jail after authorities said she stormed into a Clover church during a Sunday service and rushed the platform while screaming profanities. Audrey Bahneman faces charges of disturbance of religious worship following the incident at New River Church on Feb. 15.
About 600 people were attending the service when the disruption occurred. Lead Pastor Ryan Brannan said the church’s safety team responded immediately to protect the congregation and escort the woman from the building.
The disruption began approximately 15 minutes into the service. York County deputies said Bahneman entered the sanctuary and began shouting profanities at the pastor and other members of the congregation. She then attempted to rush onto the church platform.
Pastor Brannan, lead pastor of New River Church, noted the timing of the incident occurred as he was preaching on a specific topic. “And so ironically, we were talking about spiritual warfare this Sunday,” Brannan said. “And then probably about 15 minutes into the service, we had a young lady come in, and as you can imagine, everyone was a little confused in the beginning.”
The church utilizes a safety team of about 20 members who are trained for emergencies and regularly practice response scenarios. Brannan said a team member intercepted Bahneman as she approached the stage.
“We have an incredible safety team of about 20 people every Sunday who are trained for this, who regularly practice these kinds of things and situations that may occur,” Pastor Brannan said. “So when she tried to go onto our stage, screaming profanities, our safety team member grabbed her and quickly escorted her out in a gentle way.”
Following Bahneman’s removal from the sanctuary, the congregation paused the service. Pastor Brannan, who said the woman once attended the church, led the 600 attendees in a moment of prayer.
“And so what we did is we stopped the service, and we prayed. And we asked the Lord to be with this young lady,” Pastor Brannan said. “She is a child of God. She was created in His image, in His likeness. And so just like that, we wanna respect her and honor her and pray for her.”
Bahneman remains in jail as of Feb. 16. Authorities have not released information regarding a possible motive for the incident.
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