Church flooded with donations after thieves pilfer money intended for children's charity
Response 'turned something bad into something quite gracious,' priest says
An Anglican church in England has been flooded with thousands in financial contributions for a fundraiser after thieves reportedly broke in and stole money intended for a children's charity.
Christ Church in the Parish of Wanstead, east London, suffered a burglary during the early morning hours on Sunday, according to posts on the parish's Facebook page.
The parish said their CCTV footage showed that the burglary was carried out between 3:30 a.m. and 3:50 a.m. local time on Sunday by two young men decked out in hoodies and jeans, who broke through the large Victorian front doors, forced open the locked cabinets of the parish office, and ultimately pried the church's safe off the wall before making off with it on an e-scooter.
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The safe contained some cash, but also important parish records that the church speculated would likely be thrown away, and the church advised the public to be on the lookout for an abandoned safe and any discarded papers.
The parish, which has two churches in it, further noted that "at least 3 other local churches from the surrounding areas have also been targeted!"
The hundreds of pounds that were stolen were raised during the church's Christingle celebration and meant to go to The Children's Society, though a swell of online support managed to raise more for the charity than the thieves stole, according to Yahoo News UK.
A JustGiving fundraising page launched after the burglary raised more than £2,265 ($2,843) as of Tuesday, which is more than 400% more than the intended £500 ($627) target.
Father James Gilder, the church's rector, said he was "bowled over" by the overwhelming community support.
"I am so thankful to everyone," he told the outlet. "It shows the community spirit, it shows how well regarded the church is, which is lovely. The community response has turned something bad into something quite gracious, and shown a little bit of that Christmas spirit."
Gilder also told the outlet that the thieves "made a real mess of the church, ransacked cupboards, destroyed metal cabinets and files, pulled doors out of filing cabinets. They damaged quite a lot, actually."
Gilder also noted that while he forgives the thieves, "people have to know what's right and what's wrong, and forgiving something doesn't make the action right."
"Of course they're forgiven, but they need to know what they're doing isn't just robbing a building — it's robbing an entire community," he added.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police told Yahoo News UK that police responded at around 6:40 a.m. to reports of a break-in and theft at the church, and that they are continuing to investigate the incident.
Christ Church Wanstead was robbed before in 2009 when a thief snuck into a side door and stole a £350 collection from an unlocked safe while parishioners were distracted organizing food donations, according to the Guardian-Series newspaper.
"It defies belief that someone could be so selfish and heartless," a churchgoer told the outlet at the time. "They obviously knew that the money would be there at that particular time."
