20k+ Stolen From Niagara County Church

PENDLETON, NY - "Someone was planning this. This wasn't a last minute thought," surmised Pastor Tom Kraft of the Pendleton Center United Methodist Church, regarding the theft of an estimated $20,000-$25,000 over the holiday weekend.

The amount reflected the entire Christmas offering from the congregation of about 2,500 at the church on Campbell Boulevard.

Kraft says the theft occurred sometime between 1 o'clock Sunday afternoon, when he and the rest of the staff left the church after Christmas services, and Monday morning when the crime was discovered.

Ordinarily, the money would have been counted and deposited at a nearby bank by a church staffer that afternoon. But it was Christmas.

"So we thought we'd let them enjoy Christmas and take care of it on Monday," Kraft said.

Stopping short of categorizing the theft as an "inside job", Kraft nonetheless believes the theft was committed by someone with knowledge of the church, and who perhaps guessed correctly that the Christmas offering would be significantly larger than the donations collected on a typical weekend.

"It may be a total stranger, but more than likely it's someone who's already been in the building and connected to some form of what we do," he said.

There was no forced entry on any part of the church exterior.

"They might have had a key, they might have left a door ajar somewhere in the back area of the church, they might have even hidden in the church, so it could be any of those possibilities We really don't know."

Kraft says the thief or thieves were able to not only gain access to the church, but also seemed to know just where to look for the money, adding that they somehow bypassed one locked interior door, before smashing through two other locked doors to get to where the money was being kept.

He says the congregation has been generous in responding to the theft, and so have others.

"I had a fellow pastor who said, 'well we're sending you a check to help out'," remarked Kraft, who also had a message for the person or persons responsible.

"This is going to hurt a lot of people, and we would hope you could find it in your heart to bring this back and make and make things right...we pray for the people who did this because Jesus says pray for those who persecute you."

The Niagara County Sheriff's Department is investigating the theft and anyone with information may call (716) 438-3327

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Source: http://niagarafalls.wgrz.com/news/news/61937-20k-stolen-niagara-county-church

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