By George Henry, Gleaner WriterSPALDINGS, Clarendon:
WHEN THE Rev. Vernon Scott, rector of Christ Church, Christiana, north east Manchester, and his congregants turned out for morning worship yesterday, they had no candleholders in which to light their candles.
According to the Rev. Mr. Scott, thieves broke into the church and removed from the altar, the two brass candleholders which had been there for more than 60 years.
The candleholders were discovered missing by a church attendant who went there on Saturday to prepare the church for Sunday worship.
The robber(s) entered the church through a window on the northern side of the building. The Rev. Mr. Scott, who has been at the church for more than 23 years, said that given the size of the hole, the thieves had to be of small build.
"It is something that we use every Sunday and I can tell you that they will not be easy to replace. The thieves were kind enough to leave the two candles on the altar," the rector said.
PREVIOUS THEFTS
The candleholders, he said, can easily be identified by the church's name etched on them. They weigh about 20 lb. each and are valued at more than $50,000. The contents of the church are insured.
The Rev. Mr. Scott said that the church had suffered from thefts before, but it was the first time that any item was stolen from the altar.
Yesterday, the church, which reported the theft to the police, also discovered that its 200-gallon water tank was missing.
The Christiana police said this was the second report of sacrilegious theft it has had in three years, the other occurring in 2001.
The Rev. Mr. Scott said the basic school located on the church compound was broken into a few years ago and that the targeting of the church premises was an indication of how low morals had fallen in Jamaica.
