When the church is robbed

A couple of weeks ago we pulled into the parking lot at New Church, also new one-day-a-week work church, and were greeted by an old friend.  He immediately asked "Brittany, have you heard the news?"  The news was that New Church had been broken into the night before.  Just one of the four buildings but it was the one building that had the most to lose, in ways.  Three computers were taken, a printer (it was realllllllllyyyyy an awful printer), the back up to one of the computers, a box of cell phones that had been donated for a fundraiser and, as we found out today, some software that we used regularly.  On those computers were all the databases for the church members and the youth ministry, all the minutes for church meetings, mock-ups for bulletins, newsletters, any mailings that have been sent out, pretty much everything.  They also took the church Suburban...which again, was old and kinda gross, but still it ran and it was nice to have around.

The robbers took stuff.  They didn't take the spirit of the church.  But they did violate a space.  I remember back when Old Church was broken into.  They broke into my office and stole a computer (again, a realllllllyyyy awful one) and a brand new camera plus a few other things.  It took me a long time to feel comfortable in the church building again.  My office door was equipped with a bolt lock, the stain from the fingerprint dust never really did come off the door and the marks where the door was pried open were never painted over.  There were always reminders that the church wasn't the safe place I really wanted it to be.

Not having spent much time at New Church, yet, I'm not personally feeling that violation, but the rest of the church staff definitely is feeling violated.  The door locks to the offices have yet to be fixed, we are all working on borrowed computers and every so often we find that something else is missing...like the software today.  The church that once felt safe, doesn't feel so safe anymore.

The robbers took things that we probably won't ever get back.  They also took a little bit of our trust in mankind.  But what they didn't take away is God.  What they didn't take was the people who gave Thanks that same Sunday for the robbery, for the realization that it's just stuff and the gratefulness of a people who have a church building to call home.  The robbers didn't take that away.