Anglicans plan to keep their churches open despite thefts
Anglican churches are not about to lock their doors during the daytime, even in the wake of two thefts in the space of two weeks from parish places of worship.
After about £100 was taken from a locked box at St Peter’s on 28 December, what was thought to be a small amount of cash was stolen from an alms box at St Andrew’s a week later.
Castel rector the Rt Rev. Nick Drayson said that the Dean had informed the other Anglican churches about the break-ins.
‘We’re very aware of security. We were discussing last night with the treasurer about safety and being aware of it.
‘There’s not much cash or valuables left in the church that would be worth taking and I think most churches have a good safe or strong box.’
He said it was a bit worrying that the burglary at St Andrew’s seemed to have been planned, in that the thieves targeted the church’s alms box. This was thought to have been nearly empty at the time, however.
There will be a clergy chapter meeting in the next few weeks and Mr Drayson said he felt sure the matter would be discussed there.
‘I know that Guernsey seems to be a safer place [than the UK] and it would be disappointing if we couldn’t leave the church open,’ he said.
His comments were echoed by the Rev. Mark Charmley, rector of St Saviour’s and Torteval.
‘For me it’s important that the church remains open and people can drop in whenever they want,’ he said. ‘The church I ran in the UK was only open when there were people in it and I think that’s a sad state of affairs. It’s sad when these things happen but hopefully it won’t happen here.’
Like other churches there is a donation box, which is emptied regularly.
Guernsey, with its tradition of hedge veg sales, was a place where trust was important, he said.
‘We’ve never had a problem here that I’m aware of in my time here. I just hope that these were two isolated examples.’
Torteval had security cameras installed when builders were carrying out work on the spire and Mr Charmley said that while these were put in for the builders’ security, it was decided to keep them when the work finished.
Methodist Church superintendent the Rev. Howard Springer said that he and his colleagues sympathised with their Anglican friends.
But Methodist churches are not left open during the day.
‘If we have buildings open people are inside, so we have eyes everywhere,’ he said.
‘I believe that the [affected] churches were open and I’ve not heard anything about breaking and entering.
‘While we understand the need for people wanting to come in or pray, our general practice is we open our buildings for events and worship services only.’
He said he was probably as concerned about thefts from anywhere that had donation boxes, including cafes and shops, as he was about churches.
