Unholy Acts
By MONICA BUCHANAN
Updated 11:00 PM EDT, Fri, Nov 20, 2009
The praise choir at Bethel Temple Church of God on Frank Street in New Haven can be heard from the street. Their weekly rehearsal fills the church with songs of worship.
Recently, their volume went down a few notches after a couple of criminals smashed in the church windows and stole the PA system and speakers. All that stuff is valued at more than $6,000.
“I thought they had a lot of nerve. They broke in not just once, but twice! That takes a lot of nerve,” said Pastor Larry Pinkard.
The crimes are also striking a nerve within the small church congregation.
“They seem to not have any respect for church of God anymore. It’s very disturbing,” said Newton Dixon of New Haven.
The recent break-ins came just a few weeks after a keyboard was stolen from the Faith Refuge Church of Christ on nearby West Street.
“There’s no doubt in my mind it was someone that came in asking for help, saw what we had and came back after we locked up,” said Pinkard.
Instead of losing faith, Pastor Pinkard now hopes to build it. This Sunday he will ask church members for support to replace the equipment and beef up security.
“One thing these criminals can’t steal is our faith,” said Pinkard.
And they can’t steal the choir’s voices. Members say they plan to keep singing, even if they have to do it a little louder than usual.
“We will not allow these crimes to break our spirit. We’re still praising the Lord. We’re still worshiping,” said Dixon.
First Published: Nov 20, 2009 10:22 PM EDT
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