OFFERTORIES STOLEN

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22352, 25 February 1936, Page 8

OFFERTORIES STOLEN

THAMES CHURCH DISCOVERY MONEY REMOVED FROM VESTRY [BT TELEGRAPH OWN CORRESPONDENT] :. 7 _ THAMES, l&nday When the vicar's warden and th» secretary of St. George's |!hurch, Thames, came to tally up yesterday's collection at the church last night it was found that the offertories for the 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. services had been stolen. The offertory at 8 o'clock had been counted and the money in envelopes marked off. It was put in a box in a , cupboard in the vestry as usual and the key was deposited in a secret place. The 11 o'clock offertory was not counted, the loose money and envelopes containing money being placed by a church official with the 8 o'clock collection, which was then intact. The vicar noticed before the evening service th.it the key was in the cupboard, but he did not investigate. After evensong the warden and the secretary made the discovery that the cash and the 11 o'clock envelopes were missing, but the empty 8 o'clock envelopes had been left. -i ■. It is evident that some unauthorised person entered the vestry and fossicked round until he found the key of the cupboard. The church was used during the afternoon for some of the Sunday school classes, but the vestry was not used. The matter is in the hands of the police.