A CHRISTMAS Eve service was cancelled after a thief stole money from the church.
Worshippers were so disheartened it was decided that the midnight celebration at Williamson Memorial Unitarian Church in Dundee would not go ahead.
The money, £180, was in the treasurer’s briefcase, which had been left just inside the door of the building in Dudhope Street.
William Hastie, who has worshipped at the church for 50 years, said: “It’s my own fault for leaving it there, so close to the door, but you wouldn’t expect it to be stolen from a church on Christmas Eve.
“I’m extremely annoyed at myself and at the person who took it. It’s supposed to be a giving time of year but this is a slap in the face.”
The briefcase containing the cash and a church cheque book was sitting on the floor at the main entrance.
“It was taken between 11am and 11.15pm as parishioners mingled in the church hall ahead of the service.
Worship leader Sandra Ogilvie explained what happened.
She said: “Like many churches throughout the city, we at opened our doors at 10pm to welcome members of our congregation and any visitors who cared to join us.
“We were all downstairs having coffee. There was a buzz of conversation. People were in good humour because it was Christmas Eve.
“The briefcase was sitting near chairs as you come into church but it wasn’t terribly noticeable.
“My handbag was also there and they left that, as were two Christmas presents, so I wonder if it was an opportunist who came into the property for whatever reason, maybe to use the toilet or for a hand-out and saw the briefcase and decided to take it.
“It’s a disgusting thing to do. I’m particularly saddened that this person felt compelled to enter a sacred place of spiritual peace and steal on an evening which marks a season of goodwill.”
Sandra went to the church hall to tell her congregation about the theft and they decided to not go ahead with the service.
She explained: “Everyone was gobsmacked. Nobody had any heart after that. I wanted to try to do something uplifting but they weren’t in the mood, which is understandable.”
“Several of our congregation and visitors were extremely upset that this could have happened in a sacred place on such an important night.
“Subsequently, the Christmas service was cancelled and we were all denied the opportunity to worship and celebrate the arrival of Christmas Day.”
Police are looking at CCTV footage.
A spokesman for Tayside Police said: “We got a report at about 11.30pm on Christmas Eve. It would appear to have been a theft of an unattended briefcase between 11pm and 11.15pm.
“There’s a CCTV camera at the roundabout so I imagine officers will be looking at that.”
The spokesman added: “We would ask members of the public who saw anyone acting suspiciously in the area around the church to contact us by calling 0300 111 2222.”
However, treasurer William Hastie is not hopeful they will recover the cash, which was collected for a weekly church lottery.
He added: “I don’t think we’ll get it back now. We can only hope that the CCTV will show up something and the police will get someone.”
Meanwhile, the police are hunting a thief who stole a pensioner’s handbag as she took communion at St Mary’s in Lochee on Sunday.
A spokesman for the police said: “Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact us.”
pswindon@thecourier.co.uk