Congregants of three separate churches across Los Angeles have been left shaken after their houses of worship have been hit by thieves.
In South L.A., Zion Temple Community Church members gathered for Sunday service where they were reminded of their faith, even after their van, used to deliver food to those in need, was stolen.
“When I came out of work, it was gone,” Pastor Vince Holmes explained to KTLA’s Jennifer McGraw.
After he got over his disbelief, the disappointment began to set in because their vehicle is routinely used for Fresh Food Fridays, a program that delivers fresh produce to South L.A. community members in need, a service the pastor says benefits the community.
“I believe we are changing health outcomes because we’re high in cholesterol and heart disease and things like that,” Holmes said. “I believe as we change habits, we begin to decrease those types of things as well.”
The church’s van being stolen has been a significant challenge, he added.
“I have to admit that while my faith hasn’t been challenged, it was processed,” he said. “I was angry at first, like, ‘Why would you steal our van? We need this van, alright?’”
Zion Temple Community Church is not alone. Two other churches in L.A. County were also recently burglarized.
In Sylmar, the alarm at Legacy Church went off at around 2 a.m. last week after thieves stole the church’s trailer. Police tracked the trailer and initiated a high-speed pursuit of the driver.
Unfortunately, the suspect lost control of the vehicle, and the trailer, which church members used to help clean up neighborhoods and transport goods, was destroyed.
In West Hills last week, on Mar. 13, officers responded at around 11 p.m. to reports of a break-in at a church in the 7400 block of Fallbrook Avenue. A suspect, who had broken into the church through a window and stole unknown items before fleeing, returned just before 6 a.m.
Police were able to set up a perimeter and arrest the man.
In the meantime, Zion Temple Pastor Holmes told KTLA that it was important to remind his parish and community not to allow these crimes to rattle their beliefs. In the end, enough money was pulled together so that the church could rent a van for Fresh Food Fridays.
“No, my faith has not been detoured,” the pastor said. “I am standing strong and believing God for either a new van or the return of the old van and for this to be an even better. He’s going to use it to make us even better.”
Detectives with the Los Angeles Police Department are investigating all three cases. There’s no evidence at this point to suggest the three incidents are related.
