Pastor's car stolen during church

A Corporate Area-based pastor says she has been left astounded by the brazenness of criminals who stole her vehicle from in front of her church in St Andrew recently.

“Just as church was dismissed at 9:15 p.m., a brother came out and said he doesn’t see the car, so we said, ‘No man, the car is there!’ When we go out to the gate, we realised there was no car!” the religious leader recalled.

The incident occurred on August 21, between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. during the night service at a Washington Boulevard-based church. The 1993 Nissan B13 was painted in white, with orange rims and mirrors, with license plate number 3109SP. The Duhaney Park police last night confirmed that the car was reported stolen, but said they were yet to make a breakthrough in the incident. 

The Kingston 11 pastor believes the car is now being used to operate as a taxi in the Corporate Area, as she and her husband spotted the vehicle bearing its original paint work, just days after it was stolen.

“We prayed for God to show up the vehicle, and he did. Just after prayer meeting, we  were in a taxi going home and when I looked through the window I saw my car coming down, and it reverse into a lane like it was going to pick up somebody, and when my husband ran out after the car, it sped away through the stop light,” she explained.

The long-time pastor said she and her husband, who is also a minister, have been attending the church since April and have been parking the vehicle in front of the church since then, as they felt it was the safest place to do so. However, the crooks proved the pair of religious leaders wrong, as they were able to bypass the car’s security system, and move the vehicle without being noticed by anyone at the church.

The pastor told THE STAR that she got the car as a gift from her son, who realised that she had great difficulty travelling since doing a major operation last year. She noted that she is also troubled with arthritis, and needs the vehicle to get around to do the Lord’s work, which is now being severely hampered.

“We were going to have a street meeting and my only transportation to bring the instruments out of the church was the car, so we had to postpone the street meeting," she explained, adding that the car was also used to visit the sick and shut-ins.

The pastor is appealing to anyone with information to contact the police, and added that she has no ill-will towards the crooks who she said might have “borrowed” the vehicle. “Just park it somewhere close to the church man. I would be very, very grateful,” she implored.