Burglars Steal From Blind East Palo Alto Pastor's Church
EAST PALO ALTO (KPIX 5) – A church on the Peninsula finds itself in dire straits after burglars cleaned it out. The incident is an especially painful blow for the pastor, who is blind.
"Whoever did this act has to be a heartless person. But I believe that God can change anybody," said The Rev. Albert Macklin of the New Sweet Home Church in East Palo Alto.
Burglars smashed their way into Macklin's church, ransacking the audio visual room and stealing computers. In the bible study room, thieves ripped a big screen TV right off the wall.
Thieves also kicked in a door to the financial office, stealing the church's savings. Money saved to repair and remodel the kitchen, those dreams are now gone.
"I don't even know who would even think to do something like that," Macklin said.
Macklin depends on the neighborhood to help keep him safe. Ripping off a bling reverend isn't sitting well here.
At the moment, there are no leads or suspects in the case.
"You know, it's kind of hard to say what the motive is behind this," said Sgt. Angel Sanchez of the East Palo Alto police. "We are definitely looking into this matter. It's definitely concerns us."
"You come and break into a church, it doesn't say very much for you," said Melissa Billingsley, a parishioner at New Sweet Home. "This is God's house and it is respected and our church is respected all over this community."
Through it all, the sightless reverend maintains his faith in both the Lord, and the law.
"I will pray for them and speak salvation into their lives and pray that they receive Jesus Christ," Macklin said. "But after that, the law has to take care of what the law does."
The church is working on a 75th anniversary celebration scheduled for next month.