Florida Church Forgives Thief Who Swiped Offering

A church in Bradenton, Florida, got a first-hand lesson in forgiveness after their offering was stolen on Sunday.

The pastor of Kirkwood Presbyterian Church says she was just about to put the offering in the safe when a young man in his twenties walked in, grabbed the bag and bolted out a nearby door.

"There were probably still about 40 people at the church," Pastor Hope Lee said. "I think what made it so shocking was that he would do it in broad daylight in front of so many people."

"How desperate do you have to be that you would steal from a church?" she added while also acknowledging that the Church must be different from the world.

"The Church should be a place of grace, it should be a place of second chances," she said.
 
"So, yes, there is forgiveness. But he's going to have to work through the consequences of those sins, whether that's personal or on a legal level. He's gonna have to address that," she said.

The congregation quickly put a sign in the front of the church proclaiming their forgiveness over the the theft, which was around a $10,000 loss for the church.

Meanwhile, the Manatee County Sheriff's office is investigating the robbery.

"We do have some evidence," sheriff's office spokesman Dave Bristow said. "He seemed to know where to go or he got lucky."