Sermon, cash taken from church

SAN BENITO — Rev. Dori Zubizarreta had to improvise her sermon a few weeks ago after thieves took the written sermon from her office.

“I was going to use that sermon for the 8 o’clock morning Mass, but I had to wing it,” Zubizarreta said. “By the 10:30 (a.m.) Mass, I had already worked it out.”

The sermon was one of the items taken Sept. 1 from All Saints Episcopal Church at 499 N. Regan St. when a group of men attempted to rob the church’s office, Zubizarreta said.

When Zubizarreta arrived before Mass at about 7:35 a.m. she said she noticed two men walking up the sidewalk of the church.

“They were very interested in the church,” she said.

As she entered the office, she said the lights had been cut off as well as the phone line.

“I noticed everything was out of place, backed out and called 9-1-1,” she said.

Zubizarreta said the four offices in the building had been disorganized.

“They had completely gone through every desk,” she explained.

The robbers took about $15 in petty cash as well as a set of keys for the church and office, she said.

“It was a mess,” Zubizarreta said.

The individuals, who entered and left the office through the kitchen window, tried to use the kitchen’s trash can to carry a computer. The computer looked like it was “ready to go,” she said.

“I’m pretty sure I surprised them,” Zubizarreta said.

In total, it has cost the church about $1,000 to replace and repair the damages done, including $125 for a cleaning service and $500 to purchase a new alarm system.

But it could have been worse, she said.

As for her sermon, Zubizarreta said she doesn’t think the thieves meant to take it, but collected it as they scooped up papers, including the church list, that were on her desk.

“It probably ended up in the trash,” Zubizarreta said.