MANITOBA COMPUTER STOLEN Winnipeg Free Press

Piece of church's heart stolen

By: Paul Gackle

Updated: July 21 at 12:25 AM CDT

A Winnipeg minister is asking for the return of "the piece of the heart" of his church that was stolen over the weekend.

The United Church in Meadowood in south St. Vital was broken into and vandalized overnight Saturday. The perpetrators kicked down six doors, stole a TV, two computers and a USB back-up drive.

Minister Richard Manley-Tannis said the computers contained the records -- births, baptisms, marriages, funerals -- of the approximately 450 families in church's congregation.

"It was a piece of the church's heart... the living memory of what this particular congregation has done since 1979," he said. "Our appeal would be just to return the data... the computers have information that helps the ministry do its work."

Manley-Tannis, who is also an IT consultant, said he isn't worried about the possibility of identity theft because all of the software and information is encrypted and secure.

The break-in was discovered roughly 45 minutes before Sunday service, when an office administrator arrived at church to find a photocopy machine in the middle of the lobby.

But Manley-Tannis said the congregation rallied after learning about the crime and used the break-in as an opportunity to discuss how they could address the needs of the less fortunate in south St.Vital.

"There was a real sense of compassion for whoever did this," he said. "We asked ourselves, how do we respond with love while also realizing that people make their own choices?"

The break-in appears to be one incident in a series of vandalizations in St. Vital over the weekend. Several mailboxes were reported to be damaged and a nearby glass bus shelter was shattered.

Manley-Tannis said police were uncertain as to how the vandals entered the church, but "samples of fluids" that could reveal the identities of the culprits were recovered. He wouldn't elaborate.

He said the congregation has mixed emotions.

"Churches, temples and synagogues are supposed to be the safe places in the world," he said. "It's easy to dehumanize somebody, but whenever there is a victim and offender, there is an opportunity for healing."

paul.gackle@freepress.mb.ca