BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Mt. Hope Church on Buffalo's East Side is no stranger to adversity. The church's heating system was knocked out in the Blizzard of 2022. A nearby home that was being renovated for the homeless was destroyed by fire in March. And now a break-in.
Pastor Charles Walker said he left the building around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. Later that day, he got a call from someone in his congregation.
"One of my members who lives around the corner called me and said, 'Pastor the front door of the church is wide open,'" said Pastor Charles. "I said, 'Oh my God, Can you see in there?' He said 'No, because there's no lights.'"
He later returned to find the church had been mishandled.
"I went inside and started noticing things were missing," said Pastor Charles. "One was a $3,500-$4,000 generator, which didn't belong to me, was missing. A torpedo heater was missing. Our keyboard was missing and stuff had just been thrown around."
Mt. Hope Church has been closed for several months due to damages caused by the blizzard. Pastor Charles planned to reopen by Christmas.
"I may not reopen again," he said. "I may just keep it closed. I don't have the finances to make all the necessary repairs to get it up to par."
Pastor Charles said he plans to meet with his congregation about this incident and is working on a GoFundMe page.
"Things like this that God placed on my heart to help the community bring them together. It's been working but it hurts because this is how they say thank you," said Pastor Charles. "I know he didn't bring me this far to leave me."
Pastor Charles also filed a police report. 7 News reached out to a City of Buffalo spokesperson for more information and have yet to hear back.
