BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — A church community is hoping you can help protect their congregation moving forward after they became the target of thieves over the weekend.
It is the Buffalo Temple of God in Christ in the city's Black Rock neighborhood.
I have learned the church has dealt with thieves in the past but most recently, people stole a large tent they had rented for an event.
The church is raising money for a new security system, as well as a new tent for the small, local rental company.
I spoke with voices from both organizations Monday, about their frustrations and their fundraising efforts.
"We are a small church and to raise funds is very difficult," Buffalo Temple of God in Christ assistant pastor Samuel Fears said.
An already struggling church dealing with another dilemma impacting their pockets: a stolen rental tent.
"The tent was placed here Friday. Friday evening," Buffalo Temple of God in Christ Nelson Nagby said. "The cover, itself. Only that alone was left. The other thing, the scrap metals were taken."
Nagby and Assistant Pastor Fears told me, by Saturday, their rental tent that they use for events was gone, just one day before their Sunday event.
They had hoped the tent would protect guests from direct sunlight.
Their rental tent from Just In Case Party Rentals had a price tag of about $400, but it will cost a small Buffalo business roughly $2,000 to replace it.
"What I believe happened is, it was stolen for scrap. Right here. This is some of the pieces of what a tent would be. None was left because it's all valuable. The reason I say that is they left the top of the tent on the ground," Just In Case Party Rentals owner Justin Ferraraccio said.
Ferraraccio added that the last thing I want to do is charge a church but because his business is small, this theft really affects him too.
A police report was filed with the Buffalo Police Department. This comes at the worst time because the church is already dealing with a lot of trials and tribulations.
"We have elders, single parents, dropout children that the church also takes care of. We also look after people like immigrants that come in. The church helps them to shelter and sustain them, in terms of their wellbeing. The church is doing all those stuff. It's too much for the church right now," Assistant Pastor Fears said.
This is not the first time the church has had to deal with theft from its property.
"They break the door. It's a huge money. We have not even fixed it yet. We only maintained it by closing it some kind of way to keep close," Nagby explained. "We don't have money to do all of the things."
Ferraraccio said, "Their pulpit is just half there because it's half there because it was robbed. Their drum sets are half put together."
This prompted Ferraraccio to encourage the church leaders to create a GoFundMe.
"Just support the church, hit that GoFundMe. I don't want anything other than my tent and to help these people. If you know somebody that's got a brand new, a bunch of poles in their yard and stuff-- tip anonymous," Ferraraccio said.
The current goal of the GoFundMe is $10,000, which I'm told will cover the tent costs and add security cameras to the church's property.
