A couple might want to check their stockings for coal after getting an early start on All Saints Anglican Church’s free Christmas dinner.
Slated for Saturday over the noon-hour, some of the supplies to be used as part of the take-out dinner along with the church’s weekly free meal were stolen from the Peel Street church earlier this week.
And Rev. Eileen Steele isn’t happy about it.
“I wasn't going to say anything and this is more rhetorical, but I don't understand people,” said Steele, the priest at the Anglican Parish of Penetanguishene.
“We give a free meal every Thursday and provide what we can at the food cupboard and tragically a couple people decided to ‘steal’ from our Christmas supply, inside our church hall, for the free turkey dinner.”
Steele wondered what the culprits are going to do with their ill-gotten gains.
“Why does someone need to steal a container of potatoes that would feed 65 people?” Steele said, noting they also took gravy an sandwich bags.
“Or take 36 juice boxes and then to top it off, no pun intended, steal our Santa hats? What really broke us was they stole our Santa hats for the volunteers for our free Turkey dinner."
This isn’t the first time the church has had to deal with unsavoury characters.
In April, 2021, someone spit, then coughed all over items left in a food cupboard located just outside the church.
Steele said the latest theft breaks her hearts since Sue Savage and volunteers work so hard to provide.
“All anyone has to do is ask and we'll take the shirt off our backs and even the shoes from our feet,” Steele said. “But to steal from our free Turkey dinner?”
Steele said she has pictures of the people involved and a video.
“And yes, there are all kinds and all kinds of excuses and reasons,” Steele said, adding they should be okay for the dinner thanks to a secret Santa who left two 50 pounds of potatoes at the church door.
“It was just hard to watch the video of them taking things, looking around, sitting down to eat and then going back for more.
“Please stop stealing from us when we're giving you all that we have.”
But Steele said they've been touched a great deal by the compassion and generosity so many to try and replace what was stolen.
"So many came forward to try and help," she said. "All we can do is pray for the Grinches who took our food to help feed people a free Turkey dinner on Saturday, that their hearts grow as well.
Steele said that by going public with the theft, she's not trying to garner sympathy, but rather call out those who stole from the church.
"To let them know in the most compassionate way I could that we know who they are and yes, if they come for a meal we will feed them. But I know the difference between being a welcome mat and a door mat."
