Bonhill minister hits out at callous thefts

Jun 26 2009 by Tina Kemp, Lennox Herald (main ed)

A PENSIONER’S handbag was stolen during a Bonhill Church service recently.

A sneak thief made off with a parishioner’s bag during an outdoor Sunday morning service and then, just days later, an opportunist stuck his hand through the manse window and stole the minister’s grandson’s piggy bank.

This week, the Rev Ian Miller spoke of his disappointment at the culprits who he said had targeted the most vulnerable of society.

But he added: “I remain in my conviction that this is a community of good people.”

The first incident happened at Pentecost when Ian’s congregation held a celebration outside.

He said: “Someone came and sat down beside a woman in the congregation. They got up to go away and asked her to keep their seat as they’d be back. But they never came back – and neither did her handbag.”

The pensioner lost about £70 but kind-hearted friends rallied round to replace the money.

Last week, the minister’s grandson Ben was the second victim when the piggy bank, in which Ian and his wife, Joan, had been saving for a holiday for the two-and-a-half-year-old, was snatched.

Ian said: “It was about tea time. Joan was upstairs and I was in my office. Someone reached through the manse window and nicked Ben’s piggy bank with about £110. It could have been someone who had come to see me, seen the opportunity and just taken it. Between pensioners and weans, someone is having a profitable time.”

But Ian, who has been at Bonhill Church for more than 30 years, remains philosophical.

He said: “Over the years I have spent here I hold the people and community in the highest estimation. It has been a wonderful place to live and bring up children. It’s heaven on earth.

“Now and again I have a reality check and come back down to earth. You move a service outside, someone comes in off the street and sees an opportunity to nick a bag from a pensioner, and then a few days later someone passing by the house and coming upon an open window, sees the opportunity to benefit from a kid’s bank.

“But I remain in my conviction that this is a community of good people, and a lot of good things happen here.”