Title: Thieves hit Disciples building site, wipe out tool collection
Date: March 14, 2001
Disciples News Service Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Contact:
Contact: news@cm.disciples.org
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INDIANAPOLIS (DNS) -- Theft -- hardly a headline crime in today's world. But the March 7 theft of a tool trailer is a crushing disappointment for members of a Palm Bay, Fla., congregation of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and hundreds of other volunteers who relied on and helped stock the unit.
The 7'x16' trailer belongs to Volunteers in Mission (VIM) and Vision Builders! Construction, outreach ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). VIM recruits and organizes volunteers for a variety of construction projects. Vision Builders! Construction erects first church buildings for new congregations with the help of volunteers.
The unit was parked at the Mision Cristiana de Palm Bay construction site and the trailer and its dual axles were locked and chained the night of the theft, according to the Rev. Carl Zerweck, director of Vision Builders! Construction. Thieves made off with the whole trailer despite the addition of state-of-the-art locks and hardened chains after a minor theft at the site in the spring of 2000. There were no further incidents until the March 7 theft.
The trailer also spent time in North Carolina in the summer of 2000 supplying volunteers with tools for flood relief work. It was returned to Palm Bay in late summer.
With a wide collection of power and specialty trade tools, and hundreds of hand tools donated by volunteers, by the time of the trailer theft "we had the tools in the trailer to handle virtually every aspect of construction that we would be doing on any job site," Zerweck said.
Palm Bay police investigators have told Zerweck that the chance of recovering the tools is slim -- even though many of the tools were marked with yellow spray paint and the letters "VIM/VB!"
The trailer was insured, but according to the Rev. Jayna Powell, director of VIM, it's not yet known what the insurance company will pay for replacement of the trailer and its contents. Zerweck estimated the loss at at least $20,000.
"We're making do right now. Fortunately, we were almost finished with the job," said Zerweck. Using his own tools and the tools of members of Mision Cristiana de Palm Bay, Zerweck hopes to keep to a schedule that calls for dedication of the new church building on Palm Sunday, about a year after the start of construction.
Zerweck and Powell are more concerned about replacing the trailer and tools before a new VIM/VB! project this spring. The building ministries are committed to a two-week "blitz build" for Iglesia Cristiana Lluvias de Gracia (Showers of Grace Christian Church) May 26-June 9 in Toronto. The trailer contained 95 percent of the tools needed for that project, Zerweck said. He hopes that since Vision Builders! Construction has many receipts on file, especially for the more expensive tools, that an insurance adjustment could be quick. Powell says that once the stolen trailer and tools are replaced, there are plans to purchase and equip at least three more trailers to be deployed in various parts of the country for future construction projects.
Persons wishing to donate to the tool trailer effort can do so through Homeland Ministries, P.O. Box 1986, Indianapolis, IN 46206.
The March 7 theft resulted in much more than a monetary loss. "This trailer that hundreds of people contributed to -- worked out of -- poured their hearts into -- in one fell swoop a couple of people took it all away," said Powell.
The trailer was donated to the building ministries by the Disciples Board of Church Extension. Week of Compassion, the denomination's disaster relief and humanitarian assistance program, gave seed money for the trailer's first tools. The unit was designed for use at Vision Builders! Construction sites and for disaster relief.
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