St John’s Church Reverend and pastor Julie Guest and her husband camped outside the church every evening to stop copper thieves.
Photo: Screenshot / YouTube / Diocese of Waikato and Taranaki
A Te Awamutu church has taken extreme measures to stop copper thieves.
St. John’s Church minister and pastor Julie Guest said people had been ripping copper from the church’s roof since November.
Three 4-square-foot panels had been stolen in multiple incidents, as had the church’s last remaining copper drainpipe, Guest said.
Since thefts began to increase, Guest and her husband camped out at the church every night and installed security cameras to deter thieves.
“We are campers, so we already had the equipment and we need to protect this building.”
Last week, Guest and her husband caught a thief red-handed.
Three four-square-meter panels were stolen during several incidents.
Photo: Julie Guest
“We were sleeping here in the building. We thought the noise we heard was from the building moving in the wind, but it was someone on the roof.
“My husband saw him jump off and run away. But because we disturbed him, he couldn’t take anything.”
St John’s Church in Te Awamutu.
Photo: Delivered
The incident was caught on camera and they gave the footage to police, Guest said.
The damage to the 60-year-old church was heartbreaking and unnecessary, she said.
“The crazy thing is that the generous cost of what was stolen could total as much as $500, but they caused $125,000 in damage.”
The church was raising money to replace the copper roof with a less robust material, which Guest said would cost more to maintain.
“Not only have they caused us costs now, but also in the future because the new roof needs to be replaced, but the buyer does not.”
The fact that there is copper on the roof threatens the viability of the building, she said.
The church was raising money to replace the copper roof with a less robust material, which Guest said would cost more to maintain.
Photo: Julie Guest
‘The copper is still in the same good condition as when it went through. It doesn’t need to be replaced at all.
“It’s sad because there is no better material than copper, but putting it back in would be asking for trouble.”
They covered the roof temporarily, but it was a short-term solution, she said.
Guest, who has led the Waikato parish of four Anglican churches since 2019, said St John’s was also being used as a shelter for rough sleepers.
“When things like this happen, fingers are pointed at them, and that’s not what we’re concerned with. We don’t believe it’s someone from our community.”
St John’s Church in Te Awamutu has had to deal with copper thieves.
Photo: Julie Guest
The copper spout of another parish church, St Paul’s on Rangiaowhia Rd, was also stolen in November.
She said the community was devastated by the damage.
“A place that is taonga and brings people together is under attack.
“It hurts us, especially because it happens at this time of year.”
Guest said she would stay at the church tonight until the situation was resolved.
“We can’t do this for the rest of our lives, but I don’t see an end to it until we get a new roof.
“I hope it happens sooner rather than later.”
The church had one Give a small page to help finance repairs.
Police said they received a report on December 17 that copper had been stolen from a roof on Arawata Street and were investigating.
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