Firewood designated for charity stolen from church, but local response helps replace it

GASTONIA, N.C. – When someone stole a load of charity firewood from a North Carolina church, the community stepped in to replace it.

The Gaston Gazette reports (http://bit.ly/1NPtZ3p) Crimson Timbers Church in Kings Mountain had planned to give firewood donated by a lumber company to a family who needed it to keep warm this winter.

But before church members could split and deliver the wood, half of it was recently stolen. Thieves tried to take the rest, but a police officer caught them in the act.

Once word of the theft got out, Pastor Thomas Hovis said he was inundated with calls. This week, a couple who live off disability benefits donated wood they would otherwise have sold.

Hovis said the church has received so much wood that it's considering helping more families.

___

Information from: The Gaston Gazette, http://www.gastongazette.com