A big-hearted couple have dipped into their pockets and replaced hundreds of pounds taken from Dornoch Cathedral by a heartless thief.
Stephen and Jayne Pagan said they were shocked and appalled that someone had broken into the donations box just weeks before Christmas.
The money had been stored there for safe keeping by three local women who had fundraised to pay bills for the town’s West Church Hall refurbishment.
Mr Pagan said he and his wife had decided to donate the £350 in memory of his late sister-in-law, Sonje Marshall, who died earlier this year aged 50. Sonje had both Down Syndrome and advanced Dementia and regularly attended the cathedral and its Common Ground group, which supports adults with disabilities.
Mr Pagan, who runs The Steading guesthouse with his wife at Balnapolaig, Dornoch, said: “I felt a huge pain in my heart when I heard what had happened.
“It was almost like someone had died because this kind of thing tends not to happen in Dornoch. It was gut wrenching really and we couldn’t believe that someone would steal from a church at Christmas which is a time for giving not taking.
“We immediately said to each other ‘lets find out how much is missing’ and just replace it because we knew that a lot of people who worked hard to raise it would be feeling bad.
“Sonje was very much involved in the life of the Cathedral and we knew that she would have wanted to do something about it as well.”
The Reverend Susan Brown, who is Moderator Designate of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, said the thief had prised open the locked donations box from the corner.
She estimated there may have been up to £500 in the box and others have helped get the amount back to that total.
The incident happened at some point on Friday, the day after the women made their deposit. It could result in the Cathedral, normally open to visitors by day, being locked up.
The Rev Brown said she was “really touched” by the couple’s gesture and described them as “special” people, adding: “What makes the gift extra special is the thought of it coming in Sonje’s name too.
“Sonje celebrated her birthday between Christmas and Hogmanay – Dec 29 – so it was a real celebration time for her and she enjoyed singing carols in the Cathedral.
“It is so touching that her own welcoming and trusting nature should be marked like this and bring, as Sonje did, a smile again to people’s faces.”
Rev Brown added that the cathedral had a discretionary fund which is used to help people in need if they ask.
