Click here to subscribe today or Login.
By KEVIN AMERMAN [email protected]
Thursday, October 13, 2005 Page: 3A
WILKES-BARRE – The sadness felt by Father Charles Parthum III isn’t all for
his church, which was broken into and burglarized Monday night.
He says he feels even more sorrow for the person who broke down the side
door of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Procathedral on 35 S. Franklin St. and stole
two brass candleholders, which have decorated altars in the church for
decades.
“For someone, this church and what it stands for has no meaning. So if that
has no meaning, the whole concept of God has no meaning for that person, and
for that I’m really sorry,” Parthum said, as he stood behind the main altar of
the church, which was built in 1897 and features brick walls and a giant
circular ceiling in the front, a 30-foot-high organ with 80 sets of pipes and
more than 20 stained-glass windows throughout.
There were four brass candleholders displayed in the church – one set of
two on the main altar in the front of the church and one set on the altar in
the rear chapel. One candleholder from each set was stolen, leaving the church
with a mismatch. One remaining candleholder is about a foot high, while the
other is a few inches high and wider.
Police said they are investigating.
Parthum, the interim rector of the parish, which has 678 members, said he’s
not sure what monetary value the candle holders would have outside the
religious community. He said both sets were gifts to the church in dedication
of two women who had died. One set was dedicated in 1920 and the other was
dedicated in 1970.
Parthum said there is a “sense of violation” regarding the break-in,
especially because the bottom floor of the church is dedicated to helping
people. Several groups have offices on that floor and offer a free medical
clinic, clothes, computer training and other assistance to people in need.
“In the last century-and-a-half, St. Stephen’s has done a lot for the
community,” said Parthum, who is originally from Wisconsin. “I’m not saying
that should exempt us. … We try to walk the walk and not just talk the talk
and what makes me sad then is that someone hasn’t figured out why we’re here.”