A Zacchaeus Christmas

Did you see this one? Some thief entered a local church in Antioch and stole its presents for a charity, the story got out and now… well, read on:

A holiday tragedy has turned into a miracle for St. Stephen Lutheran Church in Antioch.

Days after news broke that someone had stolen hundreds of dollars worth of Christmas presents for needy children through the church’s annual Open Arms Mission’s Adopt-a-Family Program, donators are stepping forward and helping out.

“It’s been truly overwhelming,” Pastor Ellen Arthur said Thursday. “Literally overnight, we went from having not much of nothing to having an overabundance of everything.”

She said hundreds of toys are piled to the ceiling of her office at the church in the 1100 block of Hillside Drive. A separate room is filled with winter items, such as coats, boots and gloves.

In addition, Arthur said, cash donations ranging from $5 to $750 have been pouring in to the church nonstop since word got out this week.

“At this point, we have easily tripled what we lost, and we know more is coming in,” she said. “It truly has restored my faith in humanity.”