Two more Austin churches have been burglarized and another was the victim of a return visit by thieves.

Burglaries at St. John Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, Faith Evangelical Free Church and Grace Lutheran Church were discovered Monday morning. The churches are located in the northwest, southwest and east sides of the city, respectively.

Quilters at St. John's Lutheran Church discovered the burglary there. The Rev. Michael Alfieri, senior pastor at the Faith church, discovered that burglary. A church secretary at Grace Lutheran discovered the unauthorized entrance there.

The Faith church, at 1805 12th St. SW, suffered an estimated $10,000 to $15,000 damages and losses estimated at $4,500.

Nothing was reported missing from the other two churches; only vandalism.

"I believe there are extra concerns in the community because of the burglaries," Austin Police Chief Paul M. Philipp said.

Philipp said authorities believe all of the burglaries are linked.

"We're working the cases as aggressively as we can," he said.

Alfieri said he felt violated and upset about the burglary.

"My first reaction when I walked into the church Monday morning and saw the tray to the copier on the floor was something was wrong," he said. "When I saw all the damage, I felt we had been violated and I was very, very upset."

After the first three church burglaries, the church's staff discussed what they could do to prevent it from happening to the 12th Street SW church. Now, the congregation's Leadership Board will meet Thursday night to reassess church security issues.

Repeat of actions

elsewhere in Austin

A week ago, Cornerstone Assembly of God and First Baptist Churches were burglarized, along with Grace Lutheran Church.

The Cornerstone and First Baptist churches are located about three-blocks apart on the city's west side.

Grace Lutheran is located on the city's far east side.

The method of operation in the burglaries was much the same "smash and grab" style as the latest break-ins.

At Cornerstone, thieves entered by pushing in a window air conditioner and crawling through the space.

At Grace Lutheran, they broke a window in the sanctuary, crawled through and then ran to church offices.

Police believe the First Baptist burglary was done by people hiding in the church after a Sunday night function. No forced entry was observed.

In the second Grace Lutheran burglary this week, thieves broke a window in an office, where a safe was clearly visible.

The safe's door was not opened the first time, but the door and top showed extensive pry bar and hammer damage.

The safe was located in an office with a light atop it and near windows. A church spokesman said the safe was considered to be in a proper location, because the office drapes were left open so police on patrol could notice any activity in the office.

God's business moves forward

Alfieri came to work Tuesday and immediately started looking around the house of worship. "I checked every room."

Still, Alfieri said it won't change Faith Free's purpose.

"We don't want to skip a beat. His work, investing in God's people, will go on," he said.

Lee Bonorden can be contacted at 434-2232 or by e-mail at lee.bonorden@austindailyherald.com