Thief steals baby Jesus

During this season of Advent, Christians are preparing to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Manger scenes depict the biblical story. But a church on the southern tier is wondering who stole the Baby Jesus from their Nativity scene.

"Somebody stole our Baby Jesus."

Reverend Frank Troutman of the First Baptist Church in Andover is talking about the manger scene in front of his church.

Reverend Troutman said, "We like to have different Nativity scenes to show the community what the real reason for the season is, the birth of Jesus Christ."

Sometime over the weekend, someone stole the Baby Jesus figurine right out of the crib, leaving the three Wise Men with no one to worship. Pastor Troutman says he won't file a complaint with the police.

Reverend Troutman said, "We never made a formal complaint to the police department. We have all the faith in the world that the Lord will handle it in His time and His way."

The church has a glorious past. It was founded 179 years ago when Andrew Jackson was president of the country. Reverend Troutman has even left a message for the person who broke the commandment, 'thou shall not steal.'

Reverend Troutman said, "Jesus Christ is not in that shell that they took. If they want Jesus Christ, they can just ask him to come into their hearts and save them."

Stealing figures from Nativity scenes is not uncommon. Some churches have installed global positioning system (GPS) devices on the figurines so they can track them down and find the grinch who is trying to steal Christmas.