A SCULPTER has recreated a statue for All Saints Church in Fulham to replace one that was stolen by thieves.
The Reverend Canon Joe Hawes was ‘physically shocked’ by the theft of The Mother and Child from the churchyard last August, probably to sell as scrap metal.
He immediately contacted the bronze statue’s creator, sculptor Helen Sinclair who was equally upset, and pledged to make a replacement. But that was no easy task as she does not keep moulds of her creations and had to contact customers who purchased the design.
After borrowing another model, she remoulded the £2,000 statue, but this time made it in resin to put off scrap metal thieves.
The new statue was erected by residents and blessed on Easter Sunday, much to the delight of Mr Hawes and his parishioners.
He said: “It is absolutely thrilling to have it back and extremely moving to have it blessed on such a special day. Helen only charged for the cost of the materials, which was extremely kind, and everyone is delighted to have it back.”
At the time, Mr Hawes said the theft severely tested his propensity to forgive and, despite the happy ending, he remains angry.
He said: “We do forgive because that is what we do but it is not easy. It was very hard for us to deal with because the amount of money the thieves would have got was probably about £200, which measured far less than the emotional distress it caused the church.
“Indeed, I am sure the parishioners would have found £200 if it would have meant the statue was kept safe, but at least this story has some kind of happy ending.”
Parishioner Fiona Mylchreest added: “If the thieves come again, the church will stand firm. God is not broken, only our world.”
