Cathleen Allison/Nevada Appeal The Rev. Stace Cupples, of the Comstock Community Church, talks Tuesday about the 6-foot cross stolen recently from in front of the Virginia City church. St. Mary in the Mountains, a Roman Catholic Church, has donated the $150 cost of materials for a new metal cross.
A rash of cross thefts against one Virginia City church led another to apply some balm.
Twice, a 6-foot-plus cross was stolen from outside the Comstock Community Church, a Baptist church that has been operating in Virginia City for about three years, according to the Rev. Stace Cupples.
"The first time it happened was right after the Christmas parade," he said. "The second time it happened was about two months ago. We had just put in a new one, and it got stolen."
Both crosses were made by Virginia City resident Tom Hinds and were more than 6 feet high and weighed between 50 and 75 pounds, Cupples said. He said he had no clue why someone would steal the crosses, which couldn't have been an easy task.
"The first time around you see it as vandalism and the second time around you feel targeted," he said. "Someone must have hooked it to a vehicle and pulled it out. We had it all lit up real nice and they didn't care, they just went ahead and did it anyway."
The upside of the cross-stealing is the three-year-old church is discovering new friends among the Comstock's small religious community.
St. Mary in the Mountains, a Roman Catholic Church, has donated the $150 cost of materials for a new metal cross, Cupples said.
"Now we have people in Carson City who donated their time to build the cross," Cupples said. "St. Mary's has provided the funds for it. We appreciate so much that they crossed denominational lines to help us."
Cupples, who became pastor of the Comstock Community Church about six months ago, said he planned on requesting approval for the new cross by the Comstock Historic Commission soon. The commission must approve any exterior elements in Virginia City, which is a national historic landmark.
He said the church has grown to about 25 members and expects to grow more.
"We provide a place for people to come where they don't feel intimidated or judged," he said. "They can come and worship with us and we're very laid-back and comfortable."
Cupples also runs The Dwelling, a network of home churches in the Reno area.
The stolen crosses were not the only damage done to a Virginia City church in the past few months. According to Storey County Sheriff's deputy Tony Dosen, windows were broken and a picket fence was damaged at the First Presbyterian Church in November 2005, which is about a half mile north of the Comstock Community Church.
-- Contact reporter Karen Woodmansee at kwoodmansee@nevadaappeal.com or 882-2111 ext. 351.
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