Vashon Methodist Church became the Island’s latest place of worship to be the victim of a crime when at least one unidentified individual last week stole roughly $680 from a visiting North Carolina youth choir.

“We’re obviously disappointed something like this happened,” said Darryn Hewson, the minister of the church.

The youth group from the Chapel Hill area had just begun a multi-state tour, with its first stop on Vashon. Members of the choir were at the church from 3:30 to 9 p.m., Hewson said, and performed a concert from 7:30 to 8:45 p.m.

Their luggage was in the education building behind the church, and the girls’ bags were in a locked room. The group stayed in church members’ homes that night and in the morning returned for breakfast, when one of the girls noticed that her money was missing.

Others then checked their bags; all told, about a dozen girls discovered their money was stolen, according to Hewson.

After the money was reported missing, Hewson and others noticed that the door to the room that had held the girls’ suitcases had been kicked in. Whoever committed the crime did so “pretty meticulously,” according to Hewson. Nothing had seemed out of order, and only cash was missing, not anything else of value, such as iPods, cell phones and cameras.

The church’s insurance deductible is higher than the amount taken, but Hewson said the group had a travel insurance policy that might provide some compensation.

The theft marks the latest in a string of incidents that have hit places of worship on Vashon over the last year or so. A generator was recently stolen from the Church of the Holy Spirit; a safe was taken from St. John Vianney last year; and Havurat Ee Shalom was hit by anti-Semitic vandalism a year ago.

Hewson said the theft at his church pales when compared to these other incidents. As a faith community, he added, the church’s response is to try to find the positive in the situation.

The loss provides a dose of reality that could be healthy, depending on how the group handles it, Hewson said, and noted the choir director hoped the loss of the money would bring the group closer together.

An irony, according to Hewson, is that one of the members of the group asked him if their suitcases were safe on the grass near the curb while they were waiting for their tour bus. He assured the members that this is Vashon and their belongings would be fine.