BOSTON -- Cash has been stolen from as many as seven congregations in the past few weeks in Quincy, and police said that the thefts may be connected.

NewsCenter 5's Jack Harper reported that at St. John's, the thieves broke into collection boxes.

Church Thefts Probed

"You can see the splintering," said the Rev. Richard Cannon, of St. John's. "It's been sort of an on-going problem, but they were really damaged this time. There was some further damage in the church. We made the decision to pull the poor boxes out."

About $100 that was intended for low-income families was stolen.

"It's unnerving because we have so many things going on here. We have children in the building, so our top concern is for the safety of the folks," said the Rev. David Hefling, of St. Chrysostom Church. "That someone could walk in here unnoticed and walk out with something like that is pretty significant."

Police describe the thief as a white man in his mid- to late-40s. He's about 6 feet tall and weighs about 200 to 250 pounds.

At Union Congregational Church, the Rev. John Swanson's desk was ransacked. Collection money and his own cash were stolen. He said that he may have encountered the thief earlier.

"He came in and was very obnoxious. He demanded money. I told him we don't give money, and he left. After he left, one of the parishioners who was in the parlor said that was the fellow who had been in here on Thursday night who had been begging for money from the choir," Swanson said.