A Christian church east of the Highlands was burglarized six times in the past year.

Evergreen Community Church isn’t alone, said Pastor Don Burnett. “There has been a spike in churches being hit the area.”

Burglaries and thefts are on the rise, because of the economy, said Burnett, who has participated in the local Block Watch program for about three years.

Churches are especially vulnerable, because no one is around at night and because they’re easier to scout, he said. “I think churches are sitting ducks during the recession for fast money.”

The first three of Evergreen’s burglaries started small, power tools taken from the outdoor shed. However, in recent months the assailants have grown more aggressive, breaking into the church sanctuary to take sound equipment, computers and musical instruments.

Most recently thieves pried a door jamb off only to take a vacuum cleaner from the closet Oct. 6, according to the King County Sheriff’s report.

“I think it was reconnaissance,” Burnett said.

A risk the congregation takes in regularly inviting all members of the community into the church is the potential that someone would seek to do harm, he said.

“People come and scope out what’s here,” he said. “The police said it was very professional.”

When thieves broke into the sanctuary, they entered by methodically smashing a frosted glass window in the two exact places needed to unlock it, he said.

The window couldn’t open far because of a sound monitor, but Burnett discovered a small handprint in just the right place on the monitor, as if a child had climbed through to unlock the door.

The congregation of about 90 has been able to replace the missing items, but they’ve since installed key-only deadbolts and security cameras.

“It’s tested our ability to love even people who do you ill,” he said. “Do we get suspicious of people or do we look at them as worth the price of the death of God’s son?”