Police are searching for two thieves who they say spent Christmas morning brazenly stealing tens of thousands of dollars — some of it earmarked for needy children — from a Queens church.Parishioners were halfway through a morning Mass yesterday at St. Mel's Roman Catholic Church on 154th Street in Flushing when, police said, the burglars breached the church sacristy, a back room in which religious objects are stored, and where this church's safe is housed. According to church leaders, two young men guarding the safe were distracted around 9:30 a.m., when the suspects caused a noisy disruption in the basement. While the church employees went to investigate, the thieves allegedly removed the safe and a gray plastic collection box that held checks and cash. No one was injured.
Yesterday, church leaders said the thieves were observed mid-heist. The criminals, they said, pretended to be technicians hired to repair the church's elevator. However, a church usher who was suspicious followed them outside and wrote down the license plate number of their white sport utility vehicle. As of last night, police had made no arrests in the heist.