The disappearance of 60 pieces of silver from Ballaugh village church is causing consternation among the faithful.

The items in question are knives, forks and dessert spoons constituting 20 table settings that are used on a regular basis by the church luncheon club.

The whole lot has been removed from the cutlery drawer.

Only the soup spoons were left.

To make it even more of a mystery - whoever took the cutlery replaced it with a similar quantity of non-matching, oddments.

Spokesperson June Young said it was causing a lot of distress.

’Once a month we hold a lunch in the community rooms at the back of the church, St Mary de Ballaugh,’ she said.

’It is organised by volunteers, who give their time freely. It’s a very friendly event, for 20 people. We charge just £5 per person for a three-course meal, followed by tea or coffee.

’This charge usually just covers the cost of the food provided and the electricity used. If we do make a small profit, it accumulates over the year so we can give everyone a free Christmas dinner, including crackers and cards

’The cutlery had been bought over the past 18 months, all of a matching design to make the table settings look attractive. Can you imagine the shock when we discovered that our cutlery had gone missing from the drawer in the kitchen? All we have left are 20 soup spoons. It is truly bizarre.’

The luncheon club organisers are being charitable and hope that the cutlery may have been borrowed and the borrower has forgotten to bring it back.

If anyone can help, they are asked to contact June on 897424.

It took only 30 pieces of silver to persuade Judas Iscariot to betray Jesus, according to the Gospel of Matthew in the Bible’s New Testament.