c. 1996 Religion News Service
(UNDATED) The National Council of Churches will distribute nearly $1 million of the $8.3 million it has collected so far to nine congregations in its first round of grants to help predominantly African-American congregations that have been damaged by fires.”It’s a joy to be able to provide resources that churches, foundations and donors have given,”said the Rev. Albert Pennybacker, the council’s associate general secretary for public policy.”The response of the (burned) churches is one of great appreciation and a great determination to move forward in ministry strengthened by these gifts.” The ecumenical group, with 33 Protestant and Orthodox member denominations, has been working to raise awareness about racial issues and offer support to congregations they believe have been the victims of racial violence.
Four churches will be able to begin rebuilding with grants totaling $600,000. They are Butler Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Orangeburg, S.C.; New Hope Baptist Church, Seattle; Gays Hill Baptist Church, Millen, Ga.; and St. Paul’s Primitive Baptist Church, Lauderdale, Miss.
Two other churches _ Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church in Fruitvale, Tenn., and Mount Zion Baptist Church in Boligee, Ala. _ will receive grants of $100,000 each to continue their rebuilding work.
In addition, three churches are expected to complete their rebuilding plans with a total of $116,000 in grants that will be used for furniture, trim work and landscaping. They are Mt. Zoar Baptist Church, Boligee, Ala.; Canaan African Methodist Episcopal Church, Columbia, Tenn.; and Mt. Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church, Greeleyville, S.C.
Meanwhile, other organizations, including the Christian Coalition and the American Jewish Committee, continue fund raising and working on ways to improve race relations.
As the work continues, another fire is being investigated at a small, predominantly black church in Providence, Ky.
The Providence Church of God in Christ was gutted in an early morning fire Tuesday (July 23), the Associated Press reported. It is one of more than 70 suspicious fires at properties owned by mostly black Southern churches since 1995. A similar number of predominantly white churches also have been attacked in the region during that time.
Pennybacker said donations continue to come in _ including one from a Methodist woman who wrote a check for $10,000.
Of the $8.3 million in the NCC’s Burned Churches Fund, about $2.7 million has been received in cash. In addition, there are pledges from churches and foundations, gifts from individuals and in-kind gifts _ including lumber supplies from International Paper and modular office units from a subsidiary of General Electric.
Interest earned from the donations that have been deposited in a New York bank will be used, along with some other gifts, to address the causes of racism, said Pennybacker.”If we don’t attack that, then we’re simply rebuilding church buildings that are vulnerable all over again to the same racist violence,”he said.
The rest of the contributions will be used for rebuilding.”We are clearly committed to making sure monies given for reconstruction and restoration are used for that purpose,”Pennybacker said, adding that specific rebuilding decisions, such as which contractors should be used, will be made by the individual churches.”We want to be very respectful of the right of these congregations to make decisions and to guide the restoration process,”Pennybacker said.
He added that the NCC hopes to help churches with little or no insurance rebuild in ways that qualify them for full insurance coverage. Some churches in remote settings have been denied fire insurance because of insufficient access to a water supply.”We’ve determined that part of restoration of a building like that … may mean we’ve got to dig a well or run a water line,”he said.
The Christian Coalition is encouraging the 100,000 churches on its mailing list to hold”Racial Reconciliation Sundays”on July 28. Some churches already marked the occasion on July 14.”The reports that we’re getting is that things have been going absolutely tremendously,”said the Rev. Earl Jackson, the Coalition’s national liaison for urban development.”I’ve been getting calls from all over the country … of people telling us what they’ve been doing.” Black and white congregations are holding joint services and Christians of different races are working together on other fund-raising efforts, he said.
Coalition officials hope to raise from $500,000 to $1 million.
On Wednesday (July 24), the American Jewish Congress is sponsoring evening services across the country to mark the Jewish holiday of Tisha B’Av and highlight the need to assist the black churches that have been victims of arson.
Tisha B’Av commemorates the destruction of two ancient temples in Jerusalem and other Jewish tragedies over the centuries.”As the burning of African-American churches in the South continues, there is a particularly deep resonance within the Jewish community,”said David V. Kahn, AJC president.”We have suffered wanton destruction of our houses of worship throughout our history. … The message of Tisha B’av inexorably leads us to assist the victims of the hateful church burnings in the South.”
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