A Year Later, Burned Alabama Churches Rise From the Ashes

c. 2007 Religion News Service BIRMINGHAM, Ala. _ It has been nearly a year since nine Alabama churches were set on fire by three Birmingham college students, but a lot of rebuilding remains to be done. By late 2007, those nine churches expect to be restored or have larger, more modern facilities. “It’s been a […]

c. 2007 Religion News Service

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. _ It has been nearly a year since nine Alabama churches were set on fire by three Birmingham college students, but a lot of rebuilding remains to be done.

By late 2007, those nine churches expect to be restored or have larger, more modern facilities.


“It’s been a great struggle and there is a lot still to do,” said the Rev. Robert Murphy, pastor of Pleasant Sabine Baptist Church in Bibb County.

Of the three churches in Bibb County that were burned to the ground Feb. 3, 2006, Pleasant Sabine was the first to rebuild, but has experienced unexpected delays recently on interior work. The congregation now hopes to move in by spring.

Two other churches, Rehobeth Baptist and Ashby Baptist, are still planning their structures. A few miles away from Pleasant Sabine, land has been cleared and a sign posted, “Future Home of Ashby Baptist Church,” but construction hasn’t begun there yet.

(Two other churches in Bibb County, Old Union Baptist and Antioch Baptist, sustained minor damage and were able to resume worship in their facilities.)

Four churches that were set ablaze four days later, on Feb. 7, 2006, in three neighboring counties have made progress. Morning Star Missionary Baptist in Boligee, Dancy Baptist in Aliceville and Galilee Baptist in Panola were destroyed. Spring Valley Baptist in Gainesville was damaged but has been repaired.

Galilee had a groundbreaking in November and has begun construction. Dancy Baptist recently repaired its gutted interior. Morning Star recently broke ground and plans to move in by summer.

Morning Star Baptist had no insurance, no money and didn’t own the property the church had stood on for 94 years. But three anonymous donors are leading efforts to rebuild the church and have persuaded an architect, contractor and others to donate their time and materials. They are trying to raise an additional $200,000 to finish the church.


Indeed, much of the rebuilding for the churches has been paid for with donations.

“A lot of people have come together on this,” said Lane Estes, executive assistant to Birmingham-Southern College President David Pollick. “It was a heart-rending story.”

The arsonists _ Matthew Cloyd, Russell Debusk and Ben Moseley _ pleaded guilty and face seven to eight years in federal prison. The three met as students at Birmingham-Southern; Cloyd had transferred and was a student at nearby University of Alabama at Birmingham at the time of the fires.

It has been a harsh lesson for them and other students, Estes said.

“Students are probably more aware that their actions have consequences,” Estes said. “That’s a sobering aspect of the whole thing.”

The victimized churches have sympathy for the arsonists, said Murphy, of Pleasant Sabine Baptist.

“They made a big mistake in life,” Murphy said. “It’s hard for them to replace what they’ve lost and deal with what they’ve done for the rest of their lives. We wish that had never happened. Unfortunately, it did. They realize the mistake they made.”

Meanwhile, Birmingham-Southern has tried to set a redemptive example, Estes said. “There are things we can do to show that this is an anomaly for our students,” he said. “A lot of good has come out of the bad. The churches certainly have suffered greatly. Our attitude has been, `Let’s acknowledge it and see what we can do to help.”’

The school helped administer a coordinated fund to aid the churches. The six churches that were destroyed by fire received $53,000 each, a total of $318,000. The remaining $50,000 of the $368,000 raised was divided among four churches that had comparatively minor damage.


“Alumni, friends of the college, students and faculty have stepped forward to help,” Estes said.

The churches appreciate that people have helped turn a challenge into hope, Murphy said.

“We’ve done well with what we had to deal with,” he said. “We thank God for that. We can’t change that. All we can do is deal with the present.”

(Greg Garrison writes for The Birmingham News in Birmingham, Ala.)

KRE/PH END GARRISON

Editors: To obtain photos from Ashby Baptist Church and Pleasant Sabine Baptist Church, go to the RNS Web site at https://religionnews.com. On the lower right, click on “photos,” then search by subject or slug.

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