wfn.org | CHURCHES RALLY WITH SUPPORT FOR BURNED SANCTUARIES

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TITLE:CHURCHES RALLY WITH SUPPORT FOR BUR
June 26, 1996
Episcopal News Service
James Solheim, Director
(212) 922-5385
ens@ecunet.org

96-1498
CHURCHES RALLY WITH SUPPORT FOR BURNED SANCTUARIES

BY NAN COBBEY
           (ENS) As news of an ongoing and ugly pattern of fire attacks on
black churches has grabbed national attention, the long-
percolating efforts of churches to offer assistance have erupted into a full
boil.
           Perhaps most dramatic of the responses is a major appeal launched
by the National Council of Churches (NCC) establishing a
Burned Churches Fund to repair and rebuild uninsured churches, to raise public
awareness about the crimes and to start legal action against
hate groups.         
           On June 20, seven foundations--the Annenberg, Ford, Kellogg,
MacArthur, C.S. Mott, Rockefeller, and Pew Charitable--
announced the donation of a total of $1.7 million in grants to the fund, while
an eighth, the Andreas Foundation, announced its earlier grant
of $1 million.
           "With these contributions to the Burned Churches Fund, we respond
to the spirit and resolve of the pastors and their
congregations to stand against racial and religious intolerance," the seven
foundations' presidents said in a written statement. "The pastors
and the communities will rebuild the churches with the support we and others
can help generate. The greater challenge is to combat the
hatred and bigotry that produce this kind of lawlessness."
           A ninth foundation, Enterprise, the largest supplier of federal
low-income tax credits, also announced that it will offer $2 million
in pre-construction loans, along with technical assistance in construction
oversight and financial planning.
           The Rev. Dr. Joan Brown Campbell, NCC general secretary, said that
as of June 20, NCC member denominations had pledged
more than $500,000 toward the fund. "Never before in my history of almost 35
years serving in the ecumenical movement have such a
diverse group of foundations, social agencies and faith groups come together
around a common goal," she said. 
           Of the fund's initial budget of $4 million, $3,725,000 will support
reconstruction. The remaining $275,000 will be used to focus
on the underlying racism that drives the burnings through advocacy with the
government, deployment of crisis teams, and public education
about racism.

PRESIDING BISHOP'S FUND LAUNCHES APPEAL
           In early June, the board of the Presiding Bishop's Fund for World
Relief also issued a $100,000 appeal to restore "congregational
life to the affected communities." The board's resolution expressed its
"outrage and pain over these acts of violence, and condemned "the
actions of the perpetrators and the cultures that support them." 
           The resolution urged the bishops of the Episcopal Church to
initiate actions that result in "prayer for healing from the insidious
disease of racism," as well as "financial, human and spiritual support for the
specific churches affected by the violence." The board called
for "effective programs that will demonstrate the Episcopal Church's Christian
solidarity with the affected churches through education,
affirmative community action, and full participation of its members in God's
church as called in the Gospel." 
           Executive Council, meeting in Charleston, West Virginia, approved a
resolution calling on local parishes and dioceses to take
whatever steps are possible to help reconstruct the burned churches and combat
racism.
           In Tennessee, one southern state where 11 arsons have been
reported, Bishop Robert Tharp of the Diocese of East Tennessee
started contacting bishops in the South to discuss how they could all become
more proactive and help in raising money for the churches.
Tharp said that it was important that dioceses do more than give money, and
urged building relationships with the affected congregations so
that efforts to rebuild churches also help build up communities.

CONNECTING DESPITE DISTANCE
           The diocesan convention of New York meeting June 22 voted to
channel funds from local parishes through the Presiding
Bishop's Fund to support the reconstruction of the Rising Star Baptist Church
in Greensboro, Alabama. With the help of the New York
money, St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Greensboro will be working with the
Rising Star congregation to rebuild the church and fight
racism.
           "Our churches in the diocese wanted some way to help out, to
connect with an individual church," explained Bishop Richard F.
Grein of New York. "It doesn't matter that we're a thousand miles away. As
neighbors we bear witness to what is going on and say that we
will not tolerate it."
           Dozens of parishes and individuals have written to EPISCOPAL LIFE,
the national newspaper of the Episcopal Church,
requesting the list of the burned churches so they can offer help and prayer.
           A parish in Woodbridge, Va., plans a one-week work trip to help
rebuild two churches in Boligee, Alabama, St. Margaret's
parishioners will join the Washington Quaker Workcamps project that continues
through August 31. The Virginia Theological Seminary has
recommended the work camp to all the Episcopal seminaries in the United
States.
           "I expect that all of our lives will be changed and touched in ways
I can't even imagine," said the Rev. Sara Chandler, rector of
St. Margaret's.
           In Boston, black clergy have been raising money to send their youth
south to rebuild churches, and Roman Catholic Cardinal
Bernard Law asked parishes to take special collections for the churches. In
Indianapolis, the Consortium of Episcopal Endowed Parishes
added the issue to the agenda for its annual meeting at the end of June. The
conservative Christian Coalition has offered a $25,000 reward
for information leading to the apprehension of arsonists linked to the fires.
           On the federal level, Rep. Jim Lightfoot, R-Iowa, introduced
legislation to provide $12 million in additional resources to help
federal agents solve the rash of fires. "It takes a particularly sick mind to
burn a house of worship," said Lightfoot, chair of the
subcommittee in charge of ATF appropriations.

WAYS TO HELP
           þ Donate to the Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief by marking
checks for "Burned churches." Send to the Domestic &
Foreign Missionary Society, Box 12043--PBFWR, Newark, New Jersey 07101. All
designated donations go directly to the field.
           þ Contribute to the Burned Churches Fund by mailing checks to:
Burned Churches Fund, c/o National Council of Churches, 475
Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10115. For credit card gifts, call
1-800-762-0968.
           þ Join the many congregations that are praying for those churches
that have been burned, reciting the names as a litany. A list
will be printed in the July issue of Episcopal Life.
           þ Sign up for a week, a weekend or a month at the Washington Quaker
Workcamps project by calling 202-722-1461.

--NAN COBBEY IS FEATURES EDITOR OF EPISCOPAL LIFE, THE NATIONAL NEWSPAPER OF
THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
JACK DONOVAN CONTRIBUTED TO THIS ARTICLE.