wfn.org | Burned Churches Fund grants committee approves first

[DISCNEWS.parti@ecunet.org]

$900,000 for affected churches
July 25, 1996
Disciples News Service
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Contact: Clifford L. Willis
Cliff_Willis.parti@ecunet.org
     
96b-63  

        NEW YORK (NCC) -- Nine burned African American
churches will begin or complete restoration thanks to
assistance from the Burned Churches Fund of the National
Council of Churches.

     The first round of allocations, totaling $916,000, was
announced July 23 by the BCF grants committee, co-chaired by
NCC President Melvin Talbert, a United Methodist bishop from
Sacramento, Calif., and General Secretary Joan Brown
Campbell. 

     All amounts are the maximum grants authorized by the
grants committee.  Donated materials and labor could reduce
the amount of cash needed, and actual cash needs could be
less than currently estimated.  Any church needing more than
the designated amount will be encouraged to submit a further
proposal.

     The Burned Churches Fund is part of a broader NCC-led
effort to investigate and stop hate-
motivated attacks on places of worship and help with
rebuilding, bring the perpetrators to justice, and address
the wider issues of racism that underlie the attacks.

     Congregations now able to begin rebuilding are:  Butler
Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Orangeburg, S.C.,
granted $200,000; New Hope Baptist Church, Seattle, Wash.,
$200,000; Gays Hill Baptist Church, Millen, Ga., $110,000,
and St. Paul's Primitive Baptist Church, Lauderdale, Miss.,
$90,000.

     Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church, Fruitvale, Tenn.,
and Mount Zion Baptist Church, Boligee, Ala., each received
grants of $100,000 to continue their work. 

     Completing their rebuilding projects are: Mt. Zoar
Baptist Church, Boligee, Ala., $40,000 (to replace interior
furnishings); Canaan African Methodist Episcopal Church,
Columbia, Tenn., $5,000 (for lower level finishing and trim
work); and Mt. Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church,
Greeleyville, S.C., $6,000 (for site backfill and
landscaping). 

     The South Carolina congregation also received  $65,000
to retire a portion of the indebtedness for reconstruction
costs. This sum includes a $20,000 advance that the NCC
general secretary presented to the church on June 12 during
President Clinton's visit there.

     The grants committee also approved up to $100,000 for
site visits to assess congregations' rebuilding needs and
help with initial reconstruction advice and planning.

     The committee includes as members two United Church of
Christ ministers, the Rev. Andrew Young, Atlanta, Ga., and
the Rev. Bernice Powell Jackson, Cleveland, Ohio. Young is
co-chair of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games, and
Jackson is executive director of the UCC Commission for
Racial Justice. 

                          - 30 -

DISCNEWS - inbox for Disciples News Service, Office of Communication,
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), PO Box 1986 Indianapolis, IN 46206,
tele. (317) 635-3100, (DISCNEWS.part@ecunet.org) Wilma Shuffitt, News and
Information Assistant; (CLIFF WILLIS.part@ecunet.org) Cliff Willis, Director
of News and Information; (CURT MILLER.part@ecunet.org) Executive Director