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NCC Approves $555,700 More in Burned Churches Fund Rebuilding Grants
From
PCUSA.NEWS@ecunet.org
Date
08 Nov 1996 12:49:22
22-October-1996
96421 NCC Approves $555,700 More in Burned
Churches Fund Rebuilding Grants
by Carol J. Fouke
NEW YORK--A predominantly white church with a ministry to Mexican
immigrants who work in meat packing plants in Ottumwa, Iowa, was one of 12
burned churches to be approved a total of $555,700 in rebuilding grants
here Oct. 17 by the Burned Churches Fund Grants Committee.
The fund, established by the National Council of Churches (NCC), is
supported by a broad ecumenical and interfaith community. These latest
grants bring to more than $2.3 million the total allocated from the fund to
date for restoration of 33 churches, most of them African American.
Hickory Grove Community Church in Ottumwa, Iowa, destroyed by arson
Sept. 2, 1996, will receive up to $10,000 to be used in the planning stages
of reconstruction. It also will receive a modular building from GE Capital
for temporary use.
The Burned Churches Fund Grants Committee, meeting at the Interchurch
Center in New York City, also approved rebuilding grants for two Richmond,
Va., churches represented at the meeting. The Rev. Wilson E. Shannon,
pastor of First Baptist Church, and Elder Duane Bell from the Glorious
Church of God in Christ, invited by the committee, each accepted a $50,000
check for their congregations' rebuilding efforts.
Shannon reported that his 800-member congregation is the largest black
church in a predominantly white county. The church's building had been
vandalized prior to the April 16 fire, and marked with KKK signs and
pentagram graffiti. Three white people were arrested for arson and are
awaiting trial.
Ten other churches were approved for rebuilding grants from the Burned
Churches Fund: Greater Gospel Temple Church of God in Christ in Dallas;
Liberty Baptist Church in Collins, Miss.; Beacon Baptist Church in Yazoo,
Miss.; St. Mark's Missionary Baptist Church in Tyronza, Ark.; Willis Temple
Church of God in Christ in Forrest City, Ark.; Greater New Zion Missionary
Baptist Church in Phoenix; St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church in
Maysville, N.C.; St. John Baptist Church in Dixianna, S.C.; St. Stephens
Baptist Church in St. Stephens, S.C.; and Summer Grove Missionary Baptist
Church in Williston, S.C.
The awards approved Oct. 17 ranged from $10,000 to $100,000. All
amounts are specified as "up to" the designated amount because the actual
cash needed could be less than currently estimated or could be reduced by
use of in-kind goods and donated labor. Any church needing more than the
designated amount will be encouraged to submit a further proposal.
In most cases, grants are disbursed in installments in close
consultation with the respective congregations as they proceed through the
various stages of rebuilding.
At the meeting, the committee also received an updated report on
Burned Churches Fund income and expenditures.
As of Oct. 16, $4,696,679 in cash had been received from foundations,
church bodies, congregations and individuals, with an additional $1,412,500
anticipated from foundations and churches. In-kind contributions totaled
$3,400,394, including wood products from International Paper, modular
building units from GE Capital and a $2 million preconstruction loan fund
from the Enterprise Foundation.
Of the $8,097,073 in resources in hand, just under $7 million is
budgeted for rebuilding and $1.1 million for anti-racism programs and
program administration.
------------
For more information contact Presbyterian News Service
phone 502-569-5504 fax 502-569-8073
E-mail PCUSA.NEWS@pcusa.org Web page: http://www.pcusa.org
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