wfn.org | Hundreds of Students to Help Rebuild Burned Churches

[PCUSA.NEWS@pcusa.org]

12-March-1997 
97118 
 
           Hundreds of Students to Help Rebuild Burned 
Churches During Their Spring Breaks in Ncc-sponsored Program 
 
                        by Wendy McDowell 
                   National Council of Churches 
 
NEW YORK--While many college students will be celebrating their spring 
breaks basking on Southeast beaches, nearly 500 students will be taking up 
hammers and saws in a National Council of Churches (NCC)-sponsored program 
to help rebuild four Southeast churches destroyed by hate. 
 
     The NCC is working with Habitat for Humanity and Christmas in 
April*USA to organize "Spring Rebuild!" The first team went out February 
15; most will be deployed in March and April. 
 
     The program will bring more than 25 groups of high school and college 
students to work at camps at four sites (two in Florida, one in Virginia 
and one in Tennessee) for a week at a time. The students, who come from 
many backgrounds, races and religions, will live and work in community and 
explore some of the issues surrounding the burning of the churches. 
 
     "This is an opportunity to help for people who have been touched by 
the pain of those who lost their churches to arson," said Sarajane Johnson, 
director of Work Camps for Christmas in April*USA, a  nonprofit 
organization based in Washington, D.C., that specializes in renovating and 
building low-income housing. Johnson said the work camps also provide an 
opportunity to build community, both among the work campers and with the 
congregations. "We hope this program will help congregations heal," she 
said. 
 
     Johnson said response to the program has been overwhelming. "More than 
60 groups of high school and college students from around the country have 
inquired about "Spring Rebuild!" and more organizations call every day," 
she said. "So many people in this country want to give and to help." So 
far, more than 26 groups of 15 people each have been scheduled for work 
camps, but Johnson expects at least a few more groups to sign up for the 
spring program. 
 
     She explained that the Christmas in April*USA work camp model provides 
structure and activities that help to foster togetherness. "It is amazing 
how strong a community can be built in that amount of time with people 
living and working together on a common goal," Johnson said. Additionally, 
volunteers have meals together and with the congregation and are encouraged 
to attend worship services. 
 
     The sites were chosen because the "pastors and congregations have 
expressed a willingness to have students come. The congregations actually 
see it as a broadening of their ministry," said Sara Coppler, coordinator 
of the Church Rebuilding Project in Murfreesboro, Tenn., which provides 
volunteers to all sites where churches are being rebuilt with NCC funds. 
Added Johnson, "The congregations are so warm and so welcoming and go out 
of their way to make the volunteers feel like family." 
 
     The sites are 
 
        Faith Christian Community Center, Tallahassee, Fla., burned May 7, 
1995, immediately after a major interior renovation had been completed. 
This strong congregation is active in the Tallahassee African-American 
community. Programs include computer training, day care and after-school 
care, and a vibrant music program. Because the land on which the original 
church stood is not appropriate for rebuilding, the congregation is 
purchasing an existing church in the same neighborhood.  Volunteers will 
rehabilitate that building. 
 
       Salem AME Church, Greensboro, Fla., burned June 3, 1995. The fire 
has been ruled suspicious. The congregation is mainly older members whose 
families have belonged to the church for generations. They are well 
organized and have worked hard to get the burned-out remains removed and 
the site cleared for rebuilding. The church has a complete set of plans and 
is ready to proceed as soon as a contractor is identified. Volunteers will 
help rebuild this church from scratch. 
 
        Greater Mt. Zion Tabernacle Church of God in Christ, Portsmouth, 
Va. The 102-year-old wooden church burned in June 1995. The fire was ruled 
arson. The minister, Elder Charlie Hicks, stepped out on his own faith and 
with very little money had the foundation poured, rough-in plumbing 
completed and electrical power brought to the site so he could keep his 
congregation together. The church is expanding the size of its sanctuary to 
seat approximately 250. Both the on-site coordinator and general contractor 
are members of the church. 
 
       God's Chapel, Athens, Tenn. This Pentecostal church was burned on 
June 27, 1996, and investigations have revealed racial motivation behind 
the arson. This small congregation of 60 is racially mixed, although 
predominantly white. The new log structure is being built on a beautiful 
site in the mountains. 
 
 
     Coppler said that although the "Spring Rebuild!" program focuses 
exclusively on students, she has placed volunteers of all ages on sites. 
Late spring and early summer work camps may even specifically encourage 
intergenerational contact. 
 
     Coppler said a large number of burned churches are rebuilding this 
spring. "By summer, we should have an enormous sense of completion," she 
said. Both Koppler and Johnson said they are still looking for volunteers 
who can work in the late spring and into the summer. 

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