wfn.org | NCCCUSA Matches $500,000 for Burned Churches

[CAROL_FOUKE.parti@ecunet.org (CAROL FOUKE)]

NCCCUSA Matches $500,000 Leona Helmsley Grant for Burned Churches 
National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.
Internet: wendym@ncccusa.org

Contact: Wendy S. McDowell, NCC, 212-870-2227

NCC1/16/97   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NCCCUSA MATCHES LEONA HELMSLEY'S PROMISED
$500,000 GRANT FOR BURNED CHURCHES

 NEW YORK, Jan. 16 ---- The National Council of Churches 
has raised the $500,000 needed to receive the promised 
$500,000 matching gift from Leona Helmsley, prominent New 
York real estate owner and philanthropist.

 The Rev. Dr. Joan Brown Campbell, NCC General 
Secretary, and Luther Gatling, president of One Hundred 
Black Men, who represented Leona Helmsley, deposited a check 
for $1 million at the Carver Federal Savings Bank in Harlem 
on Jan. 15 - Martin Luther King Jr.'s actual birthday.

On May 28, 1997, Mrs. Leona M. Helmsley presented a 
check for $1 million to the NCC for its Burned Churches Fund 
and promised an additional matching grant of $500,000.  Her 
contribution, now totaling $1.5 million, is the largest the 
Fund has received from any individual donor since it was 
established in May 1996.

At Carver Federal on the 15th, NCC leaders and Mr. 
Gatling met with the bank's president and board members. 
After offering a meditation on Dr. King, Dr. Campbell 
reported on the progress and continued needs in the NCC-
initiated Church Rebuilding Project.  "The church burnings 
are symptomatic of the sickness in our country," she said, 
"exemplifying both the racial prejudice and the lack of 
economic opportunity.  A society should worry greatly if its 
churches are being burned."  And unfortunately, she 
stressed, "our churches continue to be burned."

 Between June 1996 and December 1997, 233 burned 
churches in 18 states have come to the attention of the NCC.  
Most are African American and a majority, but not all, are 
in the Southeast.  Of these, the NCC has helped over 100 
congregations in some way, either with grants, in-kind 
(material) donations, volunteers or technical assistance.

Yet 130 churches remain on the NCC's list, Dr. Campbell 
reported, and the NCC estimates it would need $19 million to 
completely rebuild those churches.  "We have to keep telling 
the story because many more churches need help," she said.  
"More burned churches keep coming to our attention, 
including five burned in Maryland in recent months."

"Churches are still meeting in temporary worship 
spaces," Dr. Campbell said.  "I heard a story of one pastor 
who is counseling people in her car because she has no place 
else to do it."

"This $1 million will help us deal with our new list of 
churches," Dr. Campbell said.  Dr. Campbell thanked Mrs. 
Helmsley for her $500,000 portion, of which 25 percent will 
go toward the racial justice and reconciliation part of the 
program to take aim "at the root of the problem."

The NCC's $500,000 came both from individuals across 
the country, whose initial contributions to the appeal total 
$25,100.25, and from 10 of the NCC's member communions, 
including major amounts from The Presbyterian Church 
(U.S.A.), The Episcopal Church and American Baptist Churches 
in the U.S.A.  Other supporting member communions were: 
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ); Progressive National 
Baptist Convention; Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; 
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America; Moravian Church in 
America; United Church of Christ, and The United Methodist 
Church.

Church Burnings Reveal Lack of Opportunities

 Board members asked Dr. Campbell about law enforcement 
issues.  "There are people in jail for some of the 
burnings," she reported, "although the sad story is that 
often, these crimes are committed by young people who are 
intentionally used by hate groups.  Most are very poor.  The 
church burnings exemplify the lack of opportunity for the 
poor, both blacks and whites."

"Putting this money at Carver goes beyond building 
burned churches to rebuilding communities," said Thomas 
Clark Jr., President and CEO of Carver Federal Savings Bank.  
"We have prided ourselves in being the urban community 
development bank, and have 49 years of continuous operation 
in this community."

"This institution was started by church people who were 
visionaries," Mr. Clark said.  "We continue to think of 
ourselves as an institution of believers. . . .  We believe 
in the `O' word - opportunities.  Burning churches is really 
a sickness that goes at the heart of our beliefs."

NCC Continues to Rebuild Churches and Communities

The NCC-initiated Burned Churches Fund is supported by 
a broad ecumenical and interfaith community that includes 
Christian, Jewish and Muslim bodies.

With the $1 million deposited Jan. 15, cash 
contributions to the Fund now total about $8.45 million.  In 
addition, $2.65 million has been received in in-kind 
donations (wood products, modular units and other 
materials).

Of those churches the NCC has helped to rebuild, 44 
have been completed and 54 are currently under construction.  
The Church Rebuilding Project Team has also coordinated the 
participation of over 8,000 volunteers who contributed labor 
valued at $960,000 to date, and volunteers continue to be 
placed.

The NCC has forged several partnerships to carry out 
the "Racial Justice and Reconciliation" program, working 
with: the Kentucky Council of Churches on a program to 
monitor hate groups in Kentucky; a Kansas City training in 
"Reframing the Dialogue on Racism" for pastors of 
predominantly white congregations; and a national effort by 
the Center for Constitutional Rights to monitor cases of 
police brutality in communities of color.  There is also a 
Racial Justice and Reconciliation Website designed to 
encourage dialogue: racism.tbwt.com.

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