wfn.org | Louisiana congregation is undaunted after arson fire

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Note #6315 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

20-December-2000
00460

Louisiana congregation is undaunted after arson fire

"At the end of the day, we'll come out of this fairly whole," elder predicts

by Alexa Smith

LOUISVILLE -- Fire investigators have concluded that someone set the blaze
that recently destroyed John Calvin Presbyterian Church in Metarie, LA, but
they don't know why.

	The Nov. 21 fire is estimated to have caused more than $500,000 in damage.
The sanctuary was destroyed, as were four classrooms, the church office, the
kitchen and the office of the director of Christian Education.

	The pipe organ melted, and 10 stained-glass windows are considered a total
loss, including one that was shattered when firefighters broke into the
sanctuary to determine whether anyone was in the burning building.

	The church's fire alarm sounded at 4:38 p.m., just after the church
secretary locked up and went home.

	"And we don't have a clue," said Elder David Garland, Calvin's longtime
building committee chair. "We're sure it is not totally random. There were
no other fires set in area churches. ... There were no threats, either. It
has been an absolute shock. ...

	"Why would somebody come in and do that to us?"

	Metarie investigators have handed the case over to the federal Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms agency, headquartered in nearby New Orleans. The ATF
will say only that the fire was the work of an arsonist and that traces of
liquid accelerants were found in the rubble where the narthex used to be.

	Investigators said they are working on a number of leads.

	The blaze, which came just before Thanksgiving, left the John Calvin
congregation without a home. For Christmas Eve, the church's 200-plus member
families will worship in the newly completed fellowship hall. The pastor's
desk will serve as a communion table. The church has leased portable
buildings for classrooms and offices. Nearby Presbyterian churches have
donated hymn books. And local clergy from a variety of denominations have
blessed the congregation's Advent effort to start all over again -- with a
community prayer service.

	The Rev. Syngman Rhee, moderator of the 212th General Assembly, has added
the John Calvin parish to his ever-expanded travel schedule.

	Rhee said of the displaced congregation: "They are determined to rebuild
their sanctuary. They're committed. They're highly motivated to move on,
with the help of their community. They understand arson was involved.
They're willing to move on and rebuild. ...

	"That's a wonderful spirit," concluded Rhee, who will preach to the Calvin
congregation on Christmas Eve morning.

	Rhee said he heard about the fire over the Internet, when a friend of the
parish sent him an email. He said he is touched by the parish's efforts to
heal from an unanticipated hurt.

	"There's a lot of suffering, a lot of unexpected things that we all face,"
Rhee said philosophically. "But in spite of that, there is Emmanuel. In
spite of what happens, God is with us. And the angels are saying, ‘Fear
not.'"

	The moderator said he grows melancholy at Christmastime because the season
reminds him of the time a half-century ago when he fled North Korea, leaving
his mother and sisters behind for what he thought was a brief absence.

	The burned church's clerk of session, Beth Weiss, said the congregation has
experienced grace in the midst of its ordeal. Members were stunned that a
cross that hung in the  front of the sanctuary stayed intact.

	"That cross -- hung by three wires -- didn't fall. It is scorched. It is
covered with soot. But it still stood," Weiss said. "To me, that was
poignant. They can burn our church. They can burn our sanctuary. But they
can't destroy our cross."

	The Calvin church was already in transition before the fire. Its founding
pastor, the Rev. Robert Malsbary, retired in September after 30 years of
service. So members felt that they had lost not only their minister, but
their church.

	"But this is seemed to bring out the best in people," said Weiss. "In the
long-run, I believe it will be a blessing. It has united us in a way that we
may not have been otherwise."

	After a moment Weiss added, "Blessing is probably too strong a word, but it
is a growth opportunity -- a new beginning for the congregation."

	Garland said a fund drive is under way to replace the sanctuary was already
begun before the blaze; so far, it has received pledges totaling about
$600,000. And the church was insured against fire. "At the end of the day,"
he said, "we'll come out of this fairly whole."

	Financially and otherwise.

	"What we'd thought were real problems have become so small, compared to the
work we have to do," Garland said optimistically.

	Recalling prior session debates, he added: "We're all together. There's no
difference of opinion on this one."

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