wfn.org | Arkansas Burned Church Rebuilt in 10 Days

[CAROL_FOUKE.parti@ecunet.org]

National Council of the Churches of Christ in the 
U.S.A.
Contact: Carol J. Fouke, NCC, 212-870-2252
Internet: carol_fouke.parti@ecunet.org

A CHURCH IN ARKANSAS IS REBUILT IN TEN DAYS!
By Herb Boyd

Chelford, Ark., March 26 ---- "It was a miracle." 
 These words were repeated over and over again last 
week in this small town some 45 miles northwest of 
Memphis, Tenn.  In less than 10 days, an army of 
volunteers had arrived and rebuilt St. Mark's 
Missionary Baptist Church, which was destroyed by fire 
in November, 1995. 
 
"Nothing short of a miracle and the Lord's will 
made this possible," said Lee Etta Murray, who has been 
a member of the nearly century old church since the 
1920's.  "And we are blessed to have so many people 
come and help us in our hour of need."

It was propitious, too, that the volunteers -- 337 
of them from 19 states, who worked around the clock -- 
completed the task in the midst of Holy Week.  The 
hammers, hearts and hands had done their jobs, now it 
was time for celebration.

And the celebration began two days before Good 
Friday on a spirited beat as the choir in fresh blue 
robes came down the aisle of the new church clapping 
and singing "Give Me That Old Time Religion."  More 
than 200 pairs of hands in the crowded little church 
joined in, intensifying the rhythm. 

When the Rev. Buster Banks commanded, "Let the 
church say `Amen,'" the dedication ceremony for St. 
Mark's had officially begun.

A parade of speakers graced the pulpit, and each 
of them talked about the miracle.

"The church was burned in hatred, but it has been 
rebuilt with love," said the Rev. Dr. Joan Brown 
Campbell, General Secretary of the National Council of 
Churches.  She then took a moment to remember a 
colleague, the Rev. Dr. Mac Charles Jones, who died 
March 6.  Rev. Jones was the heart and soul of the 
Burned Churches Project, which provided much of the 
money for the rebuilding of St. Mark's.

"If he were here, he would rejoice with you," Rev. 
Campbell continued.  "May we find the leadership he so 
ably represented."

"This has truly been a labor of love," said the 
Rev. Waldo Campbell, pastor of the church. "Our enemies 
said it couldn't be done, but we did it.  The Lord may 
not come when you want 
Him, but whenever He arrives, He's right on time."

It was God's will, said the Rev. Jayna Powell, 
director of the Volunteers in Mission for the Christian 
Church (Disciples of Christ).  She had envisioned this 
 "blitz-build" project and it had succeeded beyond her 
expectations.  "Without the hundreds of volunteers who 
gave unstintingly of their time, energy and faith, this 
could have never been accomplished."

Among the volunteers was Claudia Ball, a nurse 
from Baltimore, Md.  She told the church that her 
husband had died a year ago and she was trying to find 
meaning in life without him.  Seeking ways not to dwell 
on his absence, she followed Rev. Powell's 
recommendation and volunteered for the rebuilding 
effort.  "I came to build a church," she said, fighting 
back the tears, "but it has done a lot for me.  It has 
given me back my life."

And the lives of many citizens of Chelford and 
church members of St. Mark's have been 
renewed by the resurrection of the church.  "What 
burned was a building, the church resides in the spirit 
of the people," Ed Dotson, the church's project 
supervisor, said earlier.  "And that spirit cannot be 
destroyed."

Along with the (Christian Church) Disciples of 
Christ, Hosanna Industries, a Presbyterian-related 
charitable group from Bakerstown, Pa,. and 
International Paper, which donated all of the wood 
products, were indispensable in the rebuilding of St. 
Mark's.

"We have assisted in the rebuilding of many 
churches and we still have quite a few on our list," 
said the Rev. Campbell of the NCC, "and we will not 
stop until our work is done."

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