wfn.org | Facts about NCCCUSA, Burned Churches Project

[CAROL_FOUKE.parti@ecunet.org]

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

NCC6/97

FACTSHEET: NCCCUSA AND BURNED CHURCHES

  The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the
U.S.A. (usually referred to as the NATIONAL COUNCIL OF
CHURCHES - NCC), with headquarters in New York City, is
the nation's leading ecumenical organization.  Its 33
Protestant and Orthodox member denominations, with a
combined membership of 52 million, join forces in a wide
range of national and international ministries.  The
NCC's 1997 consolidated budget is $55 million.

  The dramatic and persistent increase in church arsons
since 1994 is documented by the Atlanta-based Center for
Democratic Renewal, which has been studying white
supremacy and hate crimes since 1979.  The CDR's hate
crimes list includes 228 bombings, burnings and attempted
arsons of houses of worship - most but not all of them
African American churches - that took place between
January 1990 and May 31, 1997.  Twenty of those attacks
occurred in 1997; 115 in 1996; 42 in 1995; 20 in 1994;
six in 1993; nine in 1992; six in 1991; 10 in 1990.
Possible racial motivation is being/has been
investigated.

  The church burnings epidemic came to the NCC's attention
in January 1996.  An NCC task force visited the Inner
City Church, Knoxville, Tenn. (burned Jan. 8, 1997), on
March 5-6, 1996, and immediately called on federal law
enforcement officials to investigate aggressively that
and other firebombings of churches.  Council teams
visited several dozen more burned churches during the
spring, and on June 9-10, 1996, brought pastors from 38
of the churches to Washington, D.C., to call the epidemic
to national attention.  They met with President Clinton
and the Treasury and Justice Department Secretaries, who
pledged to help.

  The NCC established THE BURNED CHURCHES FUND in May 1996
to support restoration of houses of worship burned for
reasons of hate and to challenge the racism that fuels
such acts of hatred.  Several other leading organizations
quickly joined the NCC and its member denominations in
support of the Fund, including the American Jewish
Committee, Congress of National Black Churches, Islamic
Circle of North America, National Conference of Catholic
Bishops, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism,
Standing Conference of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops in
the Americas and the Unitarian Universalist Association.

  A blue-ribbon BURNED CHURCHES FUND GRANTS COMMITTEE votes
grants for restoration of churches.  Chaired by United
Methodist Bishop Melvin Talbert, NCC President, and the
Rev. Dr. Joan B. Campbell, NCC General Secretary, it
includes prominent civil rights leaders Ambassador Andrew
Young and Vernon E. Jordan, Esq., along with Protestant,
Jewish, Unitarian and Roman Catholic church leaders.

  Following is a brief FINANCIAL OVERVIEW OF THE BURNED
CHURCHES PROJECT TO DATE:

INCOME

"PHASE I" (FIRST YEAR) CASH INCOME: $7.5 million
"PHASE II" CASH INCOME TO DATE:     $1.0 million

                        CASH TOTAL  $8.5 million

ADDITIONAL CASH PLEDGES FOR "PHASE II" $0.7 million

VALUE OF IN-KIND (MATERIAL) DONATIONS $2.6 million
VALUE OF CONTRIBUTED LABOR TO DATE    $0.78 million

NOTES:  "Phase I" income includes $3.2 million donated
to the Burned Churches Fund by more than 25
philanthropic organizations, through the leadership of
the Ford Foundation.  An early major gift toward that
total was $1 million from the Andreas Foundation.

Prominent New York City real estate owner and
philanthropist Leona Helmsley on May 28 gave the
National Council of Churches $1 million for the Burned
Churches Fund for "Phase II" project work (reflected
above as "'Phase II' Cash Income to Date'").  Mrs.
Helmsley has promised an additional $500,000 matching
grant (reflected above under "Additional Cash Pledges
for 'Phase II,'" which includes $200,000 more promised
from other sources).

"In-Kind (Material) Donations" includes wood products,
modular units, pews, Bibles, hymnbooks and other
articles.

EXPENDITURES AND CARRYOVER

The Burned Churches Project worked with a "universe" of
124 burned churches in "Phase I."  The GRANTS COMMITTEE
voted nearly $4.7 million in cash grants to 90 burned
churches in "Phase I."  In addition, churches have
received nearly $1.5 million in donated materials, and
7,800 volunteers have contributed labor valued at
$780,000.  Other volunteers and donated materials are
being deployed as more churches break ground this
spring and summer.

22 churches on the NCC's "Phase I" list of 124 churches
either had adequate resources for rebuilding from other
sources or did not qualify for an NCC grant.  Two
churches on the list declined the NCC's assistance, and
10 were moved into Phase II.

Other first-year expenditures included $1.5 million for
administrative leadership and work for racial justice
and reconciliation and $800,000 for technical services
to burned churches and travel support for their
pastors.  The balance is being carried over for "Phase
II."

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