wfn.org | Burned Churches Pastors Tell Transformation, Trauma

[CAROL_FOUKE.parti@ecunet.org]

National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.
Contact: NCC News, 212-870-2252 or 2227
Internet: carol_fouke.parti@ecunet.org

NCC6/13/97   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TRANSFORMATION, TRAUMA: TWO SIDES OF BURNED CHURCHES' STORY

 WASHINGTON, D.C., June 10 ---- Stories both of
transformation and of ongoing trauma marked the June 8-10
meeting here of 80 pastors from burned and firebombed
churches, along with other religious and civic leaders,
convened by the National Council of Churches.

 Since the epidemic of hate-motivated attacks shot to
the top of the nation's agenda a year ago, countless
Americans have given money and time to the rebuilding effort
and have reached out across racial lines.  Improved
investigation of attacks and prosecution of perpetrators are
credited with deterring many would-be arsonists.

 But many communities remain badly divided by racism -
so much so that some pastors of burned churches said they
fear for their own safety.  And attacks on houses of worship
continue.  During the first five months of 1997, 20 African
American and multiracial churches are known to have suffered
arson, firebombing or attempted arson (compared with 45
during the same period last year).

 Participants in this week's "National Convocation of
Religious Leadership Addressing Racial Justice and Domestic
Tranquility" reviewed these and other developments of the
past year and planned ways to continue to rebuild churches
and communities in the months ahead.

A TIME TO CELEBRATE

 Opening worship at Shiloh Baptist Church was dedicated
to remembrance and appreciation of the late Rev. Dr. Mac
Charles Jones, who led the NCC's Burned Churches Project
until his sudden and untimely death March 6 at age 47.
Tributes to Dr. Jones were on the lips of nearly every
speaker from the convocation's start to its finish.  And his
appearances in a video - shown on big screens during the
gala "Partners in Achievement" banquet - evoked both cheers
and tears.

Convocation participants also celebrated the
achievements of the Burned Churches Project, which in its
first year forwarded some $7 million in cash grants,
material donations and volunteer labor to 90 burned
churches.  About 45 of those churches have finished
rebuilding and most of the others are under construction or
soon to break ground.

 "People came and helped us rebuild a church," said the
Rev. Willie Coleman of Rising Star Baptist Church in
Greensboro, Ala.  "And our community has been strengthened.
Some walls have come down."  Similarly, the Rev. Harry
Baldwin of Gay's Hill Baptist Church in Millen, Ga.,
rejoiced, "Love, hope, happiness and sawdust have come out
of the ashes."

 After the NCC and 38 of the pastors took their cry for
help to President Clinton and other federal officials last
June 9-10, the U.S. government mounted an aggressive
campaign to investigate fires at houses of worship, arrest
and prosecute those responsible, help heal communities and
rebuild churches, and prevent further arsons.

Established to coordinate the campaign was the
interagency National Church Arson Task Force, which released
its first-year progress report this weekend.  In 429
investigations into arsons, bombings or attempted bombings
at houses of worship since Jan. 1, 1995, 199 suspects have
been arrested and 110 convicted.

ONGOING TRAUMA, FEARS, TEARS

 Participants in this week's convocation cheered all
those achievements, but their meeting was marked by fears
and tears as well.  They described how the fires destroyed
not only houses of worship, but also such community
ministries as feeding programs, health screening and
clothing pantries.

Many pastors reported losing members after the fire,
for reasons ranging from discouragement to fear.  They asked
lending institutions to be more sensitive to the terror they
have experienced and to give them time to rebuild their
congregations before beginning building loan repayments.

Several expressed frustration at law enforcement
investigations that target them as suspects, have ruled
their fires as "accidental" or continue to drag on despite
telephoned threats and/or repeated vandalism before the
fire, and racist graffiti at the site.

Particular attention was given to the case of God's
Chapel, Niota, Tenn., burned to the ground June 27, 1996.
The Rev. Gary Slater, pastor of the multiracial
congregation, described the circumstances of intimidation.
Among other things, his house was broken into soon after the
church fire, and the family cat burned alive and stuffed in
an air duct.

He recounted how the initial federal ruling of arson
was changed at the last minute to "undetermined," blocking
the church from a promised low-interest loan guaranteed by
the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

During the pastors' June 10 meeting with Vice President
Al Gore, Attorney General Janet Reno, Treasury Secretary
Robert E. Rubin, HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo and others,
Pastor Slater pled for immediate attention to his case,
without which he fears losing the church and the nine years
of ministry he invested in it.

His case was among several that the pastors put before
the Clinton Administration officials.  They also asked for
help saving young whites from recruitment by white
supremacist movements and counseling young African Americans
traumatized by the attacks on their churches.  The federal
officials responded with assurances of their continuing
availability to look into problem areas quickly.

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