wfn.org | Aid to Burned Churches 1

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

CONTACT: 	Linda Bloom
(10-21-71B){178}
		New York (212) 870-3803			 March 25, 1998

NOTE: This story is accompanied by a sidebar, UMNS #179 and a companion
story, UMNS #180. A photograph is also available.

United Methodists continue
to assist burned churches

by Linda Bloom*

	Nearly two years after the problem of church burnings began
drawing national attention, United Methodists are continuing efforts to
help congregations hit by the fires.
	As of March, more than 80 United Methodist Volunteers-in-Mission
teams, comprising more than 1,000 individuals, have participated in
rebuilding projects, and additional teams were being scheduled.
	Several United Methodist Board of Global Ministries executives
traveled to Florida, South Carolina and Mississippi the week of March 16
to consult with denominational leaders in those states. Their goal was
"to begin to formulate a deeper response" to the issue of church
burnings, according to group leader Robert Walton.
	The board's work is coordinated through a team on "Ministries in
the Midst of Hate and Violence," created after the Oklahoma City bombing
to address the problems of hate crimes and militia groups.
	Church arsons have become a major focus of the team, according
to chairwoman Lois Dauway.
	"The commitment is to help the churches rebuild," she explained.
"That means not just their buildings but also some of the ministries
that were there."
	Another goal is to strengthen existing relationships or
establish new ties between the congregations whose buildings were
torched and the United Methodist congregations in the community.
Donations are being collected through Advance No. 982700-1, earmarked
"church burnings."
Many of the affected churches, according to Dauway, are isolated both by
location and lack of any denominational connections. Many of the
churches have no insurance. 
The deliberate burning of churches is not new, but an alarming increase
in arson fires of churches -- especially those with black congregations
-- and concern about undertones of racism led the National Council of
Churches (NCC) to launch its Burned Churches Project in May 1996.
Between then and the end of 1997, the project has assessed 233
burned-out congregations and directly assisted 117 churches.
Of those, 44 were completely rebuilt, 53 currently are under
construction, 16 were refinanced and two were relocated to existing
buildings. One church refused funds and another provided its own
building campaign seed money.
The Burned Churches Project collected nearly $8 million in donations by
the end of 1997. Currently, 116 churches remain in the program,
according to the NCC report.
	The arsons continue. Although many black churches are targeted,
some churches with predominantly white congregations have been burned,
such as a cluster of three rural southwestern Pennsylvania churches hit
within one week in January. A few of those churches, in various parts of
the country, have been United Methodist churches.
	While this new pattern of arson needs to be analyzed, "it's
becoming clearer that some of the church burnings are the result of
people being involved in initiation rites" for white supremacist groups
like the Ku Klux Klan or Aryan Nation, Dauway said.
It has been speculated, she added, that juveniles are often used to set
the fires because the penalty, at their age, is far less severe if they
are caught.
	Besides providing assistance to burned-out congregations, the
board team is working to educate people about the issue. It also is
asking United Methodist Women and anyone else to send newspaper
clippings about any suspicious church fires.
	Clippings and donations for the Advance can be mailed to Dauway
at 475 Riverside Drive, 15th floor, New York, NY 10115.
				# # # 	
*Bloom is news director of United Methodist News Service's New York
office.

United Methodist News Service
(615)742-5470
Releases and photos also available at
http://www.umc.org/umns/