April 5, 1999
By United Methodist News Service
Contact: Linda Bloom· (212) 870-3803· New York.
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For anyone who thought that church burnings were a thing of the past, the deadly New Year's arson in Commerce, Ga., proved otherwise.
A 27-year-old volunteer firefighter died fighting the blaze that destroyed New Salem United Methodist Church. Three hours after that fire, Johnson United Methodist Church near Watkinsville, Ga., suffered smoke damage from arson. Three other Georgia churches had burned the week before.
"Churches are still burning at high numbers," said Sandra Peters, a consultant for the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries. But the lack of publicity over such fires has made it difficult to gather statistics and raise funds for research, advocacy and training on this issue, she said.
The numbers may be incomplete, but it is estimated that at least 56 United Methodist churches – African-American, white and multiracial congregations -- have burned since 1990 in reported arsons, attempted arsons, bombings or suspicious fires. Across all denominations, the total is estimated at 330, with the bulk of those occurring in the mid-1990s, according to the National Council of Churches (NCCC).
A June 1997 report of the National Church Arson Task Force, created by the U.S. departments of treasury and justice, said not enough evidence was found to support the theory that there is a national hate-filled conspiracy to burn church buildings.
But in specific cases, such a theory has seemed valid. Last July, for example, a jury found the Christian Knights of the Ku Klux Klan liable for the 1995 arson that destroyed the predominantly black Macedonia Baptist Church in Bloomville, S.C.
Lawyers from the Southern Poverty Law Center had argued there was conspiracy to commit a crime because the group's grand dragon had encouraged members to violence.
The Board of Global Ministries' task force on Ministries in the Midst of Hate and Violence has continued to assist congregations of burned churches and to help identify contributing factors of those fires by:
Ministries in the Midst of Hate and Violence was developed after the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. "The objective of the ministry is to faithfully respond to acts of hate or violence throughout the nation," Peters explained.
Part of the board's response to such acts is to link victimized communities with local United Methodist organizations, offer church-related resources and support efforts to "rebuild, spiritually and structurally."
A couple of times, Peters said, "we've been asked to come into communities and convene dialogues to ease the tensions."
The Board of Global Ministries supports the National Coalition for Burned Churches and Community Empowerment. The coalition is a multiracial, interdenominational group of people whose houses of worship have been burned or firebombed. Besides providing advocacy and technical assistance, the group hopes to address the root causes of such acts of violence by offering education, training, research and public policy programs to communities.
The Rev. Terrance Mackey, the coalition's executive director, said its research has shown that 22 states have had church arson fires.
"We get fires every week that are reported to our office," he noted. People in general often are unaware of the fires if none occurs in their community.
Trends have shown the burnings have spread beyond the South to the Northeast and Midwest. Recently, Mackey said, "Places of worship that are pastored by females are burning at an alarming rate."
In its January 1998 briefing paper, the coalition stated its belief that "this phenomenon of church burnings represents a defining moment in the pre-21st century historical developments. … Unlike other periods in American history, this period exposes in new ways the realities of an aggressive assault on the freedom of religion. The visible church and what it symbolically represents is the target of that destruction."
Donations to assist in the church rebuilding and education efforts can be made to United Methodist Advance No. 982700-1, earmarked "church burnings." Checks can be dropped in church collection plates or mailed to Advance GCFA, P.O. Box 9068, GPO, New York, NY 10087-9068.
More information about the Board of Global Ministries' work with burned churches is available by calling Lesley Crosson at (212) 870-3916 or sending an e-mail to lcrosson@gbgm-umc.org.
Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn., New York, and Washington.
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