United Methodists Pitch In

Volunteer teams from various denominations throughout the United States have converged on sites in the South to help rebuild the burned churches. The word help is a key term, since the congregations and pastors of victimized churches are themselves deeply involved in the projects. The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) asked the Southeast Jurisdiction United Methodist Volunteers in Mission (SEJUMVIM) to oversee United Methodist work teams in the area. Most of the church burnings took place within the Southeast Jurisdiction. The SEJUMVIM coordinated more than 500 work teams in 1996 for both national and international work. They were able to mobilize the United Methodist connection to line up teams from all five US jurisdictions. The NCC designated three churches as United Methodist rebuilding projects.

The organization of the UMVIM network in the United States worked so well that the NCC asked SEJUMVIM to take on four more churches. Before long, work teams from other denominations were connecting to projects through the SEJUMVIM office. Joe Hamilton, the project coordinator for SEJUMVIM, estimates that, through 1997, the office has enabled 60 teams from around the country--about 750 volunteers--to work on the seven churches. More churches are contacting the office every day, asking how to send teams in 1998.

Team coordination is not confined to Protestant involvement, however. "When we get the call to work, we meet with the church and pastor and assess the situation. Then we bring in resources from wherever we can," Hamilton explains. "We may have United Methodist teams working with a Presbyterian construction coordinator, using materials paid for by an NCC grant, the United Methodist Advance, and the American Jewish Committee, and following a plan refined by the National Black Evangelical Association. Whatever it takes, that's what we do."

"The Black Jesus Blesses the Children," a print by Mozambican artist Joseph M. Cauchi, was a gift to long-time United Methodist missionary Mary Jean Tenant. The Troy Annual Conference presented this gift to Gay's Hill Baptist Church at the dedication service.

The Gay's Hill Baptist Church, completed in July 1997, serves as an amazing example of Hamilton's observation. Gay's Hill hosted 37 volunteer teams, only about a third of them from Georgia. United Methodists also sent teams from the California-Nevada Conference, Virginia, Massachusetts, Vermont, Florida, Kentucky, Delaware, Iowa, and Michigan. Core contributors to the project included the National Council of Churches ($112,000), the American Jewish Committee, the National Association of Black Evangelicals, the Promise Keepers, World Relief, and local contributors such as Georgia Power, the Causeway Corporation, and the Catholic Dioceses of Savannah.

The success in rebuilding Black churches depends as much on the involvement and support of the local congregation as it does on the help of "outsiders." Pastor Baldwin, Rufus Lee (a member of Gay's Hill Baptist Church who served as volunteer construction coordinator), Hazel Banner, Veeta Reese, and Pearl Holmes contributed hours of work to the project.

The local Millen United Methodist Church regularly hosted a Wednesday evening dinner and worship service for the visiting volunteer teams. The Rev. Charles Cravey, Millen UMC's pastor, produced a monthly newsletter about the site and frequently pitched in to help the volunteer teams with construction. The relationships established during the rebuilding have continued beyond the dedication of the new building. Millen United Methodist Church maintains an ongoing dialogue with the Gay's Hill congregation. Since the perpetrators of the arson have not been apprehended, the Millen UMC is taking a risk. Participation of other local churches and businesses has helped to bolster support for the Gay's Hill church.

Gay's Hill's closest neighbor is this abandoned shack about a mile down the road from the church.

Gay's Hill Baptist Church still stands on its isolated road with only the surrounding fields and an occasional abandoned shack on the horizon. Its future depends on the relationships forged between the members of the church and the volunteers who pitched in to rebuild it. Contractor Dennis Wolfe (Caucasian) from the Causeway Corporation noted at the dedication service: "Whenever I pass by this church, I remember the sink we installed and the sheet rock we donated and I think: 'That's my church.'" This feeling of ownership by the wider community creates solidarity between the Black church members and community members, White and Black, outside the congregation. It sends a message to would-be hate-crime perpetrators that says their acts of hate will no longer be tolerated by the community.

When asked what he thought about the fact that the arsonist(s) who had burned Gay's Hill were free to strike again, Pastor Baldwin commented: "I hope they're watching. They thought they were doing harm, but God really blessed this church because of them."