Title: Lilly Foundation gives $6 million toward church rebuilding effort
February 5, 1997
Disciples News Service
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Contact: news@cm.disciples.org
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NEW YORK (NCC) -- An ecumenical body of historic African American churches Jan. 28 received $6 million toward the effort to rebuild burned black churches.
The Indianapolis-based Lilly Foundation gave the money to the Congress of National Black Churches for its new program to rebuild churches and prevent further arsons. CNBC is a partner institution with the National Council of Churches in a broad-based national rebuilding initiative.
"This is good news for the congregations whose churches have been burned," said NCC General Secretary Joan Brown Campbell. "We are grateful that additional funds for rebuilding have been made available."
The National Council soon will complete "phase one" of its Burned Churches Project, launched last spring. The NCC played a key role in calling the attacks on houses of worship to public attention and initiating an interfaith response. The response included rebuilding churches and addressing the racism that underlies many of the burnings.
The blue-ribbon grants committee of the Burned Churches Fund, administered by the NCC, to date has allocated $4.6 million in cash and another half-million dollars of in-kind contributions for the rebuilding of 79 houses of worship, most of the African American churches.
In 1996 the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) gave $108,653 through its Reconciliation ministry to the effort, according to the Rev. L. Wayne Stewart, director.
In February, the NCC expects to complete detailed assessments of the needs of 124 burned churches and to recommend the final phase one grants. The NCC also will announce its "Christmas in April" mobilization of volunteers who will assist with rebuilding.
The Disciples' Volunteers in Mission program tentatively has been commissioned to rebuild St. Mark's Missionary Baptist Church in Tyronza, Ark. Information concerning specific work dates and other details will be available at a later date.
"Nearly all of the roughly $7 million in cash raised since last May for the Burned Churches Fund, along with the additional in-kind assistance available to us, will have been allocated," said Campbell. "But we know of at least 30 other burned churches where hatred is suspected as the motive. Thanks to the Lilly grant, these churches now have somewhere to turn for help."
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