THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 22, 1994 TAG: 9409220151
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY TRUDY CUTHRELL, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Long : 168 lines
WHEN A FIRE DESTROYED the 70-year-old sanctuary of Holland Baptist Church in early December, the close-knit congregation watched in disbelief.
As the smoke cleared and the ashes settled, it was evident that a beloved building was gone. But the spirit of the church - whose congregation dates to 1880 - remained firm. Its faith and hope and love seem to have emerged untarnished.
That was clear last Sunday as church members gathered at the site of their gutted sanctuary to symbolically turn a shovelful of earth and officially - and literally - begin rebuilding it.
When 87-year-old Virgie Hedgebeth first heard the news of the fire, she was shocked.
``I cried and cried,'' she said. Like so many of the church's older members, Hedgebeth thinks of her church as home and family.
``As a child, I remember having spring and summer Sunday School classes in the woods behind the church. I joined the church when I was 13 and was baptized in Norfleet's Mill Pond.''
Then she met Victor Hedgebeth, and they married in the church's parsonage. Years and years of faithful service in the Sunday School and mission activities of Holland Baptist followed.
``There's one thing I've always believed in,'' she said, ``and that's going to church and serving the Lord the best I can.''
The December fire was a sad day for Hedgebeth.
``Other than Victor's death, it was one of the saddest days of my life,'' she said.
But like other faithful members, Hedgebeth is also hopeful for the future of her beloved church and anxious to get on with its new building program.
``I'm real, real pleased, and I'll be so happy if I can live to see the new building completed.''
Last Sunday's ground-breaking ceremony marked the beginning of reconstruction of the Holland Baptist Church sanctuary.
Among those who stood on the site were Michael Barnes of Barnes Design Group, Virginia Beach-based architects for the new building, and Bob Semmel of E.T. Gresham Co. Inc., Norfolk building contractors. The pastor, church leaders and a dedicated congregation gathered to invoke God's blessings on their next step of faith: a new sanctuary.
It will cost between $740,000 and $750,000.
Pastor Ed Sunday-Winters explained that with demolition nearly finished, the church is now awaiting final permits and clearances for new construction to begin in mid-October.
Louis Carr, chairman of the church's eight-member design committee, has been working non-stop since the December fire.
``He's our own personal project supervisor,'' Sunday-Winters said. ``The church is deeply indebted to him. He's given us a lot of direction and kept us on task.''
Carr is a recent retiree of 41 years service at Union Camp Corp. He's been an active member of Holland Baptist for 40 years. And it's within this church family that he and his wife raised their three children.
``My biggest concern at the beginning was, where will we get the money to rebuild?'' he said. ``But contributions have shown us that we'll be able to do this - we're going to be all right.''
And not just financially, Carr says.
``Plans for our new building have brought our people together and given us a new lease on life. . . . Now everyone's looking forward to getting started.''
Following the blaze in December - touched off by a torch during roofing repair work - news of the destruction spread like, well, wildfire throughout the church and community. Insurance covered about $517,000, but the total cost of rebuilding, approaching three-quarters of a million dollars, seemed unattainable.
Then donations started to pour in. A bulletin board in the church's fellowship hall now displays cards, letters and a list of more than 275 gifts from individuals, organizations and community groups.
About $138,000 has been collected. Pastor Sunday-Winters says about $80,000 of that sum has come from friends outside the church's membership.
That leaves Holland Baptist about $95,000 short - but church members show no sign of doubting they will get the rest.
In addition to contributions, Holland Baptist members have rolled up their sleeves and gone to work. In one Sunday, the congregation contributed $34,000.
``And they're about to work themselves to death with yard sales and bake sales and dinners,'' the pastor said, smiling proudly.
The Brotherhood, the men's mission organization, also provided the manpower to salvage the sanctuary's original stained-glass windows. The men gathered at church and in garages to sand and strip old paint and prepare the windows for remounting. The ``Good Shepherd'' window from the front wall of the original 1923 structure was also salvaged and will be professionally restored to its place of prominence above the pulpit in the new sanctuary.
The new facility will be a 6,400-square-foot, brick-exterior structure. The design includes a 220-seat sanctuary, six educational classrooms, a pastor's study, secretary's office and restrooms.
``We're replacing what we had, arranging it differently and building back more than we lost,'' Sunday-Winters explained. The stained-glass windows will line both side walls of the sanctuary as well as the rear wall separating the sanctuary from a corridor.
Walt Mozingo, chairman of the Deacon Board at Holland Baptist, praises the church's progress.
``We've stayed together and pulled together, and now we're moving on. Everybody's really excited about beginning the new building.''
Holland Baptist members look hopefully toward Easter Sunday of 1995 as their target date to hold worship in their new sanctuary. Until then, members continue to gather for weekly worship services in the church's fellowship hall, which survived the fire.
Sunday-Winters commends his congregation as well as the community for their efforts to restore their house of worship.
``In a community plagued by fires, I think it's good to see something restored,'' he noted. ``And it's comforting to know you're a part of a community that will support other people in a time of need.'' There have been about a dozen arsons in the past three years in the area - although the Holland Baptist fire wasn't one of them.
Concerning his own congregation, Sunday-Winters added, ``The leadership here is mature - there's not a lot of panic. These people have seen enough of life to know they will get through this. . . .
``As the day of the fire passes, their faith becomes an even greater source of strength and resolve. Their attitude and example are a comfort to me.'' MEMO: Contribute to the Holland Baptist Building Fund, may be mailed to
Holland Baptist Church Restoration Fund, c/o Crestar Bank, P.O. Box
7068, Suffolk 23437.
ILLUSTRATION: [Cover]
HOLLAND BAPTIST
[Color photo and drawing]
Staff photos by JOHN H. SHEALLY II
The Rev. Ed Sunday-Winters talks about rebuilding the church
sanctuary. The dedicated spirit of the congregation in a challenging
situation drew him to the church, he said. He came as pastor in
April.
This is all that is left of Holland Baptist Church after the fire
that gutted the sanctuary in December.
For the time being, worship services - and everything else - is held
in the fellowship hall, which survived the fire.
Sunday-Winters skips the formality of robes for worship services
held temporarily in the fellowship hall.
TIME LINE
Oct. 14, 1880: Holland Baptist Church congregation established.
Fall 1883: First church building is dedicated.
July 29, 1923: Congregation dedicates its second church building,
across Holland Road from the first.
Dec. 25, 1990: Original church building, standing abandoned,
burns down; arson is suspected.
Dec. 2, 1993: Fire caused by sparks from a torch used in roofing
repairs destroys the Holland Baptist Church sanctuary; fellowship
hall survives, along with some educational space.
Dec. 3: Holland Baptist leadership holds first meeting with
insurance companies.
Dec. 5: First worship service held in Holland Community House.
January 1994: Worship services return to the Holland Baptist
Church fellowship hall following installation of new heating and
air-conditioning system.
April 17: The Rev. Ed Sunday-Winters comes to Holland Baptist as
pastor.
August: Architectural plans for new building are accepted.
Sept. 18: Ground-breaking
ceremony conducted.
April 1995: Target month for first service in the new Holland
Baptist sanctuary, hopefully by Easter.
by CNB