THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, June 15, 1996 TAG: 9606150362
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY NANCY LEWIS
CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 35 lines
Virginia's Methodist church members will be asked to help rebuild 34 black churches that have been burned during the past 18 months in the South.
The state church's 3,000 clergy and lay leaders, gathered at the Virginia Beach Pavilion for an annual conference, voted Friday to ``condemn the senseless acts of violence against the 33 black churches that have been burned over the past 18 months.''
Sunday, the last day of the four-day conference, a collection will be taken to benefit the destroyed churches. A later date will be designated for individual churches to make their collections.
The Rev. Jim Huntley, who spearheaded the action, said that while none of the burned churches were Methodist, ``it's important for us as one of the largest denominational groups in Virginia to show solidarity for them.''
Huntley said that the plight of the affected congregations had ``touched a very special place in Methodist hearts.''
In addition, Huntley said, the Virginia Conference will address problems of racism that may have led to or contributed to the burnings, and money donated will be used for that effort if necessary.
A fund has been set up at the National Division of the Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church headquarters in New York City to receive donations.
The Virginia Council of Churches also is involved in a fund-raising effort. There are 58 African-American Methodist clergy with charges in Virginia. Nationwide, 319,870 of the 8.6 million Methodists are African-American. Black Methodist churches number 2,528 nationwide, and there are 1,956 African-American clergy. by CNB