18 Black churches a month are being burned across the country, so far this year. And since 1997 over 550 churches have been burned. Alas the Media has been silent abouut these recent events. Does anyone know if this was discussed at the General Conference, and what is the response of the A.M.E church? The stats I have reported are from the National Coalition Church Burning Research Center. And so far this year alone 130 churches have burned

-- Anonymous, July 30, 2000

Answers

Until I see the evidence, I refuse to believe the statistics you cite.

-- Anonymous, July 30, 2000

The stats I quoted are frightening, but since I head an Anti-Hate organization, I have been familiar with these numbers for awhile. The united methodists web page has these stats and info on other anti-hate links. They also have info on other groups that are united in a grass roots effort. Please go to http://gbgm-umc.org/advance/Church- Burnings/index.html if you have any problems locating the page let me know. I am concerned that the media is not covering these events.

-- Anonymous, July 31, 2000

Oops! Alton I forgot to sign my name to the response about the stats from the united methodist church. Rev. Denise Rogers

-- Anonymous, July 31, 2000

I'm sure the stats are right, I was traveling through Seattle Washington earlier last year white people where said to have been responsible for the burning of some homes in the black neighborhoods and several churches were burned; they where the main target of arsons.

I doubt if any news gets any further than local when it's about how blacks are treated. Some people think their news source carries all the situations, and points of view in the world. Not every black killing is reported to the whole country.

DO we have a community if there is no church? Whenever I hear the word Black Community I wonder what they mean. The stores on the corners doen't belong to us, we don't own all the buildings and homes in the so-called community, the school, people are bus in from everywhere; so to me without a church there would be no community. Maybe community means where ever the majority of a particular people reside. Because if there were say 10 black homes located in A better area, in the better side of town, I'm willing to bet if someone new to town asked to be shown the black community it wouldn't be where the 10 blacks live.

The black inner city elderly who are probably the major supporters of local churches for some of them the church is all there is, it's everything. As we move away from the inner city, and sometimes it's because the politicians don't want companies that hire a lot of people too close to the inner city because it can't handle the power and sewage load, or are located through programs to other parts of town. How will we protect our churchs way out there when we can hardly protect them in the inner city?

J WRIGHTGROWN

-- Anonymous, August 05, 2000

Joe, thanks for your response, the stats are more than numbers, they are people's churches, memories, and their home away from home. Another interesting phenomona that is also happening, is that white churches are also being burned. For those filled with hate, their target will always be the heart of the people. The churches! it is their way of saying, "Look your God cannot protect you." It is the same thing that Pharoh said to the Israelites. Pharoh was wrong and so are those that seek to quell our faith as christians. Instead of retreating, we should be building more churches, evangelizing, reaching and offering leadership roles to our youth, both in and outside the church. Joe you are right, the burning of churches is not a priority to the media as a whole. But just as information was gotten to the slaves when the underground railroad would be going north to freedom. We too, must press on, spread the information about church burnings, and contact the media and ask for coverage. Bishop Richard Allen and his followers received threats, but it made them strong, and out of that fortitude a denomination was born around the world. We are the children of Bishop Richard Allen, and we will not retreat from the inner city or rural areas when it come to preaching the gospel of liberation. The Pacific Northwest has been claimed by white supremacists groups as "their promise land" because the population is primarily white. These groups are the minority. But they are gathering strength. I am in Montana, we have two A.M.E churches in the state, that have been here for a long time. My dream is to have another A.M.E church in Montana. Our A.M.E pastors in this state are dynamic, and wonderful preachers who are very active in their communities, working on economic developement projects for all people regardless of race. What better way to keep hostile groups out of a state, than to have vibrant A.M.E churches in the Northwest. African- American, Whites, Native Americans, Mexicans, and Jews can all come together under the leadership of A.M.E churches to combat a common enemy who send cell groups to the rest of the country. Yes, my friend let the blood of our ancestors, and the determination and dream of Bishop Richard Allen spur the A.M.E church to be the leader for all God's people. Rev. Denise Rogers mzone@usa.net

-- Anonymous, August 05, 2000

This is a direct qoute from the UMC page: "According to the National Coalition Church Burning Research Center, churches continue to burn at an average rate of over 18 per month, with 130 this year alone. Officials note that most fires are occurring in the same geographical location -- southern and mid- western states. They suggest that hatred of race, gender, or religion were factors in each fire." My questions: 1. Who is the "National Coalition . ...." and what if any is their agenda? 2. Which "Officials"? 3. Define southern and mid-western? 4. They "suggest" - what does that mean? 5. How many burnings were related to: gender hate? race hate? religion hate? 6. Does gender hate mean that someone hates: males? females? I can't accept a statement such as this without investigating further. The news stories on the UMC web site seem to indicate that satanic forces may be the primary groups involved. In Texas, it has been pure vandalism with the vandals seeking targets of opportunity. Perhaps the fact that our churcvhes are empty more than 50% of the time make them good targets. Al Paris

-- Anonymous, August 05, 2000