Burning Faith: Church Arson in the American South

Epilogue

epilogue Church arson again dominated national headlines in early 2006, when a series of fires scorched six rural churches in a single night in central Alabama. All but one were in Bibb County, south of Birmingham. The sixth church, New Harmony Holiness Baptist in Chilton County, had been under construction when it was destroyed. Ragan Ingram, a spokesperson for the state insurance agency that oversees fire investigations, speculated that the New Harmony fire was accidental as investigators flocked to the other churches to determine whether arson was involved. Ashby Baptist, Rehobeth Baptist, and Pleasant Sabine all burned to the ground in the early morning hours of February 7; Old Union Baptist and Antioch Baptist were damaged but not completely destroyed. Local residents reported seeing an unfamiliar, darkcolored SUV in the vicinity of the churches at daybreak.1 “My initial thought was just shock, just unbelief really,” said Reverend Robert Murphy, pastor of Pleasant Sabine. “Even when I got there, it was even more like a dream. I didn’t want to face the fact that it had happened.” Ernie Wallace, a volunteer fireman from nearby Lawley, expressed his sorrow. “It’s sad when any church is on fire because the memories of homecomings and singings automatically come to mind,” he said. “You just feel helpless when you get there and the roof is already gone.”2 Governor Bob Riley visited the sites of the arsons the following weekend to see the damage firsthand. Riley met with pastors and congregation 146 / Burning Faith members at each church. “I am outraged that anyone would deliberately set fire to churches,” he said. “I want the people of the affected congregations to know that the state will do all that’s possible to find those responsible and bring them to justice.” Jim Walker, Alabama director of Homeland Security, said, “What strikes us the most is the senseless, needless act of burning down churches. . . . It’s hard to imagine a world that is starved for faith, love, and hope and the institutions that nurture those qualities would be the ones that these perpetrators chose to damage.”3 Four days after the Bibb County fires, four more fires were reported at blackBaptistchurchesinwesternAlabama,insparselypopulatedareasspread out over three counties, about sixty miles west of the earlier fires. Morning Star Baptist, near Boligee, and Dancy Baptist, near Aliceville, were destroyed. Fig. 8.1. Front steps of Galilee Baptist Church, destroyed by fire in 2006 in Panola, Ala. 2006. Photo by author. Epilogue / 147 The New York Times reported that Galilee Baptist suffered extensive damage while Spring Valley Baptist suffered “only minor damage”; however, the fire at Spring Valley, which endured heavy smoke damage, required not only removal of the church’s pews, carpet, drapes, and other furniture but also repainting of the entire building as well as replacement of the building’s insulation . A visitor to the church in mid-March would have found Spring Valley completely gutted and empty save two local Mennonite painters—a fatherand -son team—methodically repainting the sooty interior.4 The arsons in central and western Alabama were markedly similar. In each case, the arsonists deliberately made their way to the sanctuary to start multiple fires. Investigators found similar burn patterns at the churches. Fires were started in the area of the pulpit or on the church organ; the arsonists also burned U.S. and religious flags in the front of the church, as well as any floral arrangements. All of the fires occurred at Baptist churches. All of the churches were isolated, often tucked deep in the woods at the end of dirt roads. Because the churches were so remote, investigators suspected that the arsonists were local residents. “They’ve been around, they’ve searched it out, they might have traveled back here as a hunter,” ATF Special Agent-inCharge James Cavanaugh predicted. “Somebody in the area knows probably who these people are and they need to give us a call.”5 Investigators soon determined that the New Harmony fire in Chilton County was, in fact, accidental; however, another fire at Beaverton Freewill Baptist in northwest Alabama on February 11 brought the number of confirmed arsons in Alabama to ten—all in less than a week. If the first wave of arsons caused concern among some, then the second wave surely shocked the entire nation. National newspapers covered the fires, editorials decried the crimes. The investigation quickly turned into the biggest...