We Must Respond

Seven St. Louis churches have been hit by arsonists in the past two weeks. Each fire has been set at the church entrances. Our community, especially people of faith, must respond. We invite our church families, our friends and allies of all traditions to donate to the repair and rebuilding of the damaged buildings as part of our commitment to edifying all who are dedicated to loving and serving our city.

What We Need

Each of the seven churches will need to install or repair security systems, not to mention structural repairs. We spoke with some of the impacted churches and know that we need to start this blitz campaign RIGHT NOW so that they can get repairs started as soon as possible.

Our hope is to deliver $3,000 to each congregation and to raise the money in the time it took to attempt to tear these structures down.

Any money will be used to help repair the damage to the churches and to install security systems to prevent further damage. If there is excess money in the fund it will be used by the affected churches for programs in the community. If more churches are burned we will add them to the fund as well. 

Help us raise $18,000 by Sunday, November 1st so that we can show our love and solidarity to these faith communities

The Impact

 We are raising this money to support the congregations of these seven churches:

• Bethel Non-Denominational Church (targeted 10/8)
• New Northside Missionary Baptist Church (targeted 10/10).
• St. Augustine Catholic Church (targeted 10/14)
• New Testament Church of Christ (targeted 10/15)
• New Life Missionary Baptist Church (targeted 10/17)
• Ebenezer Lutheran Church (targeted 10/17)
• Shrine of St. Joseph (targeted 10/21)

Stories from Some of the Damaged Churches

Bethel Nondemominational Church

Pastor Thomas stated that the firefighters kicked in every external door to put out the fire. Five doors will need to be replaced in all. Still, Pastor Thomas said he was thankful for whoever saw the fire and called the police.

New Northside Missionary Baptist
Pastor Burton is adamant that "You can set fire to a building, but you can't burn down The Church." 

Ebenezer Lutheran Church
The children at the adjacent school put up this sign insisting that they forgive whoever set fire to their church.

Sponsors & Partners

Multiple St. Louis organizations are sponsoring this campaign

Christ Church Cathedral http://www.christchurchcathedral.us/

South City Church  http://www.southcitychurch.com/

Faith for Justice  http://faithforjustice.com/

The Pastoral Fellowship of St. Louis  http://pastoralfellowship.com/ 

Other Congregations and Organizations in support:

• Memorial Presbyterian Church http://www.memorialpca.org/
• Kol Rinah kolrinahstl.org
• MORE (Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment)
•  The Ferguson Action Council
• Rev Renita Marie Lamkin, AME Church Pastor
• Me to We Racial Healing http://metoweracialhealing.com
• Deaconess Anne House - Episcopal Service Corps
• Oak Hill Presbyterian Church
• Outpour Church

Other Ways You Can Help

Some people just can't contribute, but that doesn't mean you can't help:

- Contact faithforjusticestl@gmail.com to keep up with the solidarity actions and events we are planning.

- help raise awareness by using the hashtag #stlchurchfire2015

The power of presence is a much needed gift. Our sisters and brothers at these churches need to know that we stand with them.