Guide to the Burned Churches Project Records

In the mid-1990s, the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America (NCC) declared racial justice as its top priority. The Rev. Dr. Mac Charles Jones became the General Secretary Associate for Racial Justice, and he devoted several months to traveling around the southern United States to speak with African American pastors whose churches had been burned by white supremacists. At the May 1996 NCC Executive Board meeting, the board declared church burnings a national disaster and established the Burned Churches Fund. The fund included Jewish, Muslim, and Roman Catholic partners who were committed to raising money to rebuild churches, promoting long-term arson prevention measures, and addressing the hatred behind the racist attacks. Albert Pennybacker, who served as the NCC Associate General Secretary, played a major role in establishing and administering this fund.

In June 1996, the Rev. Charles Mac Jones and pastors from 38 burned churches went to Washington, D.C. to meet with President Clinton and the Secretaries of the Treasury and Justice Departments. Their meetings brought the epidemic of hate-motivated church burnings to nationwide attention and the National Church Arson Task Force was established. 

The NCC partnered with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Congress of National Black Churches to establish the National Church Rebuilding Initiative. The partnership worked to coordinate federal loans, gathered material donations for rebuilding, assembled a network of volunteers to help rebuild, and assisted churches in attaining new insurance policies or taking on additional security measures. The NCC helped coordinate this effort by establishing the Burned Churches Project Office. Carolyn Scavella served as the Pastors Liaison Officer and worked directly with the pastors of burned churches to help them apply for funding and lead the rebuilding process in their communities. The Burned Churches Project also included an assessment team which traveled around the country to determine eligibility and need for the project. 

In July 1997, the NCC Burned Churches Project Office closed, and the rebuilding work was undertaken by the Church World Service Disaster Response Office. Elizabeth Miller worked in the Office of Reconstruction and primarily coordinated construction needs for churches. The Burned Churches Project officially closed in 1999. Throughout its three years, the project raised over $9 million in cash, $2.4 million in material gifts, and $7 million in cash grants for reconstruction; rebuilt 156 churches; and dedicated $1.25 million to racial justice and reconciliation work.