-Caveat Lector-
December 8, 2000
Church arsons, the real story?
By Mark Tooley
THE WASHINGTOM TIMES
Was the great church arson story of 1996 largely a scheme to
prevent the financial collapse of the National Council of
Churches (NCC)? There is evidence pointing in that direction.
In 1996, the NCC persuaded the media that black churches were
burning all across the South, the apparent victims of a
nationwide upsurge in racial hatred. The NCC's Burned Churches
Fund collected millions of dollars ostensibly for church
reconstruction.
We now know there never was any firm evidence of a black church
arson epidemic and no evidence of a racist conspiracy aimed at
black churches. And now we also know that a significant chunk of
millions of dollars raised for church reconstruction never
actually went for bricks and mortar.
At the time of the church arson story's debut, the insurance
industry estimated that 490 churches typically burn in an average
year. Since an estimated 20 percent of all churches are
predominantly black, it would be expected that close to 100 black
churches would burn annually. Nobody then, or ever since, has
documented that anywhere near 100 black churches have burned in
any single year.
This discrepancy did not deter the NCC, which raised over $9.1
million in cash, along with nearly $3.4 million more in in-kind
assistance. But of the $9.1 million, only $6.4 million can be
accounted for in grants for church construction. The NCC has not
explained what happened to the remaining $2.7 million in cash.
Last year, when the Burned Churches Fund was shut down, the NCC's
own auditor questioned the NCC's transfer of the fund's remaining
$330,000 to the NCC's general administration. The NCC has been
wracked by deficit spending for years. In 1997 the NCC suffered
a $1.6 million deficit and in 1998 it endured a $1.5 million
loss. Last year, when the Burned Churches Fund's fund-raising
had virtually come to a halt, the NCC fell short nearly $4
million, precipitating a major crisis and reorganization for
America's oldest and largest ecumenical organization. In just a
few years, NCC's reserves of $15 million have been spent down to
a now untouchable $3 million in designated funds.
The NCC had originally claimed that 15 percent of the Burned
Churches Fund would go towards administration and programs to
combat the "root causes" of racism. This provision set off fears
by conservative critics of the NCC that church reconstruction
money would fund left-wing political activities. Some did. But
in the end, most of the re-routed money seems to have gone
towards a far more banal activity: propping up the NCC's failing
administrative infrastructure. Counting in-kind assistance,
mostly construction materials, the fund raised about $12.5
million, 15 percent of which would be $1.9 million. Of course, 15
percent of the $9.1 million raised in cash would only be $1.36
million. This contrasts with the $2.6 million that appears to
have been spent on non-construction purposes, which is about 28
percent of the cash raised for burned churches by the NCC.
Last year, NCC General Secretary Joan Brown Campbell, who had
been the Burned Churches Fund's chief cheerleader, retired under
a cloud of growing deficits and financial upheaval for the NCC.
The NCC's largest member, the United Methodist Church, even
briefly cut off its funding in an effort to compel the NCC to
repair its tattered finances and conduct better bookkeeping.
Over the last year, several of the largest member denominations
have been asked to help with the NCC's multimillion dollar
bailout.
Still trying to repair the damage, NCC General Secretary Bob
Edgar is now cutting 17 positions from its staff of 64. And he
has proposed dissolving the NCC in favor of a larger ecumenical
umbrella that would include Evangelicals and Roman Catholics.
Some NCC insiders have privately raised the possibility that the
NCC will collapse in the next year or two. That collapse may
have happened several years ago absent the intervention of the
Burned Churches Fund.
Although money from the Burned Churches Fund not spent on church
construction was to have been spent on both administration and
anti-racism programs, the former appears to have received the
bulk of the money. The NCC had promised a series of anti-racism
conferences around the country. In fact, only a few were held,
drawing small crowds. The NCC has refused to conduct an audit of
the Burned Churches Fund. A final budget report on the fund was
given to the NCC's General Assembly last year, but it accounted
only for $6.4 million in grants for church reconstruction. It
made no mention of the $3.4 million of in-kind gifts, nor of the
$2.6 million apparently spent on overhead and political action.
Meanwhile, the NCC's often incendiary claims about black church
arsons continue to be undermined by more responsible
documentation. In its annual report for the year 2000, the
National Church Arson Task Force found that most churches
suffering arson are white, not black. And only 10 percent or
fewer of persons arrested for arson have shown enough evidence of
racial motivation to merit prosecution for hate crimes.
But few people are examining the validity of the great church
arson story's original exaggerated claims. The only consolation
for those who believe in accurate history is this: The success of
the Burned Churches Fund merely postponed what is probably
inevitable � the complete or near-collapse of the NCC.
Mark Tooley is president of the Institute on Religion and
Democracy.
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Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT
FROM THE DESK OF:
*Michael Spitzer* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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