3 Black churches rebuilding in Louisiana after 2019 arson

Apr 19, 2022, 5:22 AM | Updated: 3:28 pm

OPELOUSAS, La. (AP) — Three years after an arsonist torched three small Black Baptist churches in rural Louisiana, rebuilding is well under way.

Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Opelousas is months from reopening, with visible progress at St. Mary Baptist Church in Port Barre and Greater Union Baptist Church in Opelousas, The Daily World reported.

“We began in a dark moment, but it’s getting brighter and brighter every day,” said the Rev. Gerald Toussaint of Mount Pleasant. “Now it’s a bright day as we’re looking forward to being back together in the church.”

A would-be “black metal” musician pleaded guilty in 2020, saying he set fire to the churches in late March and early April 2019 to promote himself in the heavy metal subgenre. Holden Matthews is serving simultaneous 25-year federal and state sentences in federal prison.

The first fire occurred March 26, 2019, at St. Mary. Greater Union burned down four days later, with Mount Pleasant set ablaze two days after that.

Toussaint holds fellowship, prayer and Bible study via conference call and preaches live on Facebook, as he has since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Before that, the congregation gathered in the Equine Center in Opelousas.

The church’s new sanctuary and fellowship hall are a few deliveries and final inspections short of finished, he said.

“It’s been challenging, but we’ve been getting through it simply because we stuck together,” he said. “We realize none of us could have done this without faith. It’s only by faith in God we’ve been able to even start the process of building.”

At St. Mary Missionary Baptist Church, there are holes where large front doors will stand and windows are not yet glazed. Inside, walls have been framed and a staircase rises. The new church will be larger than the old one.

The slab had been poured for a fellowship hall before the arsonist struck.

“We built it out as quick as we could to have a place to worship,” the Rev. Kyle Terrell Sylvester Sr. said. After a year in a rented building, the fellowship hall was ready.

There’s also a new parking lot. During the pandemic, the church met outdoors for “parking lot services” as the weather allowed, and then Sylvester preached via livestream.

In-person services began in mid 2021, first with spaced out seating. Now more than 80 people fill the fellowship hall every week.

“We’re at a real good place right now,” Sylvester said.

Completion will depend on supplies, he said.

“We are at the mercy of the market,” he said. “We may be waiting a little while.”

Greater Union’s lot was vacant for a long time, but today passersby can see a large metal church building taking shape.

The church was established about 130 years ago and has more than 100 members, Deacon Ronald Milburn said a year after the fire.

“It’s always been a very committed congregation,” he said.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

(Facebook Photo/City of San Luis, Arizona)...
Associated Press

San Luis authorities receive complaints about 911 calls going across border

Authorities in San Luis say they are receiving more complaints about 911 calls mistakenly going across the border.
6 days ago
(Pexels Photo)...
Associated Press

Daylight saving time begins in most of US this weekend

No time change is observed in Hawaii, most of Arizona, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Marianas.
14 days ago
Mexican army soldiers prepare a search mission for four U.S. citizens kidnapped by gunmen in Matamo...
Associated Press

How the 4 abducted Americans in Mexico were located

The anonymous tip that led Mexican authorities to a remote shack where four abducted Americans were held described armed men and blindfolds.
14 days ago
Tom Brundy points to a newly built irrigation canal on one of the fields at his farm Tuesday, Feb. ...
Associated Press

Southwest farmers reluctant to idle farmland to save water

There is a growing sense that fallowing will have to be part of the solution to the increasingly desperate drought in the West.
21 days ago
A young bison calf stands in a pond with its herd at Bull Hollow, Okla., on Sept. 27, 2022. The cal...
Associated Press

US aims to restore bison herds to Native American lands after near extinction

U.S. officials will work to restore more large bison herds to Native American lands under a Friday order from Interior Secretary Deb Haaland.
21 days ago
Children play in a dried riverbed in Flassans-sur-Issole, southern France, Wednesday, March 1, 2023...
Associated Press

Italy, France confront 2nd year of western Europe drought

ROME (AP) — Bracing for Italy’s second consecutive year of drought for the first time in decades, Premier Giorgia Meloni huddled with ministers Wednesday to start mapping out an action plan Wednesday, joining France and other nations in western Europe grappling with scant winter rain and snow. Meloni and her ministers decided to appoint an […]
23 days ago

Sponsored Articles

(Photo: OCD & Anxiety Treatment Center)...

Here’s what you need to know about OCD and where to find help

It's fair to say that most people know what obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders generally are, but there's a lot more information than meets the eye about a mental health diagnosis that affects about one in every 100 adults in the United States.
...
Day & Night Air Conditioning, Heating and Plumbing

Company looking for oldest air conditioner and wants to reward homeowner with new one

Does your air conditioner make weird noises or a burning smell when it starts? If so, you may be due for an AC unit replacement.
...
Fiesta Bowl Foundation

Celebrate 50 years of Vrbo Fiesta Bowl Parade magic!

Since its first production in the early 1970s, the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl Parade presented by Lerner & Rowe has been a staple of Valley traditions, bringing family fun and excitement to downtown Phoenix.
3 Black churches rebuilding in Louisiana after 2019 arson