Three historically black churches has been burned to the ground in the state of Louisiana and authorities are scrambling to find a suspect.
The churches in rural St. Landry Parish — about 30 miles north of Lafayette — have burned since March 26 in what officials have described as “suspicious circumstances.”
“There is clearly something happening in this community,” State Fire Marshal H. Browning said in a statement.
CNN Reports:
The first fire occurred March 26 at St. Mary Baptist Church in Port Barre. Greater Union burned on Tuesday and Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, also in Opelousas, suffered a fire on Thursday.
“We believe these three fires are suspicious,” Browning said. “We are falling short of talking about what caused the fires, falling short of saying they are related, however cognizant that there is a problem and no coincidence that there are three fires.”
Officials were also investigating a fourth, smaller fire last Sunday at the predominantly white Vivian United Pentecostal Church in Caddo Parish more than 200 miles north of St. Landry. The blaze was intentionally set.
Pastor Harry Richard of Greater Union Baptist Church said, “I’m very concerned but I’m very optimistic because of our faith in God and, no matter what happens, I feel like this is his plan,” Richard said. “He’s going to bring me through this.”
Gov. John Bel Edwards this week appealed for the public’s help with the investigations. “Our churches are sacred, central parts of our communities and everyone should feel safe in their place of worship, ” he said in a statement. “We do not know the cause of these fires in St. Landry and Caddo parishes, but my heart goes out to each of the congregations and all of those who call these churches home.”
The FBI and federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were assisting in the investigations.
“You got to have a certain degree of anger because there’s no reason for this,” Deacon Earnest Hines of Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Opelousas told CNN affiliate WBRZ.
Pastor Richard also told CNN affiliate KATC Greater Union Baptist Church embodied more than 100 years of history. “Our parents, grandparents went here,” he said. “Buried in the back there, some of them are.”
On Sunday, he told KLFY, he planned to preach about God’s grace to his displaced congregation.
“God’s grace is undeserved merit. I know we don’t deserve this, but he gives us something better than this, and that’s undeserved grace,” Richard said.
Rev. Gerald Toussaint of Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Opelousas, LA was on his way to his full-time job as a truck driver when he received the news of his church burned down in the middle of the night.
He said by the time he arrived at the churches location, it was gone.
“My church has a lot of history,” he said noting that it was more than 140 years old. “I don’t understand it. What could make a person do that to a church?”
Toussaint told ABC news that “The church is not the building. The church is the people.” He also added, “If we stay together as a congregation, the church is alive and well. We can rebuild the building as long as we stay together.”
We pray for safety and justice for the church families and the entire community. If you have any information regarding these suspicious fire, please contact St. Landry Parish Police at (337) 948-6516 or Crime Stoppers at 948-8477 (TIPS).
