| Morristown-Area Church Plans to Rebuild After Arson Incident
By Bill Jones
The Greeneville Sun
BAILEYTON, Tenn. – Three days after Sulphur Springs United Methodist Church was burned to the ground by an arsonist, the Rev. Paul Miracle pledged to the congregation that, "God being my helper," the church will be rebuilt.
Miracle made the promise on June 8 to members of the small congregation who had crowded into the home of two church members for regular Sunday worship. About 30 church members and a few news media representatives were present for the service.
As he assured the congregation that the building would rise again from the ashes left by the June 5 blaze, he singled out Lizzie McAmis – who at 91 is the church's oldest member and was seated in the midst of the group on Sunday.
"In thinking of our church that just burned, Miss Lizzie, I'm going to make you a promise," the pastor said.
"You sat as a child in the dirt outside Sulphur Springs Church while they were building it, and you watched your father and the other men build it. With God being my helper, you are going to sit there and watch the next one go up.
"You're 91, but you're going to be with us. You're not going to sit in the dirt. I'm going to get you a comfortable chair and something cold to drink, and you're going to watch the next one go up. "God being my helper, that's my promise to you."
Family members said McAmis can vaguely remember in 1912 playing on the construction site while the Sulphur Springs Church was being erected by members including her father.
Miracle also told the congregation that a meeting of the church's board would be held to discuss rebuilding plans.
"We will meet and make our decisions about building," he said. "If we could get someone over there tomorrow, we would start tomorrow. We're going to start as soon as possible."
'Need everyone's input'
Howard Lamb, the church's Sunday school superintendent, said, "We need everyone's input on this."
Miracle said he had received two offers of interim meeting places for the Sulphur Springs congregation pending the rebuilding of the church building. He said that the Baileyton Baptist Church had offered one of its two sanctuaries to the Sulphur Springs congregation and that the nearby Locust Springs Christian Retreat had offered the use of its chapel.
In addition to Sulphur Springs UMC, Miracle is the pastor of three other congregations comprising the Baileyton Circuit in Morristown District.
Speaking from behind an impromptu altar set up in the sun room of the Helen and Hugh Shipley residence, Miracle prayed for the 14- year-old who allegedly set the fire that destroyed the church on June 5.
"May this young boy, out of this, find the help that he needs," Miracle prayed during the Sunday morning worship service. "And may his family be comforted as their hearts break."
He also asked God's blessings on "all those who have said, ÔWhat can I do to help?'" The pastor also asked for God's blessings upon those who will take part in the rebuilding effort.
"We just pray now for a blessing upon those who put their hands to the labor of rebuilding and those who will give of themselves and what they have," he said. "Lord, we know there will be days that we will be aggravated and sort of disheartened. In those days, Lord, help us to look up and to know that the victory is ours and all we have to do is claim it."
In opening remarks in the two-story farmhouse owned by two descendants of the church's founders, Miracle noted that, in one sense, Sulphur Springs UMC had been returned to its roots by the fire.
Founders met in homes
He pointed out that in the 1820s, the church had been founded by pioneers who met in private homes, just as the congregation was doing on Sunday. His remarks came moments after the small congregation, accompanied by a piano being played in another room, had struggled through the hymn "Faith of Our Fathers."
"The fact is, they built three churches before the one that was built here," he said, in reference to the just destroyed church.
Miracle also told the congregation that he, in essence, is still a circuit-rider. "I don't ride a horse, but I do have a circuit," he said. He promised the congregation that he would be with them "when we finish this building." He added, "We're going to put God's house back."
After completing the 10 a.m. Sunday worship service, Miracle had to leave immediately to conduct another worship service at Doty's Chapel UMC.
The Sulphur Springs congregation continued its gathering with Sunday School. The different class groups moved to separate rooms inside the Shipley residence to conduct classes.
Total loss
Despite the efforts of at least three fire departments, the white frame church was reduced to a smoking pile of rubble well before nightfall on June 5. The fire was reported at about 5 p.m. The building, including a more modern wing at the back, was declared a total loss, according to a report filed by Sheriff's Sgt. Wesley Holt. His report placed the value of the church and its contents at $300,000. At the fire scene, Miracle said the church was insured for a total of about $150,000.
The 14-year-old boy is facing in Juvenile Court two counts of burglary, a count of vandalism over $500 and a count of arson, according to Sheriff's Detective Capt. John Huffine.
Firefighters retrieved the church bell and a black-lettered sign that hung over the church entrance. In addition to the original sanctuary, the church had a "fully equipped kitchen" along with Sunday school rooms and restrooms, Helen Shipley said. She said the church also had a pair of stained-glass windows behind its pulpit. New carpet was installed about a year ago.
Lamb pointed out that the church had recently paved a new, concrete parking lot.
(c) The Greeneville Sun. Used with permission.
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