Jan 9, 2006 11:22 pm US/Central
State Pledges $1 Million To Rebuild Church
Derrick Blakley
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
Investigators point the finger of blame in a fire at an historic church and Gov. Rod Governor Blagojevich offers major help from the state to get the Chicago landmark rebuilt.
The congregation has had no doubt the Pilgrim Baptist Church in Bronzeville would rise from the ashes after Friday's fire.
CBS 2's Jon Duncanson reports money has been pouring in at a South Side fundraiser Monday night to bring the church back.
"I'm committing $1 million to the rebuilding," Blagojevich said of the state's contribution to the rebuilding effort of Pilgrim Baptist Church school, in order to side-step church and state issues.
It was a night of gospel and giving at St. John's Missionary Baptist Church, the offering baskets passed for another historic church in great need.
The governor says the $1 million pledge from the state might just be a start and said, "Even though I vetoed my pay raise, my wife and I and our two little girls want to donate $1,000 personally to the rebuilding of the Pilgrim Baptist Church.
CBS 2's Derrick Blakley reports that investigators from the Chicago Fire Department have determined that the torches set off the Friday fire that destroyed the church, at 3301 S. Indiana Av. Police investigators also found there was no criminal intent.
Police say no citations will be issued. The contractor, Conrad Roofing, would not comment on the fire.
Pilgrim Baptist Church was a 115-year-old building designed by the famous architectural firm headed by Louis Sullivan and Dankmar Adler.
Church members have vowed to rebuild the church -- which is known as the birthplace of gospel music -- in the historic Bronzeville neighborhood.
Thomas A. Dorsey, considered the father of gospel music. was Pilgrim's music director from 1932 until the late 1970s, and his all-time greatest hit, "Take My Hand, Precious Lord," was popularized by the late Mahalia Jackson and became the favorite song of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
This was not the first time a church that housed historic black congregation was destroyed by fire that resulted from roof repairs.
A 1999 blaze destroyed St. Stephen's AME Church on the West Side. That church building was constructed in 1868. The congregation was 133 years old. Like Pilgrim Baptist, St. Stephen's was accidentally burned down by a roofer's blow torch.
The pastor of St. Stephen's, the Rev. Albert Tyson, said of the Pilgrim Baptist fire, "The first thing I did was to cry, the second thing was I thought about Yogi Berra – déjà vu all over again."
Tyson said the fires at the two churches were eerily similar, resulting from "folks wqho were working on the roof, trying to do a good job for the church."
He said the Pilgrim Baptist fire was "so much like our fire until I wa xsbrought right back to the day of our fire."
For five years, Tyson worked to hold his congregation together while plans progressed for a new sanctuary. Construction will begin in the spring.
Tyson bears no ill will toward the roofers responsible for the loss of St. Stephens. He says they were only trtyinhg to help.
"There's something in us as people of faith that overlooks buildings and properties and sees where God is going to get us," Tyson said.
Pilgrim Baptist Church Rebuilding Fundc/o Amalgamated Bank,
1 W. Monroe St.
Chicago 60603
(© 2006 CBS Worldwide Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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