From the ashes rises sparks of hope

The fire that consumed “The Forest,” the web of medieval tree-trucks which held up the roof and tower of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, has provided a serendipity beyond the bravery of firefighters — who controlled the blaze before it obliterated the 13th century “Rose” windows or the 8,000 pipes of the famed organ.

The tragic fire casted light on the cause to rebuild three historically Black churches in Louisiana’s St Landry Parish destroyed by an even more deliberate arson. A crowdfunding campaign surpassed its $1.8 million goal late Wednesday, April 17 to rebuild St. Mary Baptist Church in Port Barre; Greater Union Baptist Church in Opelousas, and Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Opelousas.

While the Notre-Dame conflagration prompted immediate pledges of millions of euros to help reconstruct it, just hours later, it also spurred interest in a social media campaign to do the same for these much smaller places of worship thousands of miles away.

After the GoFundMe initiative by Seventh District Baptist Association (which includes 54 Baptist churches in southwest Louisiana including the aforementioned three) was shared on Twitter by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the journalist Yashar Ali, and CNN Anchor Jake Tapper, donations skyrocketed from $92,939 on last Tuesday morning to the heights of $1.8 million by last Wednesday night. More than 25,000 people had pledged their help as early as Wednesday afternoon, and a spokesman for GoFundMe said the campaign had received donations from all 50 states.

This article originally published in the April 22, 2019 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.