Congregants of Mount Pleasant Baptist Church are optimistic for the future.
By Ashley Cusick April 21 at 7:37 PM OPELOUSAS, La. — In a quiet lobby off the main hall at the Equine Sales Company, a livestock auction house that doubles as an event space, Gerald Toussaint, 56, sat quietly Sunday morning with his personal leather-bound Bible.
Mount Pleasant burned April 4 and was the third predominantly black church destroyed by arson in St. Landry Parish in a span of 10 days, following St. Mary Baptist Church in nearby Port Barre and the Greater Union Baptist Church, also in Opelousas. Holden Matthews, the son of a local sheriff’s deputy, has since been charged with arson and state hate crimes.Mount Pleasant Baptist Church was set on fire earlier this month along with two other churches in the span of a week.
Before services began, members worked to turn the space into a makeshift church, using binder clips to pin white tablecloths down, turning on battery-operated votive candles and configuring extension chords to plug in the sole keyboard that would provide the day’s music. Through the back windows, massive horse stables and sprawling green fields were visible.
“This [crime] is not a reflection of who we are as a community locally and regionally, so it’s important for people to step up to the plate to help these churches to get back on their feet,” said Raymond Hebert, the foundation’s president and chief executive. “Each has congregations that are over 100 years old and are an important part of the fabric of our community.”
Hines said church members have been moved by the outpouring of support. “You wish that we as a nation would have come far enough now that we don’t have things like this to happen,” he said. “But we got support from all across the nation. That tells you what kind of nation we have.” “It was the first day when they set the church on fire,” Toussaint declared. “But on the sixth day, we found out who did it.”
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Death toll climbs as explosions rock churches and hotels in Sri Lanka on Easter SundayThe first wave of bombings struck during Easter services at churches.
Read more »
Happy birthday: Queen Elizabeth II turns 93 on Easter SundayGet breaking national and world news, broadcast video coverage, and exclusive interviews. Find the top news online at ABC news.
Read more »
Sri Lanka explosions: More than 150 dead in Easter Sunday attackThe blasts in the churches took place at approximately 8:45 a.m. in the cities of Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa. More than 200 people were admitted to hospitals.
Read more »
Easter Sunday blasts across Sri Lanka -- live updatesThe Sri Lankan government has temporarily blocked social media sites, including Facebook and Instagram, in the wake of coordinated terror attacks that have killed at least 140 people
Read more »
Sri Lanka bombings: 190 dead, hundreds injured in church, hotel explosions on Easter SundayAt least nine foreigners were among the at least 190 killed in a series of explosions at churches and hotels in Sri Lanka. Two were dual citizens of the U.S. and U.K.
Read more »
Sri Lanka explosions: More than 200 dead in Easter Sunday attackThe blasts in the churches took place at approximately 8:45 a.m. in the cities of Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa. More than 200 people were admitted to hospitals.
Read more »
At least 200 killed in Easter Sunday blasts at Sri Lanka churches, hotelsThe death toll has risen to 207, with nearly 450 people injured, after eight blasts hit Sri lanka on Easter Sunday, a police spokesperson confirmed
Read more »
Happy birthday: Queen Elizabeth II turns 93 on Easter SundayLONDON (AP) — Queen Elizabeth II is celebrating her 93rd birthday, which this year coincides with Easter Sunday. The queen is marking Easter by attending a service with other senior royals...
Read more »
Over 200 casualities reported after explosions rock churches, several hotels in Sri Lanka on Easter SundayMultiple explosions have occurred in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo, including at two churches holding Easter Sunday services.
Read more »
Sri Lanka bombings: 207 dead, hundreds injured in church, hotel explosions on Easter SundayVideo shows the damage caused by some of the explosions at churches and hotels in Sri Lanka that killed at least 190, and wounding hundreds more on Easter Sunday.
Read more »