Bishop Clarence Green has an interesting message for the perpetrators who vandalized his church: “forgiveness.”
The Hopewell Baptist Church in Greenville was set on fire Tuesday night. Authorities are calling it an act of intimidation.
Green said he believes the church is more than a building: it’s a community of love. He wants to remind the residents of Greenville to remain resilient and to look toward forgiveness.
“You can’t let the actions of others lower your standards of life,” Green said.
Kenneth Powell and his wife live next door to the church. Powell said they reported the fire to authorities after they noticed flames creeping through the roof of the church.
“I was afraid the flames would come over here,” Powell said.
The perpetrator torched the inner sanctuary, and “Vote Trump” was spray painted in white on the side of the building.
Greenville Fire Chief Ruben Brown Sr. said the cause of the fire is still to be determined.
“What we do know, is that the fire was started intentionally,” Brown said.
Though Greenville Mayor Errick Simmons was not quick to blame political affiliation, he said the fire is being investigated as a hate crime.
“This itself was a hateful and cowardly act, because it directly infringes on the people’s civil liberties,” Simmons said.
Greenville has a population of more than 32,000, with 78 percent African-American and 20 percent white, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Simmons said he believes race relations in the city are “fair” and “great.” However, members of the community are still left wondering why this happened.
“Why would you hate the church? If you can’t go to the church and have service and peace, where can you go? What is next?” Greenville resident Khadijah Mitchell said.
The investigation of the church fire is still ongoing. The authorities say they have a person of interest, but no arrests have been made.
