One year after fire, Portsmouth church looks to future

PORTSMOUTH

A year ago today, members of Zion Baptist Church woke to the news that their historic church was engulfed in flames.

Many rushed downtown, then stood together watching helplessly as firefighters sent plumes of water over the ruins of the church.

Today, they will observe the anniversary by gathering across the street from the church site in an annex building that survived.

They will remember what it was like to worship in their former sanctuary. And they will express their faith that God will help them rebuild.

Over the past year, some members had said maybe it was time to move to a different location, said Rosa Wells-Garris, who is heading up

Zion's building council steering committee.

"That was really a big question that we had not answered," she said.

The congregation voted recently to rebuild on the same downtown site.

Members felt a tie to the downtown community, she said.

"We were among the first African Americans to own property down there," she said.

The decision keeps the church in the middle of a community it has traditionally served. The church has long offered meals and outreach to the homeless and a tutoring program that is open to all children.

The church still is deciding how the new building should look. Members will select an architect after Christmas.

"We know that we will design a facility that will be complementary of the downtown architecture," she said.

Wells-Garris remembers crying after someone woke her to tell her the church was on fire. She turned on the television and saw the fiery scene.

She felt differently when she got downtown and saw the tower still standing above the charred ruins. It told her that God was still in control, she said.

Over the past year, Wells-Garris said, the biggest challenge was adjusting to the experience of "being homeless."

There were blessings in the many churches and people who reached out to help, she said. Some donated choir robes and hymn books. Some churches opened their sanctuaries for Zion's baptisms and funerals.

On Zion's 143rd anniversary, members of nearby Third Baptist Church offered their building for the full Sunday. Wells-Garris said the pastor, the Rev. Joe Fleming, got up from his chair as they came in, saying the church belonged to them for the day.

Third Baptist members also cooked a meal for them and donated a check for more than $36,000, she said.

Others have been generous as well, Wells-Garris said.

The church has held Sunday services for most of the year at Seventh-day Adventist Church in the midtown area.

But the congregation needed a homecoming for this year's anniversary observance.

They will gather in the H. Edward Whitaker Educational Building, as the annex is called, across from the empty lot where Zion stood.

They need to be able to look across the street and see where they were, said Clarine Roberts, who helped plan the service.

"It still feels like home."

Janie Bryant, (757) 446-2453, janie.bryant@pilotonline.com