When Doris Rogers heard that her former church, Second Baptist Church, Rutledge, burned the morning of June 2, she was devastated. “It was like losing a member of the family,” she said. “My husband and five children were baptized there. I had gone there for 49 years.”
After an investigation, the state fire marshal ruled it was an electrical fire that started in the attic. “They think that squirrels may have chewed the wires and that could’ve caused it,” said Jody Bentley, director of missions for Alabama–Crenshaw Association. “It was a total loss as far as the building is concerned.”
The church celebrated its 50th anniversary last summer and then one month later it closed its doors and has been vacant ever since.
“We only had about six people besides the pastor and his wife attending and we knew we needed to close the church,” Rogers said. “It was very hard but I had peace with God about the closing.”
According to Bentley, the church deeded the property to the association after the closing.
Worse than closing
“We were still in the process of trying to decide how to use the facility,” Bentley said. “We had looked into relocating the association office there and we had received offers from other denominations. I didn’t think it could get any worse than when the church had to close its doors, but it burning down was worse.”
Since the church was already closed, the association has no plans to ask the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions for assistance. “There’s really nothing to do,” Bentley said. “We even had a small insurance policy but we’re not looking to rebuild.”
Although the building was declared a total loss, Bentley said they were able to salvage a couple of items from inside.
“We were able to recover the church records which have 50 years of history,” Bentley said. “Besides the records the only other things we could save were the American and Christian flags out of the sanctuary. They were dirty and smelly but they didn’t burn.”
Bentley said that several former members came to see the church after the fire. “So many of them were upset and said that their work was all for naught,” he said. “My wife and I tried to comfort them and assure them that their rewards are in heaven and things that took place in the building, like their salvation, are eternal and didn’t burn.”
The association’s property committee met to discuss the future of the 1/2-acre property. “The original deed stated that if the land ceased to be used for a church it would revert back to the family who sold the property to the church,” Bentley said.
Although that deed is no longer binding, Bentley said the committee is considering giving the property back to the neighboring family who originally sold it to the church. “We have to go before the executive committee in August before we make a final decision,” Bentley said.
He noted that he and others knocked down the remaining walls because they had become unstable. He hoped to clear the land within the week.
“We want to have a closing service on the site sometime in August,” Bentley said. “We’ll invite former pastors and members to come.”
Bentley, who is also a Brantley volunteer firefighter, found out about the fire after being called for backup on the morning of the fire.
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