A Burned Black Church in Springfield, Massachusetts Finds Willing Hands from Across the Country

They came because they wanted to show that love can have more force than hate, that good can triumph over evil.

What was once a heap of ash and mangled steel, a symbol of racist vitriol, is slowly rising into what these volunteers hope will be a beacon of justice.

"I feel people forget that racism is still a problem in our country,'' said Charli Lighty, 24, who flew in from California to lend a hand. "This is my way of saying that what happened here is not OK and that no matter how many times people tear things down, people like us will be here to build it right back up again.''

Nearly two years ago, on a night when much of this city celebrated President Obama's election, Bishop Bryant Robinson Jr., learned that the church his congregation had nearly finished building was on fire.

When he arrived at the scene shortly before dawn, he felt a deep despair as he watched flames lick the sky, heard steel beams buckle, and breathed in the acrid air while his sanctuary crackled into embers.

"I wanted to run in and save it, but it was totally consumed,'' said Robinson, pastor for 10 years of Macedonia Church of God in Christ, which his father founded in 1950. "I felt helpless -- and maybe some anger.''

It got worse when he learned that three young white men had been accused of torching a church with a predominantly black membership to protest the election of the nation's first black president.

In the past 21 months, the anger has given way to hope.

And yesterday, as Governor Deval Patrick paid his third visit to the church, Robinson beamed as Lighty and her team of volunteers from California drilled holes, hammered nails, and sawed planks of wood, giving a soaring shape to the new sanctuary.

The volunteers were one of four teams from around the country who have come to Springfield this summer to help rebuild the church, which is slated to open next spring. They have ranged in age from 15 to 87 years old and are among hundreds of others who have sent nearly $100,000 in donations to defray the cost of the $2 million project.

The volunteers, organized by the National Coalition of Burned Churches, each paid about $800 to spend the week working in Springfield. They came, they said, because they wanted to prove there could be justice in the wake of such a crime.

"We want the people who cause havoc to know that no matter what they do, there are more people like us who want to make this a better world,'' said Alex Santa Maria, 17, who flew in from Sun Valley to help the church.