Year after fire, St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church readies for rededication ceremony
Donald LaHuffman, 73, remembers a handful of times when he’s been touched by community support for a place dear to him: his church of 67 years, St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church.
Words of encouragement and support have poured into the church – where his family has attended for generations – since a fire engulfed the sanctuary and ceiling last March.
Roughly $20,000 in donations from supporters and area churches has been gifted to St. Joseph’s on Ramsey Street to restore it to its beauty as a fixture in Fayetteville’s history since 1873, LaHuffman said.
“We’ve received support from those who are not Episcopalian,” LaHuffman, a senior warden at the church, said. “We didn’t ask for anything. It was all spontaneous. It was just so heartwarming.”
A year ago, the ordeal crushed many and those who appreciate the church for being a cornerstone in one of Fayetteville’s booming African-American neighborhoods.
A year later, the mood has changed.
(Fayetteville Observer, 4/14/2016)