THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, June 9, 1995 TAG: 9506080163
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JANIE BRYANT, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 122 lines
The traditional white frame church looks like it should be tucked away on some rural lane. Years ago, it was.
Elder Charles Ricks, the 51-year-old pastor of the church, remembers when it was a dirt road that he and other children played on after church.
But today cars whiz by the Greater Mount Zion Tabernacle on Deep Creek Boulevard between the busy Frederick and Portsmouth boulevards.
And, unfortunately, traffic isn't the only thing that has disturbed the peace of the small church.
Late at night on May 15, someone broke into the church and set the burgundy velvet curtains near the pulpit on fire.
Hicks was home when a friend of his son's called to tell them he had seen smoke coming from the roof of the church. By the time he got there, the street was blocked off and firefighters were battling the blaze.
``It hurt,'' said Hicks. ``It really hurt.''
Hicks' first thought was that there had been some kind of electrical problem. He was shocked when he learned that someone purposely set the fire.
``It's just heart-breaking,'' he said. ``I prayed for the individual who did it. And God touches hearts.''
But later that day, he led the way through the small damaged sanctuary and the hurt came back to him.
``Every time I talk about it my heart gets real fluttery,'' he said, visibly bracing himself on the wreckage.
He pointed out the origin and path of the fire, which stalled in the middle of the sanctuary between the ceiling and roof and then ``burst like a fire ball.''
It reminded him of Moses and the burning bush, he said, pointing up to the area.
The cane webbing of four ceiling fans that ran the length of the center aisle had melted into the shape of winged insects.
And the 14 snowy white pews - the same ones Hicks remembers sleeping on as a child - were covered with a dusting of black soot.
There was no insurance on the old building.
A headboard and other garage sale items were tucked between pews, waiting for upcoming fund-raisers. Members are slowly, but faithfully, pulling together to turn the loss of their old home into a new beginning.
Greater Mount Zion was founded in 1915, by a woman, her daughter and granddaughter. For years, the small band of church members met in homes or on street corners. Before long, a string band was formed, which went around the community singing and playing music.
Hicks isn't sure when members purchased the building, but it was an old dance hall building before it was converted into the church's home.
No one knows how old the building was, maybe more than 100 years, said Hicks. A church history published in 1991 details the struggles to improve it over the years.
There was former minister Elder D. Harvey Dunlap's efforts to remodel in 1951. Dunlap was a popular tent revivalist and radio minister, as well as Mount Zion's pastor.
More work was done in the 1980s.
``We painted the tables until they were white as snow,'' the church historian wrote. The pastor donated the maroon carpet for the pulpit and altar and the old oil heater finally was replaced.
``Our church finally had push button heat. It was such a joy to sit in our church without being concerned about the heater not operating right on the coldest day or night in the winter,'' she recalled.
The church history also noted how each pastor had tried to pay off the church note. That was finally accomplished under Hicks, who has been pastor for about 10 years.
Members had been planning on raising funds for an expansion. Now they've decided to raise $148,000 and build a whole new church.
``We're going to tear it down and start over,'' said Hicks, ``because God has given me a vision. It's time to build now, so we're just going on faith.''
Meanwhile, they are meeting at any location they can find - Coleman Nursery, a room at the Holiday Inn, other churches where space is available.
Anya Clarkson, head of the deaconess board, said that members are planning bake sales, garage sales, church dinners and gospel concerts. They are hoping people in the community will help.
Clarkson envisions a church with room for marriage and parental counseling, after-school studies and a kitchen. But she doesn't expect a new building to change the small, close-knit church family that offered her support and inspiration when she first showed up a little more than a year ago.
The mother of two had been injured in a car accident in 1989 and when she came out of a coma, there were things she did not remember.
It made her feel ``lost,'' Clarkson said.
Clarkson visited several churches before she found Greater Mount Zion, a place she credited with giving her a ``sense of direction.''
``That's why I'm so involved with the church and so dedicated to wanting to get the church rebuilt,'' she said. ``It's home for me. It's a beginning for me. It's my foundation.''
Clarkson described the church as a place where the pastor calls everyone by name and 50 to 60 people show up and pack the pews. The old building was so small that the three different Sunday school classes split up and met in different areas of the sanctuary.
``Sometimes we have a tendency to be spoiled because we're so close,'' said Clarkson.
Clarkson was just married in the sanctuary on May 13, two days before the fire. Her own family was unable to fly in because of a storm, but her church family was there and that made everything all right, she said.
She and her husband, Alvin Clarkson, were still on their honeymoon at Virginia Beach when they got the call the church was on fire. They immediately headed for home.
``I wanted to cry, but I didn't because I knew that the pastor was hurt enough,'' she said.
``We go out into the community and we feed people,'' she said. ``We help anybody who comes and knocks on our door. We just couldn't understand who could be so vicious.''
Now they're counting on the good in people.
Clarkson said anyone interested in helping or even sharing fund-raising ideas with members can call her at 483-4475 or Hicks at 485-9162.
So far, the church has received $200 in donations. Donations can be sent to the Greater Mount Zion Benefit fund at Jefferson National Bank, 1000 Airline Blvd., Portsmouth. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by MARK MITCHELL
Elder Charles Hicks recalls the night someone set fire to his
church, the Greater Mount Zion Tabernacle on Deep Creek Boulevard.
by CNB