Difficult times ahead for torched churches

JAKARTA (JP): The rebuilding of churches burned or damaged during last Sunday's riots is likely to be hindered by problems stemming from the difficulty of raising funds during the prolonged economic crisis, church representatives said on Friday.

Rev. Kumala Setiabrata of the Ketapang Church of Christ in West Jakarta said he could not predict when restoration work on his church, which was badly damaged by fire, would begin.

Kumala said the church congregation had not yet thought about the future and were still uncertain how they would go about raising funds to restore the church. Damage to the church has been valued at Rp 3.65 billion (US$486,666).

"We want to rebuild the church, but our congregation is very uncertain about how to proceed, given that we are still in the depths of the economic crisis," he said.

The reverend said the congregation was not optimistic of receiving any meaningful help from the cash-strapped city administration, which has promised to make a donation.

Representatives of the burned and damaged churches were invited to the City Hall on Wednesday to help officials establish the extent of damage inflicted during the mayhem last Sunday.

At the meeting it was decided that a total of 22 churches had been vandalized or burned in parts of Central and West Jakarta following clashes between Ketapang residents and security guards from an amusement center in the area. Fourteen people died in the ensuing unrest.

Places of worship damaged by fire were the Church of Christ and Pantekosta church on Jl. Zainul Arifin; Santapan Rohani church on Jl. Taman Sari, and Isa Al Masih church and GKI Perniagaan church on Jl. Perniagaan.

Kumala said that his congregation would temporarily hold services in the auditorium of a nearby Christian school. "I think we will have to use the building for quite a long time while the church is being rebuilt.

"We have also asked members of the congregation to go to other churches belonging to our denomination, including those in Bojong, Taman Aries and Taman Alpha Indah housing complexes in West Jakarta and in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta.

Church elder Yap Khian Nyan from Santapan Rohani church said his congregation would hold services under tents on the site of what until last weekend was a three-story place of worship.

"We will carry on, but we don't know how we are going to collect funds, except through appealing to our congregation and other Christians. I imagine that rebuilding will cost hundreds of millions or even a billions of rupiah because prices of construction materials are more expensive than they used to be.

"But we believe that with God's help, we can do it," he said.

Representatives of other churches which were less badly damaged said they believed that members of their congregations would provide funds to finance repair work.

The secretary of Central Jakarta's Bunda Hati Kudus Catholic Church, Agnes Angelina, said the congregation would make donations to fund the necessary repairs.

Agnes said that damage caused to her church had been put at around Rp 100 million. A mob burned lamps, teak chairs, ornaments and Holy Bibles belonging to the church.

"Our congregation spontaneously began to collect money when they heard the church had been damaged. Repair work will begin soon and we want churchgoers to remain in good spirits, even when they see the extent of the damage for the first time on Sunday," she said.

Rev. Luther Tan from GKI Perniagaan church, part of which was damaged by fire, said he did not think the city administration would be in a position to offer much financial assistance.

"There are many other needy causes that require the administration's help, so we will try to support ourselves," he said referring to their need to raise Rp 300 million to pay for repairs. (ind/ylt)