Difficult times ahead for torched churches

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)