Community rallies around Rehobeth Church in Waterloo

By Terry L. Hapney, Jr.
The Ironton Tribune

July 6 is a date members of Rehobeth Church in Waterloo will never forget.
That is when an act of arson burned the church building to the ground.
Gretta Taylor, a member since birth, said the original church building was built in 1852. It burned in 1963. Members rebuilt it in 1964, making the building 60 years old.
“When my mom was a child, the church burned down then,” she said. “They raised enough money to rebuild the church. We’re doing this all over again.”
Taylor said the “devastation” has impacted the emotions of church members and others in the community in a “major way.”
“I’ll be honest,” she said. “I never dreamed how emotional it would be. Going back and reliving all the moments that we had as a church family and my family in that church.”
The dedications of all of Taylor’s children were in that church.
“My siblings and I were all dedicated in that church,” she said. “It is a very emotional time.”
The week that the church building burned down, Taylor and her family were at the Lawrence County Fair. At that time, they didn’t know what the church’s insurance plan entailed. Her family, including her 10-year-old daughter Willow, and another church youth member, Layton who is also 10, were camping at the fair.
“Those little girls, said, ‘We don’t want to sit back. We want to start raising money.’ They started a lemonade stand at the fair campground,” Taylor said. “That is honestly what got our fundraising started.”
It was then that the entire church congregation and community got involved in rebuilding the church building.
One of many efforts the church has planned to fundraise is a spaghetti dinner and auction on Sunday at Clark’s Fast Lane located at 7558 Co. Rd. 16 in Pedro—located in Arabia near Waterloo.
Lunch is served from noon – 4 p.m. The auction begins at 2 p.m. Meals are offered on a donation basis. Attendees can eat them there or get them to go. The menu includes spaghetti, salad, rolls, drinks and desserts.
Taylor said after meeting with Nancy Clark at the store, the group put together a list of items needed.
“Once I posted that on Facebook, within 10 minutes we had the items we needed,” Taylor said. “We have been blessed with the best community ever.”
After such a “devastating” event at the church, Taylor said to see the community—
including neighbors of the church—come out with “such kindness and generosity,” and to see how many people who had attended the church and Bible school “care so much for our church, it was truly a blessing.”
“It reminded us that our church is so much more than just a physical space,” she said. “Special friends, special neighbors.”
For more information about the dinner and auction call 740-646-0396.
Investigators with the Ohio Department of Commerce Division of State Fire Marshal; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the Gallia and Lawrence County Sheriff’s Offices seek the public’s help in identifying those responsible for four fires that destroyed churches in Gallia and Lawrence counties, including three since May 10.
A representative with the state fire marshal’s office said all four church buildings were destroyed. No one was injured in the fires. The representative said during the investigations, it was determined that the fires were the result of “intentional human acts.”
In addition to a $5,000 reward offered by the Blue Ribbon Arson Committee, the ATF is offering another $5,000 for information leading to the identification and arrest of those responsible for the fires. Anyone with information is encouraged to call 800-589-2728, 888-ATF-TIPS or email ATFTips@atf.gov.

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