Union Hill CME celebrates new life, home after fire
Vasha Hunt | Opelika-Auburn News
Bishop L.L. Reddick, center, cuts the ribbon at the Union Hill Christian Methodist Episcopal Church dedication service Sunday. The church, in the Oakbowery community, was destroyed by fire earlier this year.
Staff Writer
Published: November 1, 2009
Members of several area churches gathered Sunday at Union Hill CME Church in the Oak Bowery community to celebrate how a church is much more than a building.
“The church of God is the people of God,” proclaimed Bishop Lawrence L. Reddick III, presiding prelate of the Fifth Episcopal District. “You are the place where God’s glory exists.”
Union Hill CME and Liberty CME in LaFayette, both in Chambers County, were destroyed by fire on a single night in February, according to law enforcement.
Pitts Chapel United Methodist Church near Salem in Lee County was also damaged that night. Four people have since been arrested and charged with arson and burglary.
The congregations gathered Sunday to dedicate the new Union Hill church building. Liberty members dedicated its new building in September.
The Rev. Shelia Crabb, the pastor at both Liberty and Union Hill, said Sunday the Union Hill congregation has been worshiping in its new home for the past month, but there were no pews, no pulpit and no running water.
“That right there is what it’s all about,” she said. “Praising the Lord without all the luxuries.”
The church now has everything in place and is fully operational, including running water.
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