Centreville, Ala.
Five rural Baptist churches, all within 10 miles of one another, were burned in one night last week. Three other churches were damaged by fire a few days later. “We don’t have any idea why anyone would want to do this,” said a parishioner at Ashby Baptist Church. “The building is gone, but our church is still all around us.” Police said they would investigate the arsons as possible hate crimes. One church in the first group, Pleasant Sabine, has a predominantly black congregation, while the others are predominantly white.
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