Fort Worth Churches join Forces to restore Freeze-damaged Historic Building
Alicia Stanton and Eldon WhiteWinter Storm Uri of 2021 is finally a thing of the past for The Baker Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church with a little help from their friends at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Featured Photo: Baker Chapel members and missionaries from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gather around Reverend Cheryl V. Cammon and Community Outreach Leader Jimmy Killingsworth following lunch provided by Baker Chapel. Photo by Eldon and Val White.
February 2021 went down in Texas history as one of the coldest months on record. The week of Valentine’s Day saw temperatures drop to near zero in many parts of the Lone Star State, with massive power outages and water shortages impacting millions. Now over a year later—during one of the hottest Texas summers on record—one Fort Worth church has taken a big step toward regaining full functionality of its building.
During the winter storm, frozen water pipes caused extensive damage to homes, businesses and churches. One structure hit particularly hard was the building that houses the Baker Chapel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, located in the Historic Southside of Fort Worth. This 117-year-old building had up to 18 inches of standing water in some locations. Although it has been 18 months since then, the impact of the “Big Freeze” has continued to linger on for the Baker Chapel.
Just this summer, in-person devotional services began again in the Baker Chapel sanctuary. But Sunday School and youth services had yet to resume due to the condition of the rest of the building.
Then on July 19, leaders of the Baker Chapel AME Church and the Fort Worth Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints met to explore possible community service opportunities for the 9/11 Day of Service. Eldon White, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ’s Fort Worth Communication Council attending the meeting, noted the urgency of their situation.
“We recognized an immediate need that couldn’t wait until September,” White said. “And the full-time missionaries [of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints] could be the work crew that would get it done.”
Brother White coordinated the work that needed to be done with Baker Chapel leaders Jimmy Killingsworth and Corey Cammon. July 26 was set as the day and the fourteen full-time missionaries of the Fort Worth Zone, together with Eldon and Val White, comprised the crew.
On the day of the project, everyone worked to move, clean and arrange tables and chairs. They also moved boxes out of hallways and classrooms, mopped floors, cleaned windows, repositioned kitchen appliances and assembled food pantry shelving. By lunchtime, the building was sparkling clean and all set up for their Sunday services. The volunteers were then treated to a lunch given by the Baker Chapel (AME) Church.
Senior Pastor, Reverend Dr. Melvin Wilson, expressed his appreciation and recognized “the great community service provided by the Latter-day Saint missionaries.”
Cammom, who had been personally doing most of the repairs, commented on how much longer it would have taken to get the church fully functioning without the helping hands.
“We are deeply indebted to your church members for their help today,” he said. “Without your help, we would be weeks away from full church services.”
Eldon J White currently serves on the Fort Worth Texas Stake Communications Council and the DFW Metro Communications Council of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Eldon and his wife Val White live in west Fort Worth, where they enjoy time with grandchildren, especially their newborn grandson, Logan.
