Fire Destroys Newly Rebuilt Church

After electrical problems caused the Harmony Baptist Church to burn down last January, its members promised to rebuild.

They were about three weeks away from finishing the job at a different site when their church building burned down again early Monday, and this time the cause was not yet known. Again, the predominantly white members are planning to rebuild.

“We’re not stopping,” said Pastor Shelly Elkins. “The shock of it hasn’t worn off.”

The blaze in this northeast Arkansas town about five miles from Missouri is the fifth church fire the state has seen in recent weeks. Arson is suspected in three of those fires.