ORANGE PARK – Pastor Moyenda Ambakisye sunk a shovel into the dirt and hoisted freshly tilled soil to symbolically mark the beginning of the rebuilding process for St. Simons Missionary Baptist …
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ORANGE PARK – Pastor Moyenda Ambakisye sunk a shovel into the dirt and hoisted freshly tilled soil to symbolically mark the beginning of the rebuilding process for St. Simons Missionary Baptist Church on Saturday, Feb. 25.
Before the dust settled, he yelled, “Hallelujah!”
He yelled it again. And again. And again – each time getting louder. By the fourth “Hallelujah,” his word echoed through the whispering oaks like a thunderclap.
Nearly two years after an arson burned the historic Black church to the ground, the church’s congregation, community leaders and other Baptist pastors rejoiced as the church moved forward.
“It’s taken awhile because there’s so much paperwork,” Ambakisye said. “We put what happened behind us. We’re looking ahead. We hope construction can start in the next couple of months.”
Ambasisye said faith would have to make up what insurance won’t cover in the rebuilding process.
Fire ripped through the church on March 25, 2021. Originally built in 1965, the building was “80% through” a massive expansion project when it was reduced to rubble.
The big lot on Miller Street is now covered with grass. Any reminder of the arsonist’s ire has long been plowed away.
Officials with the Orange Park Police Department don’t believe the fire resulted from racial hatred.
“We decided a long time ago we would pray for whoever did it,” Ambasisye said.