Heritage Column for October 13, 2005
By Fred Anderson
‘The condition of our Baptist churches in Galveston, Houston, and other portions of the storm-swept section of Texas, is indeed deplorable. Houses of worship were utterly destroyed and the membership lost nearly everything they had. Piteous appeals for aid in rebuilding come from … .” The lines could come from today's news stories of the terrible hurricanes, Katrina and Rita, as we think of help for the hurricanes' victims in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. Instead they come from an issue of the Religious Herald from October 1900.
On Sept. 8, 1900, a catastrophic hurricane struck Galveston in the days before warning systems and mass communication. Some place the death toll as high as 12,000 persons. The SBC annual for 1901 called it “that greatest of American calamities which will be known in history as the Galveston Storm.” Today we give them proper names.
About 25 Baptist churches were left in ruins. It was estimated that to rebuild would require $75,000. We marvel at the rate of inflation. The 1900 storm caused property damage which was estimated at $20 million. Today we speak of billions.
Virginia Baptists were quick to offer assistance. They had no feeding stations and disaster relief ministry but they possessed big hearts and were willing to open their pockets. Virginia Baptists have been responding to the needs of victims of natural disasters long before hurricanes even had names.
The Texas Baptists admitted they needed assistance. In an official report the Baptist General Convention of Texas stated: “Many of the brethren and sisters were swept into eternity and many others have left that part of the country. Those remaining are in destitute circumstances. The rehabilitation is a matter of grave concern. That Galveston will be rebuilt and better built need not be doubted. That whole southern country will be repopulated. Our duty is plain. The abundance of the favored sections must supply the lack in South Texas, according to the Apostolic Rule.”
The pastor of First Baptist Church in Houston visited Richmond Baptists and asked for aid. In the dawning of the 20th century, Virginia Baptists did not have a large and specialized staff for the State Mission Board. There certainly was no office to coordinate disaster response. An agency was in place which had the essentials: a means of communication to the people and a relationship of trust so that people would feel confident in sending their money. The agency also had an energetic and compassionate individual in place to coordinate the effort. The agency was the Religious Herald and the man-of-the-day was Robert Healy Pitt, who was just shy of age 50 and who, as “junior editor” for 12 years, had already endeared himself to the readership.
The Baptist ministers of Richmond and Manchester (that community just across the James from the capital city) formally requested Pitt to take the challenge of chairman and treasurer of the relief fund. Pitt responded: “The reluctance with which the appointment is accepted grows out of conscious inability to do this work as it deserves to be done and not out of any lack of cordial sympathy with our struggling Texas Baptists. Still he will do the best he can and he confidently looks to the brethren throughout the state and beyond to help in this labor of love.”
The Herald reported: “Surely Virginia Baptists will make generous response to the piteous plea of their Texas brethren. If the money sent is undesignated, it will be distributed among the destitute churches. There will be no expense attached to the administration of the fund.” The first contributions came from a Sunday school class in Warsaw, N.C., which sent $25.90 to the Biblical Recorder, the North Carolina Baptist newspaper, which, in turn, sent it to Virginia for distribution. Maryland Baptists also sent contributions via Virginia.
The first Virginia Baptists to give included J.G. Councill and George Rucker, St. Elmo, $5; Rev. H. Petty, Dry Fork, $5; Rev. W.Y. Abrahams, Richmond, $1; Mary Henson, Poindexter, $5. Bainbridge Street Baptist Church in Richmond sent $33.50 directly to Texas. Lynchburg Baptists stepped forth with $105. The Herald urged: “The need of the Texan Baptists is great and it will cheer their hearts and do our own souls good to help them.”
Today Virginia Baptists have an office dedicated to disaster relief and a ready core of dedicated, capable and trained volunteers. Virginia Baptists were among the first on the scene to offer food and aid following Katrina. Some 500 Virginia volunteers have been involved in helping the victims of the two hurricanes. Many individuals and churches are responding to John Upton's appeal to send funds. And the Religious Herald-a century after the Galveston Storm-is still communicating about a labor of love.
Fred Anderson is executive director of the Virginia Baptist Historical Society and the Center for Baptist Heritage and Studies. He may be reached at P.O. Box 34, University of Richmond, VA 23173.