Fire destroys historic Leland church

A long-standing church in Leland is no more after a fire reduced it to rubble. Ashes and memories are all that remain of the Blackwell Chapel AME Zion Church in Leland.

A FedEx driver spotted the blaze around 4 a.m. and called it in to the Leland Fire Department. It took firefighters about forty minutes to put out the fire, but by then it was too late.

A number of people came by to see what happened to the church, which has been part of the community for more than a century and a half. Some were church members. Others just wanted to see what they could do to help.

Church members are stunned that the church they knew and loved is now gone. Even in the face of disaster, they are keeping their faith.

“I feel bad. I feel real bad, but there’s nothing we can do about it,” church member Dennis Waddell said. “It’s in God’s hands.”

They said God has a reason for everything he does, even if we don’t understand it at first.