A shed next to the St. Elmo Recreation Center that was stocked with supplies from a church outreach ministry was burned to the ground early Saturday morning.
A leader of the Lutheran Church's Bridge Center Community said someone apparently stole the group's generator, then set fire to the shed while leaving to cover any evidence.
An outreach leader wrote on a blog, "Pulling up to the rec center the strobing lights of the local firetruck pitted my stomach. Still in disbelief I slowly approached the smoldering charcoal of donated clothing, coffee urns, and the sculpture of melted folding chairs.
"We lost everything in the shed. The donations are toast, the equipment charred, the chairs melted together like a campfire marshmallow, and our arms covered in ashes and soot. Right now, the plan for a clothing exchange to benefit county parolees, violent gang members, and, in turn, the neighborhood will be put on hold while we figure out where to go from here.
"It's an unexpected tragedy that leaves our community with a deep sense of amazement, confusion, frustration, and anger. As the steam rose to the humid sky in the starlit morning I couldn't help but think of a song by King David where he sings, let my prayer rise before you like incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. Burnt polyester blends don't smell as nice as incense. Our hands are lifting up piles of ash and charcoal into a dumpster in the parking lot.
"We know that if we hope in the Lord our labor is not in vain. We will rebuild. We will continue to till the hard soil of south Chattanooga, plant seeds, water, and trust that God will give the growth."
