Fire at Greater St. Stephen

The 2,000-seat building was still standing after a predawn fire, but a ruin nonetheless. Members are sure the church would come back from the fire, as it came back from flood after Hurricane Katrina three years ago.

By late afternoon no cause had been disclosed. But Bishop Paul S. Morton, who built what was once a small Baptist church into a major congregation, said investigators suspected the fire started in the choir area behind the pulpit.

While Smith chatted with friends, Morton and his wife, Senior Pastor Debra Morton, who now leads the church, stood nearby and greeted well-wishers. Paul Morton, who spends much of his time in Atlanta, had preached on South Liberty Street on Sunday night, members said. Paul Morton said the congregation was insured. "We'll be back, bigger and better," said Debra Morton. The Mortons said they were summoned to the church well before dawn and watched a three-alarm blaze ruin the sanctuary. The building's loss presents the congregation with a major challenge.

Before Hurricane Katrina, Greater St. Stephen was by far the largest church in the city, perhaps the largest in the state. It claimed about 20,000 members worshipping at three campuses: a large church in eastern New Orleans, a new acquisition in Marrero, and the church's original location on South Liberty Street in Central City.

Monday's fire was the second major blow in three years. Katrina scattered the congregation, knocking its number down to about 5,000, the Mortons said recently.

The eastern New Orleans church is still closed; Monday's fire ruined the congregation's only remaining New Orleans home. Although the Marrero site is in use, Paul Morton said it is probably too distant to be of much use to the Central City congregation.

But like Debra Morton, he pledged that the burned church will recover.

After the storm, Paul Morton launched an offshoot of Greater St. Stephen in suburban Atlanta. He announced recently that he was placing the New Orleans congregation in Debra Morton's hands while he concentrated on building up the Atlanta church.

Source: The Times-Picayune