March 07--The Rev. Walter Veal said he was stunned by Sunday's destruction of the Harvey church he has pastored for more than 12 years, but he hopes to rebuild.
"I'm going to try to see if I could repair it, try to salvage as much as we can," said Veal, a Hazel Crest resident who has been a religious leader for 38 years. "I don't know what the damage was inside."
Veal on Monday said he headed to the Just Faith Full Gospel Church, 14747 Hoyne Ave., about 11 p.m. Sunday, shortly after receiving a phone call from the Harvey Fire Department. He remained outside the one-story church until a little after 2 a.m. Monday when he gave up hope of assessing the damage. Investigators, he said, "wouldn't let me go in."
A spokesman for the city of Harvey said a bottle filled with flammable liquid was discovered at the scene and the fire is being investigated as a possible arson. One firefighter was treated for smoke inhalation, said the spokesman, who described the injury as "minor."
"I'm devastated," said Veal, whose wife of more than three years died of cancer in February and who had been in the hospital the past five days for stress. "It was so bad, my doctor didn't event want me to go to the funeral," he said. "I went to the wake."
Filling in for Veal's small congregation at the 11:30 a.m. service Sunday was the Rev. Jacquie Upshaw, who co-pastors the Kingdom Living Church in Chicago Heights with her husband, Paul.
Jacquie Upshaw said she was surprised and hurt to learn of the fire.
"I'm grateful we weren't in the building at the time," she said.
Asked what he would say if it was determine the fire was deliberately set, Veal said, "How could you do a thing like this to a church? How could you do that?"
