Anonymous donor gives Bluffton church $500K to pay off debt. They say it was a Guardian Angel

Campbell Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Bluffton has never looked so good.

It's now paid for.

An anonymous benefactor wired more than half a million dollars — $511,386.99 — to the bank last week, leaving the congregation of about 270 members debt-free.

"God touched a wonderful, Christian heart," said the Rev. Jon R. Black.

The unsolicited gift came as a complete surprise to the congregation when it was announced last Sunday.

"We danced around the church, literally," Black said. Members marched around the sanctuary seven times, a "good biblical number," the pastor said. Streamers, whistles, balloons and an oversized fake check signed by "Guardian Angel" added to the rare occasion.

Isaac W. Wilborn Jr., the pastor when the new building moved from concept to dedication, said, "You can't beat God giving. I'm overjoyed.

"We just prayed we would be able to pay that mortgage off. We never thought it would be done for us, to ease the burden on church members and the community, because the church has become quite a community church."

'Great joy'

It was standing-room-only when the $1.4 million, 130,000-square-foot building on Boundary Street in Old Town Bluffton was dedicated 14 years ago this week.

Light poured through floor-to-ceiling stained glass windows as "Amazing Grace" and "Onward, Christian Soldiers" were sung with gusto.

State Sen. Clementa Pinckney stepped to the microphone, something his booming baritone really didn't need, and said, "I only wish the General Assembly looked this good."

Pinckney would later become senior pastor of Campbell Chapel before being called to the historic Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston. There Pinckney would serve as a mentor to pastor Black, before he and eight parishioners were gunned down at a church Bible study in June 2015.

"We would talk all the time," Black said. "He said I had the best contemporary AME church in South Carolina and he had the best historic AME church. His heart was in this church."

Pinckney preached in the new building — with its red-carpeted sanctuary seating 400, a balcony, offices, classrooms, library, commercial kitchen and large fellowship hall where a soup kitchen is hosted each Wednesday.

It replaced the small sanctuary next door, built in 1853, and one of Bluffton's most historic buildings. In 1874, nine former slaves purchased the building and established an African Methodist Episcopal congregation there.

Architect Doug Corkern of Bluffton designed the new building, copying the Georgian Gothic architecture of the original, with its vertical board and batten exterior. The new building uses the same proportions, but today's materials.

When it was dedicated, Corkern, who was a pioneer architect of the "Hilton Head look," said: "This is one of my proudest days. I've worked with a lot of people, and on a lot of buildings. This was a true pleasure, and it gives me a great joy."

New challenges

The pastor said the church is financially sound, but can now turn its focus beyond the church walls.

"We will invest more money in the local community," said Black, a retired U.S. Navy chaplain who holds a doctorate from Princeton Theological Seminary.

"There are real deep pockets of poverty within walking distance of our church. On one side the road you have the Promenade and on the other, people living in great need."

Black said it also will enable the church to refurbish the historic chapel, something that was neglected due to the mortgage.

"In July, we will burn our mortgage and kick off a plan to 'resurrect' the historic chapel," said Black. "We think it can bring three ethnic groups together in harmony."

The chapel was built by whites, sold to former slaves and now used by a Hispanic congregation.

"It is a good rallying point for unity in our community," Black said.

The initial intent was to pay off the mortgage in five years, said today's church steward pro-tem, or chief executive officer, Bluffton Town Council member Fred Hamilton Jr.

Black said the current goal was to pay off the mortgage by the end of 2020.

Wilborn said church members pledged money to pay for all the furnishings and windows to reduce what had to be borrowed. He said the mortgage was made with the help of president Monty Lafitte at the Palmetto State Bank in Bluffton.

Since coming to Bluffton as a school teacher in 1950, Wilborn saw many fundraising efforts. He was behind the Children's Center on Hilton Head, and he was principal on Hilton Head when a new elementary school had to be built. But he has never seen a gift like this one.

"I am thankful to a person, or foundation or group of investors who, for whatever reason, thought enough of that building, that church, those members in there, to make a half-million-dollar donation," Wilborn said. "That's hard to believe."

Black said, "We are very grateful. I told the church that since we're not able to identify the benefactor, we're saying 'thank you' to everyone and treating everyone as our anonymous benefactor."

This story was originally published May 24, 2018 at 12:17 PM with the headline "Anonymous donor gives Bluffton church $500K to pay off debt. They say it was a Guardian Angel."