05/14/2026
All Saints Lutheran Church honors the legacy of the churches that united to form All Saints.
On this day May 14, 1972, Redeemer Lutheran Church was fire-bombed, one of many targets in the community. Total property and contents damage amounted to over $40,000, destroying the Parish Hall, equipment and heavily damaging the church. Also damaged was the first floor of the Denise McNair Learning Center, a Black studies library of nearly 200 volumes in literature, history and theology. The church rose like a phoenix from the ashes and rebuilt with the assistance of Lutheran Churches, churches of various denominations throughout the city and Black Community organizations who rallied to help support with encouragement, equipment and money. Member Cecil Dixon, who was a firefighter and member of the church, was instrumental in assisting the fire fighters know the building, keeping damage down to a minimum.
