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Local pastor wants to help parishioners in Baltimore

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – What happened in Baltimore has caught the attention of a local pastor who also has experience in the architecture field.

Dr. Michael Bluitt said he is willing fly to the city left devastated by riots. He wants to uplift the 60 parishioners seen in a video that went viral. It showed church parishioners watching a senior center project go up in flames. Their devastation hit close to home, prompting the Indianapolis ordained pastor to spring into action. He offered to render a new design of the structure that burned down. The project that started in 2006 was still in the construction phase and was only 9 months away from the official ribbon cutting.

“I want to send them one free of charge. HCO has built 300 churches in 33 states. We even designed one in Baltimore. Our goal is to uplift the Christian community and this would be a start,” said Dr. Bluitt, who is with HCO, Inc.

It’s going to take a lot to rebuild what has been torn down. The city lent $15 million to fund the construction, not including $200,000 the State Department of Housing and Community development was granted to put toward this project.

“When a pastor and a community loose a church, it’s like losing a family member. That is why it is so important to me to help them,” said Dr. Bluitt.