NATCHEZ &8212; A rash of church burnings in Alabama early Friday morning calls for serious prayer, said the Rev. Melvin White, pastor of Pilgrim Baptist Church in Natchez.

White and his congregation know a little about vandalism at churches, and prayer is the way they have responded to it, he said.

Five small churches in Centreville, Ala., located south of Birmingham, suffered total ruin or damage due to fires suspected to be arsons.

&8220;People do these things because they are misled by another higher spirit,&8221; White said.

The Associated Press reported Friday that most of the churches were Baptist, both black and white congregations &8212; a question raised because of church burnings in Alabama and elsewhere about 10 years ago that were suspected of being race related.

&8220;Our former church on Cemetery Road was vandalized,&8221; White said. &8220;We came in one Sunday for worship and found the pews all turned upside down and graffiti on the walls.&8221;

The congregation held hands and prayed, White said. &8220;We locked hands and joined in prayer. We turned over the pews and held our service.&8221;

White said he and his congregation will pray for the Alabama churches as well as for those who committed the acts against the churches.

&8220;With prayer, the church will stand,&8221; he said.

The Rev. Ron Ledford, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Vidalia, said the fires made him feel sad for the congregations who lost their church buildings.

&8220;You wonder what would motivate a person to do that,&8221; he said. &8220;I feel for the people who are members of those churches. But they will bounce back.&8221;

One wood-frame church, established in 1819, burned completely.

The wire report quoted Bibb County Chief Deputy Sheriff Kenneth Weems saying the fires were set &8220;as fast as they could drive from one location to the next.&8221;

Federal investigators have joined local law enforcement in the case.