COVID-19 strikes Bronx pastor’s family, churches

HOW DO you tell your young children – ages six, 10 and 11 years – that they are COVID -19-positive?

This was the dilemma that confronted Pastor Frank Williams of the Wake-Eden Community Baptist Church and the Bronx Baptist Church. And shortly after, he learnt that his wife had also contracted the coronavirus.

When The Gleaner spoke with Williams, he said that while his children were doing well, his wife was still fighting the virus.

“The process happened in waves,” he said. “She got better then she got bad and now she is getting better again.”

Wake-Eden Community Baptist Church, located on Strang Avenue, lies in the heart of the Jamaican Bronx community and a majority of the congregants are Jamaicans.

Williams said he was not just having to deal with the personal impact of the virus on his family, but also with members of his churches who are battling COVID-19.

“At Wake-Eden, we have about 10 members who are COVID-19-positive. For Bronx Baptist, I don’t have the numbers, but the members have been very supportive of those infected,” he said.

He told The Gleaner that he also had to preside over the funeral of long-time friend and deacon of the Bronx Baptist Church, Jeremiah Simpson, who passed away from the virus. Simpson was the brother of the founder of Wake-Eden Community Baptist Church, Reverend Dr Samuel G. Simpson.

PROVIDING COMFORT

“People are reaching out to each other. They are more engaged and they are reaching out to people who they don’t even know,” he said.

The pastor gave as an example a friend of a church member, who had lost 11 family members to the pandemic and how the church rallied to provide comfort to the person.

“It is very hard and heartbreaking, but we have to offer understanding, support and hope where we can,” he said.

The New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene counts the highest rate of COVID-19 infections per 100,000 persons in those sections of the Bronx.

The coronavirus has a disproportionate impact on minority communities, where many residents already suffer health and income disparities.

In the Bronx, where CityData.Com counts the 2017 median household income at 57 per cent of the statewide median, there have been 2,005 cases per 100,000 people. By comparison, Manhattan, which has a higher median income, the rate, it is around 900 per 100,000.

EMOTIONAL SUPPORT

Pastor Williams pointed out that many members of his churches work in the healthcare industry.

“They are on the front lines and they are going through a lot. They see people die every day and that is taking a toll on them,” he said.

He said that churches and other institutions will need support systems to provide emotional, psychological and mental support to those on the front line.

“Many are running on adrenaline, and when this is all over, they will need our support,” the pastor added.

He said that while there is concern for those battling the infection, there are is celebration for those who recover.

As to the churches’ food pantries, Williams said that there has been an increase in the number of persons seeking assistance.

“I will not say that there has been a drastic increase, but there is an increase,” he said.

editorial@gleanerjm.com