Prayer in a Pandemic
PASTOR DEANDRE PATTERSON DELIVERS HIS FIRST ONLINE SERMON DURING THE INITIAL STAGES OF THE COVID-19 OUTBREAK ON FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2020, AT MIRACLE OF REVIVAL CHURCH IN MAYWOOD, ILL. PHOTO BY GEOFF STELLFOX
Churches struggle to keep their communities—and themselves—afloat BY MADELEINE PARRISH
“A
ll of our funds are basically going in and out toward helping everybody else,” said Pastor Corey Brooks of New Beginnings Church of Chicago. From providing mental health services to donating food and masks, South Side pastors have been working tirelessly to serve both the practical and spiritual needs of their communities in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. Yet churches are not immune to the effects of the pandemic: smaller churches, many of which are anxiously waiting to hear back from grant and loan applications, have been struggling 10 SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY
¬ MAY 27, 2020
to pay their staff and to meet other parts of their budget. Despite these deep financial challenges, these churches are still dedicating what scant resources they have to continue to serve needs in their community. New Beginnings, a nondenominational church located in Woodlawn, has lost at least thirty percent of their funding since the onset of the pandemic. The church has been forced to reduce pay for each of its eleven staff members in order to avoid laying anyone off. And the church’s nonprofit, Project H.O.O.D., which works to end violence and generational poverty in the
Englewood and Woodlawn communities, will likely have to miss its June fundraiser, which typically provides $500,000 to $800,000 of its budget. New Beginnings is still waiting for a response from the federal small business loan program. Federal assistance to churches is controversial, and some advocates say the federal program violates the Constitutional prohibition of an “establishment of religion.” Without external support, however, some churches have already had to make hard choices. Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church, a Bronzeville church known for
its gospel program, has had to temporarily furlough two of their three janitors while awaiting a response from the federal Paycheck Protection Program. By contrast, churches that have been able to access federal support tend to be doing well. Saint Columbanus, a Catholic parish in Park Manor, has seen its financial situation stay stable, thanks to the small business loan and an increase in tithes and online giving. As a result, it has continued to operate its food pantry at the same capacity as it was before the pandemic, serving approximately 400-500 people per week.
