(RNS) — The Rev. Traci Blackmon was at home outside of St. Louis when a local hospital called. It had been sending people with mild coronavirus home to recover, but it didn’t have enough masks to send with them.
Now the hospital had a question: Could Blackmon’s church help sew some masks?
“That moment still haunts me,” said Blackmon, senior pastor of Christ the King United Church of Christ in Florissant, Missouri, and a registered nurse. She knew how crucial it was for those people to protect others from contracting the disease.
She was also ready and able to help. Christ the King is part of a network called Masks for the People that is distributing surgical masks and hand sanitizer in low-income and minority neighborhoods. She told the hospital the church would be happy to help.
As coronavirus cases surge again, churches across the U.S. have stepped up, providing medical supplies to help slow the spread of the virus and food to those who have lost their jobs. Still others are serving places affected by the nationwide Black Lives Matter protests after the death of George Floyd. Through it all, church leaders have had to navigate how to meet people’s needs while keeping their volunteers safe.
None said it has been easy. But in interviews this month, all said it is what their faith demands.
The U.S. has had more than 2.5 million confirmed cases of coronavirus and more than…
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