In today’s tumultuous world of the coronavirus/COVID-19, Alabama Baptists are an anchor in the storm for the most vulnerable among us.
“During times of crisis, and especially a true global crisis, it is not uncommon for the weakest, smallest, youngest and most fragile to be ignored,” said Rod Marshall, president and CEO of Alabama Baptist Children’s Homes & Family Ministries (ABCH).
Their voices, he said, “can go unheard during a global panic.”
Both ABCH and Alabama Baptist Retirement Centers (ABRC) are taking decisive and compassionate action to ensure the well-being of children, families and senior adults during the pandemic.
“With heightened, nationwide awareness of safety protocols to recognize and reduce the spread of coronavirus, we have been taking regular, proactive measures statewide to follow these guidelines in our homes and our offices to continue serving children and families as safely as we can,” Marshall said.
Because the flu and strep throat are often annual occurrences, house parents are proficient at containment and taking universal precautions to keep their homes safe, Marshall said.
“While this situation presents some unique challenges, our amazing social workers, house parents and foster parents are going the extra mile to protect all of the children and families in our care,” he said.
Similarly, Alabama Baptist retirement centers scattered throughout the state are “taking every precaution as described in the guidelines from the Alabama Department of Public Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” said Paige Hudson, administrative accounting assistant for ABRC.
Spiritual well-being
Beyond ensuring the physical safety of those in their care, leaders at the two Alabama Baptist organizations are also striving to ensure their emotional and spiritual well-being.
“We provide a caring home for our residents and consider them family. Many do not have family to lean on; therefore, we are here to offer comfort, guidance and support during trying and uncertain times. It is always our goal to be the hands and feet of Christ and to show compassion in times of need,” Hudson said.
Some children in the care of ABCH, while not understanding the scope of the COVID-19 crisis, “feel anxious about this crisis, but are also enjoying extra time to play. We recognize that it is very important that we do not create anxiety for children during this time,” said Michael Smith, ABCH chief operations officer for north Alabama.
Don’t create panic
Even as ABCH leaders take extra measures to prevent virus spread, Smith said house parents must do so in a way that does not create panic for children.
“We are practicing good hygiene, limiting group activities and generally using this as a time to do more family activities. Board games and family movie nights are good examples of how to turn this difficult time into a memory-making experience,” Smith said.
At Friendship House in Oxford, house parents Josh and Heather Hill, not knowing how long school would be canceled, have “tried to think outside the box to do things that are fun but also educational,” said Michelle Glassford, ABCH director of communications. All activities are wrapped into a new daily routine that helps children thrive.
Senior adults also enjoy leisure activities. With local group shopping excursions and all group activities currently canceled at ABRC’s senior living campuses across the state, leaders there have found new ways to have fun with their residents.
LaJuana Holloway, manager at the Knollwood retirement center in Roanoke “got creative,” Hudson said. “Our residents absolutely love bingo and were sad that it had to be canceled temporarily.” The answer? Knollwood employees “took bingo to the residents to cheer them up,” she said.
With the timeline of the virus and the safeguards related to it unknown, leaders at both the children’s homes and the retirement centers ask Alabama Baptists for prayer.
‘See God’s hand’
“First and foremost, we ask for prayer for our residents to see God’s hand in these circumstances and for good health,” Hudson said.
Daily ways to pray for ABCH can be found on the website www.alabamachild.org. Overall, “Please pray safety and protection over each child and family in our care, our direct care staff and our administrative teams who provide support. Please pray for our house parents and foster parents as they seek to ease the anxiety many of our children are feeling and provide them with healthy outlets to talk and share,” Glassford said.
Financial support is an ongoing need as COVID-19 response continues.
“We are counting on all of our ministry supporters, including Alabama Baptist churches, to continue to support us financially, especially during these challenging times,” she said.
For senior adults in particular, cards are “a wonderful way to minister,” Hudson said. Addresses for each of the retirement centers are listed on the website www.abrc.org.
‘Brighten their day’
“Also, care baskets with snacks, activity books and/or basic necessity items would be most welcome and would certainly brighten their day due to activities and outings being canceled and postponed. These could be dropped off at the front desk anytime,” she said.
Responses such as sending cards, packing care baskets, praying and giving are all examples of “true religion,” Marshall believes. “James 1:27 reminds us that true religion is to care for the vulnerable during their times of distress. Perhaps there is no better time to be salt and light in a bland and dark world than during a global crisis.”
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