news article

Broad Street UMC Face Mask project

April 7, 2020 / By Shannon Hodson / .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

The coronavirus pandemic is a frightening time and many people feel inclined to help, but do not know how. Many UNY Methodist churches are helping in ways permissible with the social distancing mandates. Broad Street UMC is one of them!

Broad Street UMC has started a face mask project for area hospitals and medical centers. One of the church’s members works in the ER at a local hospital and she realized they were running out of face masks and dealing with COVID-19 deaths already. Her mother started sewing masks and then Broad Street UMC pastor, the Rev. Rachel Barnhat, started organizing people in the church to help with the effort – she put up an information page on the church’s brand new website that she created to help keep her congregation connected and informed during this pandemic. She started directing people there for the project instructions and face mask directions. At the same time the Department of Health heard about Broad Street UMC’s project and asked them to partner with them to help them get masks where they needed them, so they established a drop box for us at the Norwich hospital. 

Rev. Barnhart said, “We have some people cutting material, some gathering material and dropping it off at a single location where people can pick up the materials they need, and some people sewing. That way a lot of people can be involved and have a part to play that makes the work go faster than if only the people who could sew were also gathering material and cutting it. It's a way for all the parts of the Body of Christ to work together to serve our community.”

Click here to see the instructions Broad Street UMC has on their website. Perhaps your church can start a similar project as one way to help during the coronavirus pandemic.