East End Baptist Church Minister to Community by Hosting a Covid Vaccination Clinic

East End Baptist Church Ministers to Community by Hosting a Covid Vaccination Clinic

East End Baptist Church in Suffolk, VA, recently partnered with their local health district to serve as a local vaccine distribution site on Wednesday, February 10, 2021. BGAV’s Gary Long and Jennifer Law interviewed their senior pastor, Wayne Faison, about how the church got involved to make a difference in their community by hosting a vaccination clinic.

“It went above and beyond our wildest dreams in terms of our connection to the community--the benefits and the role that we play in the larger community as a partner. It was certainly a God thing,” explained Faison.

East End spent a lot of 2020 facing the challenges of the pandemic, much like all churches did last year. In 2021, they started discussing and making known the fact that they really wanted to help people and lift people up. “We got the word out to the community that East End stands ready to help in any way we can,” said Faison.

Faison preached a sermon on doing acts of community, generosity, spirituality, and advocacy as they sought to connect with their community. After that message, their state delegate called Faison to ask if the church would be willing to serve as a vaccination site, because their local health department had Covid-related limitations on their facility.

The church leadership immediately began to explore and pray about the opportunity, and within two weeks, they put plans in place and followed through.

Logistics included a visit from health department personnel to ensure their facility had what it needed, since there had to be not only a place to administer the vaccines but also a place for people to wait in line--plus a large waiting area where people could stay 15 minutes after their vaccines to ensure they didn’t have adverse reactions. Once the health officials were assured of those requirements, the church went to work enlisting the volunteers needed to help with the effort.

“The health department brought everything in that they needed; we just had to stay out of the way at that point,” recalled Faison. “There was no cost to us at all, and it worked well for us to provide our building for this, since we aren’t using it on a daily basis like we typically did before the pandemic.”

The church members weren’t expecting anything in return for their efforts, but they found they had tremendous opportunity to connect with their community by serving people who otherwise would never have come through their doors. One guest commented, “I’ve passed this church so many times and never have come in, but I’m going to come back now.” Another said, “Had it not been for your church, we’d still be waiting for our vaccines.”

Faison said, “At the end of the day, they vaccinated 1,017 people--a number significant to us because we opened our new building on October 17 (10/17) three years ago. We saw this as an affirmation of what we were doing that day.” He added, “Being hospitable and showing the love of Christ was a wonderful opportunity for others to see our church in this way.” By opening their sanctuary as the waiting area for vaccinated individuals to stay the required 15 minutes, they were able to show slides and play worship music for people to enjoy. Several guests commented about how meaningful and helpful it was to experience such peace, rest, and solitude in that way while they waited.

“People were excited to be here; they were so ready to get their vaccines, so our volunteers got to spend their time just offering hospitality,” Faison explained. “For years to come, people all over western Tidewater will remember East End as the church who did this for their community--who offered help when it was needed.”

The church followed up with a second-dose clinic on March 10.