A place of worship, throughout history and across religions, has always been considered a safe haven. It’s difficult to imagine temples, churches, synagogues, and mosques all over Brooklyn quietly waiting for the return of their faithful congregations.
“Sometimes when you’re in a church by yourself you get a chance to spiritually step away,” said Reverend Clinton Miller, head pastor of Brown Memorial Baptist Church, 484 Washington Avenue in Clinton Hill on Washington Ave.
The statuesque red-bricked cathedral is empty now due to COVIC-19, save for the reverend who had decided to catch up on some work in the serenity.
“Sometimes you actually gain insight and foresight on what to do next,” said Miller.
Miller and The 400 Foundation, a faith community and economic activism organization, has been lobbying for legislation to help faith-based organizations and small businesses pay rent and other expenses during the interminable coronavirus shut-in.
The 400 Foundation was focused on advocating for the state to invest in people of color in the construction industry and women and minority businesses before the health crisis took center stage.
Miller said for churches, whether they own their space or not, this is a tremendous hit financially. He hopes rent relief can be put in place for churches and faith-based organizations in the same way homeowners were given mortgage moratoriums.
“We don’t have a tremendous amount of money reserved in the bank. The people provide and run the finances or define the fiscal well-being of the church,” said Miller.
Brown Memorial Baptist Church made the switch to virtual worship services and morning prayer calls to keep a sense of community with their followers.
Some places, like Masjid Alfarooq Mosque, 554 Atlantic Avenue near the Barclays Center, plays a recorded message to followers in English and Arabic to remind them to do their daily prayers at home.
Some synagogues, accustomed to gatherings en masse, have begun virtual sedars and coaching people through Passover celebrations at home.
State Senator Kevin Parker (D-East Flatbush, Flatbush, Midwood, Ditmas Park, Kensington, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace) was already on his way to the capital to continue conferring with the governor for decisions on the city’s budget for April 1.
“We’re evaluating a number of proposals, a number of legislative ideas, and hoping that either through the budget, or maybe outside of the budget, we’ll find some relief for people being hit hard economically,” said Parker about the 400 Foundation’s proposal for rent deferment for faith-based organizations. “Right now obviously our main focus is on saving lives.”
Although the physical health of the community was a priority, Parker said that he didn’t want people to lose hope and that the economic impact was definitely being considered.
Miller spoke briefly about the end-of-the-world rhetoric that’s taken over social media and the news as of late. He said he would hope people would choose not to profit off of people in a time of crisis and do the right thing. “I don’t think this is the end,” said Miller, “This is the world in which we live and the world is not perfect.”
While in Albany, Parker and other senators will be convening through Zoom, a popular video communications tool that’s become essential to running businesses digitally through online meetings during the coronavirus outbreak.
On Sunday night, said Parker, they passed a resolution that allowed budget and legislative votes to be taken by video conference.
To attend a Brown Memorial Baptist Church virtual service click here.
