Gloucester Township Ministerium Discusses Coronavirus Challenges

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — Members of the Gloucester Township Ministerium recently met with Mayor David Mayer and Police Chief David Harkins to discuss the challenges the church faces amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“One of the biggest changes was not being able to worship in the churches,” Father Joe Graniel of Holy Child Parish said. “Holy Child was fortunate enough to get anywhere from 200-400 families tune in online for masses. We have also done a lot of work with our food banks. It is amazing how many more people needed assistance during this time.”

Trinity Lutheran Church Pastor Andrew Engelhart III said his church is using social media to stream masses at the moment. Many churches moved to that system from the outset of the pandemic in March, and it continues as the virus continues to cause issues.

As of Wednesday, there were 773 cases of the coronavirus in Gloucester Township with 41 confirmed deaths, according to numbers provided by Camden County officials. On Thursday, there was only one new case reported in the township, involving a woman in her 30s.

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“We still have to make some adjustments as far as social distancing goes,” Engelhart said. “We have hands-free sanitizing stations coming that will need to be installed, but one of our problems is that when people come back they will be grasping at the fact that things will not be as they were before. For example, singing puts droplets in the air, so they are recommending that you don’t sing in church.”

“It has been a huge transition for those that are less fortunate,” Harvest Church Pastor Linda Davis said. “It was challenging connecting with other pastors to see what we could do to help them. We are a small ministry, but we are trying to be effective. It is about having a heart of compassion and helping those that we can help.”

Deacon Pete Shoemaker of Our Lady of Hope Parish discussed the Gloucester Township Ministerium’s food bank which is run by Deacon Benjamin Coates.

“The Gloucester Township Food Bank continues to serve tons of food to those in need. We thank the township for the tremendous donation of the building that houses those donation as well as serves as a place to pray with and counsel those in need,” Shoemaker said.

“The Gloucester Township Police Department couldn’t do the job that we are doing without the help of the Gloucester Township Ministerium,” Harkins said. “As far as the food bank goes, there are many challenges we faced when Covid-19 first hit. We are literally trying to write a play book so that we have a guide if something like this happens again so that we will be better prepared. We’ve encountered a number of people that suddenly lost their jobs and seniors who were simply scared to go out to the supermarket. While schools were closed, we redirected our School Resource Officers to our Community Relations Bureau. Their job was to contact our ministerium and get them in touch with those in need.”

As of Thursday, there were 8,064 coronavirus cases in Camden County with 479 confirmed deaths. Thirty-three new cases were reported on Thursday, and trace investigations are underway in all new cases.

“We are continuing to keep in our thoughts and prayers everyone who has contracted this disease, or who has lost a loved one to COVID-19,” Camden County Freeholder Director Louis Cappelli Jr. said. “Make no mistake, our country is still fighting this virus every day, not only in Florida and Texas, but here at home as well. We must continue to wear masks and social distance to prevent the spread of coronavirus. We have to take our individual responsibility in this fight seriously. If all work to protect one another, we can keep our community safe. If we don’t, we will lose more lives, more people will get sick, and we will be forced to live with this virus for far longer than if we work together.”

According to the Camden County Department of Health, there are 1,321 confirmed cases among residents at the county's long-term care facilities, with 303 deaths. Another 492 cases were reported among staff members, with three deaths.

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