Happenings Around the World

a series of emergency managers, stripping Flint’s mayor and City Council of power. These emergency managers had absolute authority over Flint’s finances and political decisions. Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Mission Convention helped

coordinate responses from churches in other parts of the US, a number of which partnered with First Trinity Missionary Baptist Church of Flint to deliver bottled water and other supplies. Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia, raised $50,000 to purchase water, hand wipes and baby wipes. Six teams were deployed from mid-March through April to deliver the supplies, with the purchases made in Flint to help support the local economy. In addition to distributing water to Flint residents who drove to First Trinity to receive cases of bottled water, Alfred Street volunteers visited apartment complexes to deliver water directly to residents. “In total, Alfred Street has sent six teams and about 50 members

to provide support of water and supplies in Flint,” Capitol Media USA reported. “At the end of the six-week initiative, more than 15,000 cases of water and countless other supplies had been organized and donated to Flint city residents.” Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,

deployed teams in the first two weeks in March, who distributed water. St. Smyrna Baptist Church in Newnan in the state of

Georgia, sent a total of nine tractor trailer loads of water, which totaled about 9,600 cases and 200,000 bottles of water. Volunteers were moved by the experience. “Some said they

were at their wit’s end,” Marcia Norfleet, director of mission at Alfred Street Baptist Church, told the Alexandria Gazette. Norfleet, who led the first team from her church, stated, “one [woman] said her husband had dangerously high levels of lead and was sick from the water. He was over 70 years old.” “This is beyond tragic,” said Dustin Sullivan, youth pastor at Alfred Street, who led the second team. “It’s criminal, unfathomable and blatant. This isn’t accidental. This is intentional,” he told the Gazette. “I went inside of homes and saw first hand how much water

was needed for certain tasks,” said Tamarkus Cook, pastor of St. Smyrna Baptist Church. “For example, six bottles of water for breakfast. Two gallons of water to wash clothes. Many people are only able to bathe once a week. When we took the water, it was almost as if it was living water,” The Newnan Times-Herald reported.

Aside from serving individuals and families in the community,

First Trinity was a hub for other churches in the area to receive water that they then distributed to their own congregations. American Baptist Churches, USA, through American Baptist

Home Mission Societies’ (ABHMS) Disaster Relief Office, collaborated with American Baptist Churches of Michigan and Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church in Flint to coordinate relief efforts in the city. Mount Olive provided Flint residents with bottled water and hosted a Family Fun Fair in partnership with the Michigan Health Department and the YMCA. Russell Kirksey, deacon and donations coordinator at Mount

Olive, said churches were being asked to do more “as some of the resources in place now are withdrawn.” “While there are certainly justice and advocacy dimensions to

Above: Volunteers from Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, preparing bottled water for distribution in Flint

Below: Residents picking up bottled water in Flint

the crisis in Flint, ABHMS is pleased to make this first installment on behalf of American Baptists in responding to the immediate human need for clean water,” said Jeffrey Haggray, ABHMS executive director, after the initial grant was sent to the city. “We urge our American Baptist family to continue your generosity, which makes such gifts possible.” In addition to being contaminated, the water supplied after the change over was expensive. Ezra Tillman, pastor of First Trinity Missionary Baptist Church, reported “he knew something was very wrong with the water system months ago when his church’s annex was getting bills for $400 to $500 for an average of eight days of water use a month,” according to the People’s World website. “It’s very pricey and taxing to our community and members because we have a high percentage of retirees and seniors on a set income,” Tillman said. “It’s like you’re a prisoner to the situation: You pay your bills, but you don’t get your water . . . It’s awful.” Flint, one of the poorest cities in the US, was charging an average of $910 a year per household for water, nearly three times the national average. The ministry of First Trinity and Mount Olive and the assistance

of other churches and religious organizations filled a void. Even though the US National Guard distributed water to Flint residents, “the National Guard requires would-be water recipients to show photo IDs and limits families to a pack of water per day,” People’s World reported. The churches placed no such restrictions on water distribution.

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