In March, five local churches began buying meals for Johnson Memorial Hospital employees tending to patients affected by COVID-19.
By doing so, they’ve been able to support local restaurants during trying economic times by purchasing between $100 and $160 of food per visit.
With churches only able to hold services online, it’s been a way for pastors and congregations to continue to give back.
Franklin Community Church buys and delivers meals to hospital workers twice daily every Sunday, Monday and Thursday. Hopewell Presbyterian Church does so on Tuesday and Saturday, and First Christian Church of Morgantown every Wednesday and Friday.
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Two more churches, Current Church of Franklin and Franklin City Church, also help buy meals.
“The way it came about is I was meeting with our secretary and ministry assistant, and we were trying to come up with an idea on how to help the community,” said Daniel Jepsen, a pastor at Franklin Community Church.
Jepsen reached out to Michelle Bisesi, director of nursing at Johnson Memorial Hospital. Bisesi and her husband, Joe, are members of Franklin Community Church.
“At first she wasn’t sure, but a couple days later she said she was put in charge of their COVID-19 response unit,” Jepsen said. “She suggested that if our church wanted to help, that would be a good way.”
Meals are usually dropped off at noon and 8 p.m. daily at the ambulance bay at the hospital’s south end. A worker, usually Bisesi, comes outside to get the food and takes it inside. Bisesi wears a mask washes her hands numerous times daily; those dropping off meals also wear masks and gloves.
The donated meals feed as many as 20 workers during the day and 10 to 12 in the evening. Bisesi makes sure everyone benefits from nurses to housekeepers to doctors to respiratory therapists to patient care techs, he said.
“It was a few days before we opened the COVID-19 unit, and I knew it would be a challenge for the nurses to leave their stations. Then it became how can we feed them lunch and dinner, and those at the churches got it mapped out through May 6,” Bisesi said.
“It’s still overwhelming to me. They’re so kind and are praying for us. When you’re working in all that protective gear and it’s so hot and bulky, it’s nice to be able to take that off for 20 to 30 minutes and be able to sit down and have a good meal. I know they look forward to it. It has been such a blessing.”
So far, the churches have bought meals from nine different local restaurants.
Hopewell Presbyterian Church pastor Brandon Jolley said folks can make monetary donations to help fund the purchases of meals on the church’s website. This is true of the other participating churches as well, with other forms of donating available, such as dropping off or mailing checks.
“The thing I appreciate is we’re helping people, but we’re also helping local businesses by spending dollars,” Jolley said. “Our guiding principal is to follow what Jesus says is the greatest commandment, and that is to love God and love your neighbor.
“For the foreseeable future we knew we couldn’t worship in person, but our neighbors are basically anybody in need. For us, it was a win-win.”
Jolley, a Georgia native who has been the Hopewell pastor since October 2017, can’t help but be inspired, he said.
“I was beginning to wonder with everything going on in the world if we had forgotten that commandment,” Jolley said. “What it’s taught me is, no, we haven’t. This community rallies and takes care of each other.”
Local pastors looking to get their church involved should contact Jolley at 317-833-7749, or e-mail [email protected]. Jepsen can be reached at 317-738-9039 or [email protected].
