Ministering During the Pandemic

It has been nearly 8 weeks since a state of emergency went into effect in Romania. Schools are closed, a ban is in effect on gatherings of more than 3 people who don’t live together, and a strict stay-at-home order is being enforced. At last count, there have been a total of 14,811 cases of COVID-19 in Romania resulting in 898 deaths, with 7,490 cases still active. On May 15, the state of emergency will be replaced with a slightly less restrictive state of alert.

Easter Sunday service in Sighișoara
 looked a lot different this year!

In this update, I would like to highlight how our churches and ministries in Romania are adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Local churches have not met for Sunday services since March 15. All 3 of the churches (Bucharest, Sighisoara, and Tigmandru) are using various forms of videoconferencing for their Sunday services and other mid-week activities to keep church members connected during this time. Offering services on Facebook Live has actually broadened the churches’ reach to include people who do not normally attend church.

Using videoconferencing for theological education

The EuNC Romania Learning Center has had to adapt the format of the present course from in-class sessions to videoconferencing class sessions. Since we often use videoconferencing for our courses, this was not a huge adjustment for the students. However, we will no longer be able to host a visiting teacher for a course next month, so that course will also have to use videoconferencing.

Compassionate ministries have also been forced to adapt to these new circumstances while trying to meet the growing needs of the vulnerable populations they serve.

In Tigmandru, the normal activities of the child development program had to be suspended. However, efforts are being made to use Nazarene Child Sponsorship funds to provide food to the families of children in greatest need. The wood shop in Tigmandru has been able to continue operations, meaning that the workers continue to receive an income.

Providing food packages for needy families

In Sighisoara, Veritas programs have not been able to meet since March. As a result, Veritas employees are technically unemployed during this time and are receiving just 75% of their salaries from emergency government funds. Program directors continue to check on the health and needs of the families they serve. Last month, Veritas received a grant that, combined with Nazarene Child Sponsorship funds, was able to provide 37 families with food packages.

In Bucharest, the Open Door Shelter is currently ministering to 98 individuals (including 27 children), 15 of which are currently living at the shelter. An added element of support being offered at this time is providing for women who have graduated the job training program and are living on their own, but now find themselves without a job and income. This makes them vulnerable once again to human trafficking. Last month, Open Door sent 66 food packages.

Travel Restrictions are in place at the present time. I was originally scheduled to be on home assignment this month. This spring and summer, 6 Six Work & Witness teams were planning trips to Romania. Other visitors (including the teacher for EuNC mentioned above) were planning to come to Romania in these months as well. All of these travel plans have been cancelled. Others are waiting to see when flights will resume and when it will be safe for them to travel back to the United States from Romania.

In case you missed it, I have posted 2 updates on my blog and several items on my Facebook page since the pandemic began. You can check them out at www.jepjon.com and www.facebook.com/jepjonRomania.

How you can be involved: I ask for your prayers for the ministries listed above, for the people who lead them, and for the people that are impacted by them. If you would like to make a donation to support compassionate ministries during this time of increased need, please click here for more information.

I would love to hear back from you. How is your life being affected by the pandemic? How can I pray for you during this time?

Jonathan

PS - I shared a brief video update with my home church on Sunday, May 10. Click here to view that segment on YouTube.