Churches encouraged to prepare for pandemic
As media reports track the advance of the latest strain of avian flu around the globe, a small group of Canadian Christians are mobilizing the Church to prepare for the possibility of a pandemic.
"Any preparation we do for pandemic is great preparation for any emergency," says Dr. Tim Foggin, a Burnaby, B.C. family physician and a driving force behind the Church pandemic preparedness movement.
Working with Bridges of Love, a ministry that encourages churches to be more intentional in their outreach, Foggin is prodding churches and parachurch organizations to think about how they might respond in the event of a major, worldwide outbreak of disease.
"This will impact all of us," he says, adding "it's much more than a health issue. It's a social and economic issue.
"Take any industry, and if 30 to 40 per cent of its workers are ill or caring for people who are ill, there will be a major impact on that industry," he explains.
Citing the fact that history reveals pandemics to be regularly recurring events, and that the last four occurred in 1889, 1918, 1957 and 1968, he believes it's only a matter of time until we face the next one. He says the Church, as the "hands and feet of Christ," should be on the leading edge of preparing to help.
"Would we not be considered fools if we knew another tsunami was coming and did nothing to prepare?" he asks.
While countless medical experts around the world would seem to agree with Foggin, there are others who do not.
In an opinion piece published by the National Post last month, Michael Fumento, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute in Washington who specializes in health and science issues, writes that the idea of an "overdue pandemic" is "mere superstition."
Marg Pollon, director of Bridges of Love, calls being equipped and ready to help in the event of a pandemic "a wonderful opportunity for the Church to shine.
"Only God knows the plan," says Pollon. "If it never comes, that would be wonderful. We don't want to create fear. This is an opportunity to get the churches to do something that maybe they haven't been very good at in the past. If it's not a pandemic, maybe it will be an ice storm or a flood."
Pollon says churches need to be ready to care for their own congregations, but also for their neighbours. In the event of a pandemic, hospitals and clinics could be overwhelmed caring for the very sick. The Church could be instrumental in caring for the needs of the mildly or moderately ill, and for the needs of those who are otherwise adversely impacted (through loss of income, bereavement, etc.)
Pollon says no single church can prepare for pandemic on their own, and calls the possibility of churches working together across traditional denominational barriers "an opportunity not only for bringing people to the Lord but for unity within the body."
Together, Foggin and Pollon established an Internet-based discussion group mailto:church_emergency_preparedness@yahoogroups.com>and a website to equip and engage church leaders in dialogue regarding preparations for an influenza pandemic.
They've also co-written the Pandemic Preparedness Guide for Canadian Churches, which provides guidelines, suggestions and recommendations for appropriate individual and church response, and have recently begun speaking to churches, denominations and leadership groups about the issue.
At the territorial headquarters for The Salvation Army in Canada and Bermuda in Toronto, hospital and long-term care consultant Mildred Jarvis says they're taking the threat of a pandemic seriously. They've held several teleconferences "to do with ethics and pastoral care" in the event of a pandemic, and will be having more regional teleconferences in the future "to encourage [leaders] to explore ways in which each church can be effectively involved."
The Pandemic Preparedness Guide recommends a grassroots approach to dealing with the potential medical emergency and the ensuing societal chaos that could erupt, and advocates establishing neighbourhood "mutual assistance groups" (MAGs) within every congregation. MAGs would be comprised of a handful of families that would agree to watch out for one another, delivering groceries and other needed supplies or caring for children.
But as a first step, Foggin says the very least churches should do is to "prayerfully assess the situation.
"Prayerful consideration will avoid two traps; ignorant dismissal and ignorant panic," he says.
The government of Canada is also taking action, and launched a new website devoted to pandemic preparedness on March 27. For more information, visit pandemicinfluenza.gc.ca
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