Harlem Church Says 11 Members Have Died Of COVID-19 In Last Month
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A church in Harlem is mourning the loss of several of it members due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In all, 13 parishioners at Mount Neboh Baptist Church have died in the last month, with 11 of them succumbing to COVID-19, the Senior Pastor Dr. Johnnie Green told CBS2's Alice Gainer on Wednesday.
"An unwanted nightmare," Green said.
Green called Ruth Ann Cohen-Aikens, "a very jovial person, very committed Christian woman."
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Green said Deacon Shirlee Miller was "a devoted deaconess, a very devoted grandmother. She was a crossing guard."
"James Thomas served faithfully and dutifully as chairman of the trustee ministry for more than 40 years," Green said, adding he was a "devoted husband, devoted father."
The pastor said of Janee Funchess, "was next to her mother for many years in the choir. She's gone way too soon, a young lady still in the prime of her life."
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Green said with a membership of more than 1,200 it's not unusual for one or two members a month to pass away.
But he's never seen anything like this.
"I'm not going to say that my faith has not been tested," Green said.
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He said many of the congregants are essential workers, including in law enforcement and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
There's no definitive answer right now as to how members contracted COVID-19, but Green said many of those who died were all gathered in the church together back in March for Sunday services.
"Our people are very spiritually resilient. We are a very God-centered and God-focused congregation. We understand death and dying," Green said.
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The church is holding virtual services now and Green said attendance for those is actually higher than in-person services.
The congregation plans to one day hold a mass memorial for those lost. They're praying the list of those they have to say goodbye to doesn't grow any larger.
