John Lawrence and Jenna Adams, members of Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, help unload water at an apartment complex in Flint. Photo by Marissa Beale/Gazette Packet
The water crisis affecting residents in Flint, Mich., captured local attention at Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria. Through a partnership made possible with Lott Carey, a missions-based convention, Alfred Street Baptist Church is sending teams to Flint to help distribute water to residents in need and to serve as eye-witnesses to the tragedy.
“I wasn’t anticipating the complexity of the problem in Flint,” said Aaron Watson, a church member and volunteer on one of the teams.
The problem in Flint began in 2014 after the City of Detroit decided to stop buying treated water from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, and switch to the Flint River. The decision resulted in lead contamination after the untreated water corroded the dilapidating pipelines in Flint. While residents have been told not to use the water for anything, some still do use the water, and all are still billed for it.
“Some said they were at their wit’s end,” said Reverend Marcia Norfleet, Director of Missions at Alfred Street Baptist Church who led the first team in Flint. “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 Reverend Dustin Sullivan, who traveled with the second team. “It’s criminal, unfathomable and blatant. This isn’t accidental. This is intentional.”
Members of Alfred Street Baptist Church were able to sit down with leaders at First Trinity Missionary Baptist Church, in Flint, to discuss how the problem started, and what can be done.
So far, more than 8,000 cases of water have been delivered to schools, private homes, daycares, nursing homes and apartment complexes, and the church has raised more than $50,000 for Flint residents. Alfred Street Baptist Church is sending six teams, in total, to Flint. The fourth team was scheduled to be in Flint March 21-25.
“It is our place to inform people,” said Reverend Marcia Norfleet, Director of Missions at Alfred Street Baptist Church.