Pastor Scott, Saginaw County

Storyteller: Brayden Paris

Pastor Scott is a 41 year old who lives and works in the city of Saginaw, as the pastor of Faith Baptist Church. He lives in Hemlock with his wife and five children. His eldest child, Philip unfortunately went through the experience of being a senior at the start of the pandemic, and finished out the year in an unorthodox fashion. Similar to many, he first remembers hearing of the virus while cases were initially only positive in China. Not long after, the closing of the state occurred, on March 13th, 2020. After the closing of schools and the church due to the order, Pastor Scott turned his attention towards helping Philip graduate without difficulties.

One lesson that the pastor believes he learned, was to not take anything for granted. He says it’s important to find happiness wherever you are, and in the moment. As many of those he loves were impacted and forced to stay home, Pastor Scott believes that with a new perspective we can continue to experience happiness. One similarity of the pandemic, was the loss of social experiences, similar to the seniors who went into WWII, the pastor said.

Many have lost social contact, and there is concern that some of the people who went online for his sermons may never be seen in church again, like a 91 year old man, one of the founding members of Faith Baptist. The eldest members will most likely stay at home for a while due to high risk conditions, and the pastor lost the ability to come to the hospital to visit and support those he cares about, as well as the members of the church who have fallen ill during the pandemic. Other changes that occurred was the need of mints before every prayer to lessen the impact of breathing your own air repeatedly. Also he had to conduct service online, with only a camera for company. Pastor Scott understands there is no manual for the virus, and that life changes, bringing out the best and the worst of people. The pandemic opens new avenues for showing people that you care for them, a belief the pastor strongly supports.