MOCTON -- One of New Brunswick’s historic churches played a crucial role during the last global pandemic, serving as a makeshift hospital during the Spanish flu.
In 1918, First Baptist Church in Moncton was lined with cots as residents were treated for influenza.
“They had advertised in the newspaper for nurses, nurses and other volunteers,” says Rev. Richard Jackson, senior pastor at First Baptist Church.
Dr. Hinson West, a medical missionary, proposed the idea of transforming three large rooms inside the church into a makeshift hospital.
“The city hospital was bursting at the seams with patients, could not take any more and he thought to himself 'We have this brand new building with lots of space, what if we opened up a hospital here' and that's exactly what they did,” says Jackson.
The church, which had been destroyed by a fire in 1913 and rebuilt in 1915, housed 25 patients for six weeks. They were released around the same time as the First World War ended.
“Their calling to help the sick was stronger than their love of life. So they risked their life to help out and I see similar things like this happening today,” says Jackson.
Jackson says the history that lives within the church is inspiring and also provides a glimmer of hope during today's pandemic.
“For us to know we've been here before, we not only survived it, we've thrived in the midst of it,” says Jackson.
