Toledo pastor survives two health scares: double lung transplant, COVID-19
Ben Green needed a double lung transplant after decades of inhaling toxic chemicals as a factory worker. The same U of M doctors treated him for COVID. Author: WTOL Newsroom, Silas Tsang Published: 8:45 PM EDT May 9, 2021 Updated: 9:05 PM EDT May 9, 2021
TOLEDO, Ohio For Ben Green, the lead pastor at New Covenant Baptist Church in Toledo, talking is what he does for a living.
But when he could no longer speak life presented a whole lot of questions. I had been diagnosed with interstitial pneumonia since 2006, said Ben.
Ben needed a double lung transplant after decades of inhaling toxic chemicals as a factory worker.
May 1, 2021
CONCERT AT CHURCHES: New Covenant Baptist Church, 1606 Salt Springs Road, Lordstown, will host Sojourner Quartet from Findlay at 10:30 a.m. Sunday. The quartet will be ministering in song at Austintown Baptist Church, 1180 S. Raccoon Road, Austintown, at 6 p.m. Sunday. A free-will offering will be accepted, but the song services are free to the public.
WALK FOR LIFE: This year’s Walk for Life to benefit the Friends of Pregnancy Help Center will be May 8 at the Canfield Fairgrounds. To register and for information, visit phcwalk.com. For information, call Jessica at 330-788-4000, Ext. 13.
DAY OF PRAYER IN HUBBARD: Hubbard Christians in Action will host a National Day of Prayer noon Thursday at the Hubbard administration building senior center. The event will take place rain or shine and will have prayers for the country, military members and the community.
Staff report
CONCERT AT CHURCHES: New Covenant Baptist Church, 1606 Salt Springs Road, Lordstown, will host Sojourner Quartet from Findlay at 10:30 a.m. Sunday. The quartet will be ministering in song at Austintown Baptist Church, 1180 S. Raccoon Road, Austintown, at 6 p.m. Sunday. A free will offering will be accepted, but the song services are free.
WALK FOR LIFE: This year’s Walk for Life to benefit the Friends of Pregnancy Help Center will be May 8 at the Canfield Fairgrounds. To register and for information, visit phcwalk.com. For information, call Jessica at 330-788-4000, ext. 13.
DAY OF PRAYER IN YOUNGSTOWN: The Rescue Mission of the Mahoning Valley will participate in National Day of Prayer on Thursday with the public invited to take part virtually. This year marks the 70th annual National Day of Prayer and has set a goal of 100 people to sign up to pray on the national day observance.
bcoupland@tribtoday.com
Staff photo / Bob Coupland
The choir of St. Patrick Parish in Hubbard leads the congregation in song and worship during a recent Mass at Hubbard High School. The church caught fire in mid-January, and services currently are being held in the church hall while repairs are being completed.
With a year of online services and sitting in vehicles in parking lots, area churches and parishes slowly have been bringing people back to in-person worship.
Church leaders have been reaching out to their members and reassuring Valley residents that with proper social-distancing guidelines in place, worship services can be attended safely.
Church leaders say community members and themselves were hesitant about the vaccines at first.
“There’s still a lot of hesitant people. As a matter of fact, I was one of the hesitant people,” said Pastor Patrick Jones with Greater Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church. “I had no issues and no problems.”
Now, Jones is encouraging others to get vaccinated by working with other churches to host pop-up clinics.
“We have retired nurses, we have pharmacy techs. We have all of the people who worked in the medical professionals who are willing to help to put on the clinics,” said Raymond Bryant, Presiding Elder of the San Antonio District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.