- The coronavirus hasdisproportionately affected

Latinos and blacks accordingto data from the CDC.

Our Heather Sells spoke withReverent Gabriel Salguero,

the president of the NationalLatino Evangelical Coalition,

to talk about how it is affecting Latinos

and their churches.

- Yeah, it's so interesting.

Talk about what is the conversation like

in Latino churches rightnow in regards to COVID.

Why do Latinos think therates are so much higher,

and what are they doingto combat this pandemic?

- I think, first,

is that we're tryingto do the pastoral care

and come alongside people.

As you said, we are disproportionatelyimpacted by COVID-19.

In New York City, apastor of our coalition

lost nine parishioners.

The Assemblies of God

Spanish Eastern Districtsuperintendent affected.

We lost several pastorsin New Jersey, in Florida,

and across the country.

And so our major focus right up front

is to take care of people,

make sure we're providing pastoral care,

comfort, coming alongside people,

even as they're being impacted.

And as you say, part of that is because

many Latino communities havepre-existing conditions,

sometimes called comorbidity realities,

like diabetes, hypertension,and so that reality

makes them more susceptibleto the COVID-19 virus.

- Well Pew Research also shows

that the Hispanic unemployment rate

has spiked during the pandemic,

especially among Latino women.

Are you seeing this in your churches,

and how are you responding?

- Yeah, I think thatthat is actually spot on.

And the reason that is isbecause many of them work

in the impacted areas.

For example, I live in Orlando

and Disney's been closed for a long time,

so a lot of people who work in Disney,

a lot of people who work in supermarkets,

truck drivers, who are frontline workers

have been either furloughedor temporarily let go

because of COVID-19.

And so that impact ofunemployment or furlough

really impacted the church,not just the families,

but also the communities,the church communities

where people, becauseof their unemployment,

or underemployment, can't move around,

can't pay their mortgage,can't pay their rent,

and so the church has been responding

by bringing food, by fooddrives, by food pantries,

by helping people with their mortgage.

In any way we can, we've beena source of help and support.

- And of course, this is allcoming down hard on pastors,

who are trying to thinkabout all the different needs

for their congregations.

How do you see thepandemic affecting them?

- Look, one of the thingswe need to really focus

is on who cares for the caregiver.

Exhaustion, sometimescalled compassion fatigue.

Sometimes people think thatpastors are working less

because of COVID-19,they're working from home,

but actually, they're doing more.

They're doing counselingon Zoom or on Skype

or on Google Meets.

They're meeting with more people.

Plus, more people are demanding prayer

because they lost someone.

I, myself, had to officiatea virtual funeral,

or had to go to a funeralwhere only 10 people could go.

And so, what we need to focus is

on making sure pastors are rested,

making sure those caregivers,those deacons, come alongside.

So it's a community-wideresponse to COVID-19,

not just the pastor.

- This pandemic, of course,has caused suffering

on so many levels, but I'm also wondering

how have you seen the Lord at work

in your churches during this time?

What have been, perhaps,some of the blessings,

even amongst the grief and loss?

- Yeah, I've just worked on a book

with about 20 evangelicalleaders called "Arise Together,"

and what I've seen is that, inthe midst of this suffering,

you see real resurrection,people stepping forward

helping their neighbors.

I've seen the church

be more on the front lines with feeding,

more on the front lines

with helping healthcareworkers, truck drivers,

more on the front linesespecially with the elderly,

shopping for them,having young people come

and bring their groceries in safe ways.

And so the church has been the church.

And if anything, I thinkwe may see a revival.

After this whole COVID-19 dies,

the church may surprise usand we may come out stronger,

if that's possible, thaneven when we went in.

- All right, and we aregonna end on that note.

Reverend Salguero, thanksso much for your time.

- Thank you.