NEW ORLEANS, La., Feb. 5, 2019—ERLC President Russell Moore and NFL Player Ben Watson of the New Orleans Saints will join community leaders for a special ceremony to dedicate a new sonogram machine and celebrate the ministry of Baptist Community Health Services this weekend.
The machine, which will support the prenatal care and other medical services available at the Andrew P. Sanchez Center location of BCHS, was provided through a partnership between Watson and the Psalm 139 Project, an initiative of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.
The celebration event will be held at the Andrew P. Sanchez Center location of BCHS (1616 Caffin Ave, New Orleans, LA 70117), Feb. 10 at 2:00 p.m. CT and members of the national press are invited to attend. Moore will also speak at First Baptist Church of New Orleans prior to the ceremony during the 9:30 a.m. CT service.
“I am thrilled to celebrate the placement of a Psalm 139 Project ultrasound machine at the Baptist Community Health Services,” said Moore. “I’m excited to see how this machine will be used as a powerful instrument to help protect unborn children and mothers across the city of New Orleans. Ministries like BCHS play an indispensable role in advocating for human dignity, and I pray this placement would help them continue to flourish and serve the city of New Orleans.”
In November, the ERLC worked with Watson and Shawn Powers, CEO of BCHS, to place this machine, the third ultrasound machine provided through The Psalm 139 Project in 2018.
“At Baptist Community Health, we serve as medical missionaries in one of the most medically underserved communities in America,” said Powers. “The gift of the Watson family's ultrasound machine, will provide countless opportunities to share life with new mothers early in their pregnancies. Through those sacred encounters, our team at BCHS will have Kingdom opportunities to connect thousands of woman to our local churches for their ongoing spiritual support and growth.”
BCHS is a non-profit community-based health care provider that serves the primary care needs of residents in underserved areas. The clinic has multiple locations located in the heart of New Orleans’ lower Ninth Ward. BCHS is unique as the only federally qualified health center in the U.S. to be connected to a SBC local association. It was launched by the churches of the New Orleans Baptist Association and with the help of the North American Mission Board in 2014.
The Psalm 139 Project is a ministry of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention focused on aiding pregnancy resource centers in securing ultrasound machines and providing training.
