On Friday morning, the community is invited to a prayer and meditation event focusing on friends and family at the Mennonite Memorial Home and for the Mennonite Home Communities of Ohio employees and volunteers.

Open to the public, it takes place at 11 a.m., Friday, May 1, in the parking lot of The Centre, 601 N. Main St., Bluffton. 

The Bluffton Area Ministerial Association and its ministerial partners will conduct the service.

Persons attending must remain in their vehicles at all times and turn to an FM radio station to be announced on Friday as several local Bluffton pastors lead a time of prayer and meditation.  

“Our Homes have been particularly devastated by infectious disease. We are joining together in prayer for the well-being of those who have been affected and for those who are helping to battle this disease on the front line,” Chris Moser of the MHCO staff, told the Icon. 

On April 23, MHCO announced that since confirmation of the first positive case of COVID-19, Mennonite Memorial Home experienced an outbreak resulting in a total of eight resident deaths.  

At the time of that statement, 19 staff and residents tested positive for COVID-19, five who were probable, and eight who tested negative.

While the virus has seriously impacted Mennonite Memorial Home on West Elm Street there are no confirmed cases among residents or staff on the other Mennonite Home Communities of Ohio campuses.