Recently, longtime Binkley Baptist Church senior pastor Marcus McFaul announced he’s heading into retirement, after a long and impactful career.
Now, his congregation is taking a step to make sure his impact will continue: they’ve just launched the Marcus McFaul Medical Debt Relief Fund, an effort to erase at least a million dollars in medical debt for hundreds of local residents.
“We thought this was really important, given Marcus’ footprint on the Chapel Hill community,” says Carol Miller, the outreach chair for Binkley Baptist Church. “And we thought this was a great way to honor Marcus and the work that he’s done here.”
That work spanned the last 12 years, continuing Binkley’s long history of faith-based social justice advocacy and community support. Executive minister Kelsey Vincent says this new effort is yet another extension of that defining legacy.
“It’s amazing that we’re able to target our local communities, so we’re helping, literally, our neighbors,” she says. “And it is absolutely in line with what we believe as a church, in terms of serving ‘the least of these’ (and) giving folks a boost to make a more equitable and just world.”
Former Binkley Baptist Church Pastor Marcus McFaul. (Photo via Binkley Baptist Church.)
The issue is a significant one, as millions of Americans face medical debt every day. It’s the leading cause of bankruptcies in the U.S., it’s also a major cause of clinical depression – and it disproportionately affects those who are already struggling to make ends meet. Kelsey Vincent says that’s something they see in church all the time.
“We see folks who are just saddled with the stress and burden of medical debt – and the inequity of who it impacts: folks in poverty (and) people of color are more likely to be impacted as well,” Vincent says.
The initial goal is modest: they want to raise $10,000. But that money will go a lot further than it sounds, because medical debt is often traded on the market for pennies on the dollar. So, with the help of a national nonprofit called Undue Medical Debt, Binkley’s congregation will be able to use those funds to purchase a million dollars’ worth of debt – and then wipe it away.
“The amount of stress being put on folks, when our money can go a really long way, feels like a way to give back that has a lot of bang for our buck,” Vincent says. “For one penny on the dollar, that’s a pretty great way to uplift folks in the community who are suffering.”
Nationally, Undue Medical Debt has already helped erase nearly $50 billion of debt for more than 30 million families. Carol Miller says if the Marcus McFaul Medical Debt Relief Fund hits its goal, it will eliminate medical debt for 200 people in our community.
“And those are folks (with) a household income less than four times the federal poverty rate, or five percent or more of their annual household income going to medical debt,” she adds. “So it’s the folks who are most affected by any economic issue, whether it’s the price of gasoline or food.”
And Miller and Vincent say this initial effort is just the beginning: $10,000 is their starting goal – but the more they raise, the more people they’ll be able to help.
“So we’re excited to be able to come together and honor Marcus while we serve our community,” Vincent says.
Click here to learn more about the Marcus McFaul Medical Debt Relief Fund, and to make a donation to the effort.
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