Church members prayed over and gave trophies to civil servants for their work
An action carried out by the women of the Seventh-day Adventist Church of Santana do Araguaia, in Pará, Brazil, paid tribute to all employees of the city's Sanitary Surveillance. They said prayers and words of thanks to the people who are in charge of preventing the novel coronavirus from spreading.
Adrielle Mylhena, one of the participants, says that the tribute was a way to offer comfort to workers in a delicate moment.
“It is important to bring a little more hope to those people who are on the front lines against coronavirus,” she says. “The prayer, prayed with all my heart, showed them the power of the Holy Spirit, and they said they felt stronger and more grateful in the face of the situation.”
One of the honorees was Gisele Ramos, coordinator of the Health Surveillance.
“The tribute was very beautiful,” Gisele offers. “Gestures like this give us the certainty that we are on the right path at work, which is to protect life. When we work on inspections, we are not always well received, and when we receive a tribute like this, we feel as if our strength is being renewed.”
For Pastor Wagner Rodrigues, the event was extremely important to show society that the church is committed to recognizing the small gestures of these professionals who give up their lives to protect that of others.
“As a church, we are motivated by Christ to empathize with people,” he says. “Therefore, the main purpose of the action is to show these employees that we are with them, even when many people judge them and receive them badly. We recognize that their work is essential for preventing and fighting COVID-19, and we appreciate them greatly.”
This article was originally published on the South American Division’s Portuguese news site