Community rallies in prayer for an end to the COVID-19 pandemic
Published 7:19 am Monday, February 1, 2021
People of all ages, races and denominations gathered on the lawn of Merit Health River Region Hospital Sunday for a prayer movement to defeat COVID-19.
The gathering was one of many across the state, all of which were held simultaneously on the lawns of hospitals, Vicksburg organizer Pastor Dexter Jones from Triumph Baptist Church, said. The statewide event was organized by Mission Mississippi’s Healing Mississippi.
“The objective today is prayer and asking God for healing,” Jones said. “We came out to offer prayer on behalf of the families, frontline people, and essential workers to let them know that we love them and that we are praying for them during this time of the pandemic.”
Robert Sanders, pastor at the Jubilee Revival Center, and one of the event’s speakers called the gathering “awesome.”
“This is beautiful. It shows a variety of people from the community coming to pray together and doing something together and that is really commendable this day and time. You see a lot of division but this is beautiful — different denominations, different church groups — it’s awesome,” Sanders said. “This is one of the great positive things that are happening.
Highland Baptist Church pastor Brian Ivey echoed Sanders’s sentiments.
“This is a good way for all of our churches to come together to pray for the sick and demonstrate unity in the body of Christ,” Ivey said.
Pastors from other local churches participated, offering scripture and a prayer for repentance and forgiveness. Prayers for healing were offered as well as prayers for frontline workers and for families affected by COVID-19.
Following the service, Jo Rollins, a nurse at The Bluffs, said she was glad to see people turned out.
“It felt good to see people come together — black and white and from different denominations coming out in unity and all praying together,” Rollins said. “That’s what we need are prayers.”
Rollins, who has seen the effects of the virus on her patients and their families, said she especially appreciated the prayers for nurses.
Tim Floyd, who attended the service, was appreciative to both those who organized the event and attended.
“This allowed us a moment to focus on praying for everything related to the pandemic and a time to get away from the business,” he said.