Ceremony Shared Words of Hope, Encouragement and Remembrance
4/1/2021
This article was written by Karen Kistler, originally appearing in the Mooresville Tribune on Wednesday, March 31, 2021. Read the original article here.
Words of remembrance and hope were offered during the COVID-19 special reflection ceremony hosted by the Lake Norman Regional Medical Center Pastoral Advisory Committee.
Leigh Whitfield, director of marketing and public relations, welcomed the group, which gathered March 22 at noon in the Serenity Garden outside the hospital’s Café at the Lake, for the brief ceremony remembering all, as she shared, “we’ve lost this past year, not just locally, but all those around the world, to COVID-19.”
Dr. Robert Jackson, chairman of the committee, shared a brief devotional on the theme of remembrance noting how we don’t want to be forgotten.
“In fact, people go to great lengths to be remembered,” he said, after which he shared the story of how Shah Jahan commissioned a building in memory of his wife who died in childbirth so she could be remembered. The building, he noted, which required 20,000 workers and costs in today’s dollars $956 million, was the Taj Majal.
Jackson continued by pointing out national reminders including the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial and the Vietnam Memorial, all built to help us remember, whether as he noted a president during a time period in our history or “those who served their country at the cost of their lives.”
“In today’s world, our pace of life is so busy,” Jackson continued. “We hardly have time to remember. We’re moving on to the next thing. I think if we fail to remember, our lives are diminished because there are some things that are worth remembering.”
He shared several reminders that are seen in the Bible. One of those was the rainbow, a symbol of God’s faithfulness. “The Bible says God set a rainbow in the cloud as a reminder of His promise that the earth would never again be destroyed in that way,” speaking of the flood. “When I see one now, I think of God’s faithfulness,” he said.
Jackson then noted Jesus’ final meal with His disciples and how He gave them two reminders, the bread and cup. “Those two common symbols of life, He gave new meaning to those that we might remember Him, not just His life, but His death, His death on the cross that allowed an estranged humanity the opportunity to be reconciled to their Creator. Jesus offered hope in the midst of life’s greatest mystery, death,” Jackson shared.
And on this day, he noted that hope and remembering were also being shared, a day to offer “a word of hope, a word of encouragement and to remember those who have died because of this pandemic. We not only remember them, but their families and loved ones and we remember those now who continue to suffer from this illness. They’re still going through the recovery process and those who may be at this very moment are fighting for their life because of it. It is a terrible, terrible disease. And yet in the midst of it, we are here to speak words of hope.”
Clyde Wood, CEO of the local hospital, expressed his thanks as well for those who attended “to remember what we’ve all gone through in the last 12 or 13 months. I think over the last year looking back, none of us would have ever foreseen something like this ever happening in our community, our state or even around the world.”
Wood also shared his thanks for the support that the pastors and chaplains gave whether it was providing help “when people needed someone to talk to or listen to or to pray with or even to mourn with.”
He noted his thanks as well to those in the healthcare field, remembering all those who have worked sacrificially during these difficult months as he said, “if you think in healthcare the most challenging times are the times that we shine the greatest, and I’m thankful for the staff, for those individuals who have worked endless hours, changed schedules, changed how they work, and how they just support the healthcare organization.”
In addition to the Jackson, Pastor David Simon and Volunteer Chaplain Vickie Stowe also participated in the remembrance ceremony.
Simon added his thanks for those staff members at the hospital and “their place in the community, bringing wellness and security,” and the work they are doing. He continued by sharing scripture from Isaiah 61 which he noted “talks about the year of the Lord, and we are looking for that in 2021.”
Chaplain Stowe offered a prayer of comfort and remembrance praying for the families who have lost a loved one to this disease, as well as for the staff at the hospital and those who have “given of their time and their efforts, they have been the hands of healing, the hands of peace and the hands of comfort.”
The Serenity Garden, which was the setting for the ceremony, was created by the hospital’s Volunteer Auxiliary in 2007 as a gift to both the hospital and community, as noted on the sign placed in the garden. While the group was gathered for the event, signs of spring were in the air, with the sun out, the flowers blooming and birds singing. This was brought to everyone’s attention by Wood, who said that when “we think of spring, we think of renewing life and renewing of our souls. “Let’s take this as an opportunity to renew our passion and our drive to love one another, to support one another and to help each other as we continue on this journey together.”
As Jackson was concluding his devotional, he shared that “life is precious and sacred. We resolve to show respect for life and for others as fellow travelers on the journey of life. No one wants to be forgotten, and today we pause to remember.”
Pictured are, from left, Dr. Robert Jackson, Pastor David Simon, Vickey Stowe, Leigh Whitfield and hospital CEO Clyde Wood.
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