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Southwest Baptist Church members gathered at Memorial Hospital and Manor on Tuesday to uplift the staff through food, worship music and prayer.

Pastor Stanley Phillips said part of the church’s mission is to serve others, and he felt like there was no better way to serve than to serve those who have been serving the community the past two years.

“We have several doctors and nurses who attend our church, and we’ve watched them hurt,” he said. “We want to help encourage our healthcare employees and give them a hug and tell them we love them and appreciate them.”

Phillips knows this is only a small gesture, but feels it’s the way he, along with his church, can tell the staff at MHM that they love them and that God is on their side.

“To me, Jesus said we can serve Him by serving others,” Phillips explained.

Phillips referenced how God talks in the Bible about when giving others water in His name, it as if they are giving it to Him.

“That’s what we are here to do is to serve, and we hope to do this all over our community,” Phillips said.

Phillips’ hope is that this small gesture will encourage others to come together to serve the hospital as well.

“We are such a divided nation now and we’ve got to come back together and we need unity in our city and nation again,” Phillips said. “The way to do that is to love everybody and serve everybody.”

Phillips explained that the hospital is a great example of what unity should look like, helping every type of person, regardless of what their status may be.

To help lift the spirits of employees and remind them that God is with them, the church passed out prayer cards during the meal giveaway.

The prayer cards contained one verse on the front: Colossians 3:17

“And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”

The card had an additional verse on the back: Psalm 90:17

“And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the works of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands.”

While the church passed out the verses, they also had a tent set up for prayer requests.

“If you have a prayer need or something is on your heart, write it down and we will pray for you,” Phillips encouraged.

SWBC’s music minister Jason Landcaster ended the afternoon lunch with some worship songs led by him.

Phillips hopes the afternoon was one of joy and encouragement to the healthcare workers, as that was his main goal.