Lutheran church in Chile opens its doors as a COVID-19 vaccination site
The Osorno congregation of the Lutheran Church in Chile (ILCH) is allowing its building to be used, because it is a way to “serve the community on the path to healing”. On 15 February the church opened its doors to the Osorno health department as an official COVID-19 vaccination site.
The pastor of the Osorno Lutheran church, Miguel Angel Nuñez, said that the congregation is offering its building as a contribution to the national campaign to eliminate COVID-19, and as a testimony of Christian hospitality.
“As Christians we have a duty, and we cannot keep our doors closed. We must be part of the healing process in our country,” said Nuñez.
This gesture was warmly welcomed by Osorno city officials, who first contacted the Osorno board of directors and then visited the church to make sure the building was suitable as a vaccination centre.
The head of the Osorno health department, Jaime Arancibia, said that cooperation with the church is “an enormous contribution”, because it allows them to offer more places for vaccination.
Likewise, the mayor of Osorno, Jaime Bertín, thanked the congregation and said: “They are making a house of prayer available to the whole community, which will allow us to carry out the task – to vaccinate everyone.”
“With this help, there is no doubt that the work will be done in the best possible way,” he said, praising the church’s leadership.
ILCH bishop Alexis Salgado noted that this is also an opportunity for “ecumenical, national and local coordination”, referring to the fact that other churches have likewise made their premises available.
Salgado mentioned that in this way “we are beginning to break down the psychological wall between society and the church, which for some people can be hard to approach”.
He concluded that “if the church is not here to serve, then it has no meaning at all”.
Submitted by Red de Comunicaciones – LAC. Edited by LWF/A.Gray
Osorno Chile/GENEVA
| 22/2/2021