“Vaccination is a Grace of God,” Says Coalition of Seventh-Day Adventists, Pentecostals, Baptists, Roman Catholics, Episcopalians and Nondenominational Ministries

“Vacúnate Con Fe” (Get Vaccinated with Faith) is an ecumenical coalition of faith leaders and churches who are trying to reach Hispanics, African Americans, Haitians and other minorities in Central Florida with Covid-19 vaccines. Their mission is to overcome the “barriers of the English language, ignorance, required documentation, fear of the vaccine, lack of technology, among other challenges” and convince people of the need to get vaccinated. They have already helped to vaccinate more than 4,000 minorities living in Osceola, Orange, Seminole, Volusia and Brevard counties. Their stated goal is 5,000. [1]

On September 12, 2021, “Vacúnate Con Fe” announced in the Orlando Sentinel news that their organization is made up of “Seventh-Day Adventists, Pentecostals, Baptists, Roman Catholics, Episcopalians and nondenominational ministries.” They also declared that the Covid-19 vaccine is a “grace of God.” They said that taking the vaccination is an act of “love,” and are asking people to reject the argument that vaccinations are a “governmental plot to control us” and “eliminate individual rights.” “Vacúnate Con Fe” is calling on churches to reject “conspiracy theories” and see the vaccination as a “grace of God.” [2]

Several church leaders from “Vacúnate Con Fe” (Get Vaccinated with Faith) “signed” the September 12, 2021 announcement that appeared in the Orlando Sentinel. The signers were:

• Pastor Abel Morrobel, Iglesia Adventista Lake Buena Vista
• Father Brian Turner, Episcopal Church of the Blessed Redeemer
• Father Charles T. Myers, Episcopal Church of St. John the Baptist
• Bishop Cordell Baugh-Samuels, Christ International Church
• Bishop David Maldonado, Christ International Church
• The Rev. Dr. Gerardo de Jesus, Fusion Pastoral Counseling, LLC
• Irais Murphy, Vestry and Jr. Warden, St. John’s Episcopal Church
• The Rev. Dr. Jose Rodriguez, Christ the King Episcopal Church
• The Rev. Father Luis De la Cruz, Rector Saint John’s Episcopal Church
• The Rev. Mother Maytee de la Torre, Iglesia Episcopal Jesus de Nazaret
• Min. Sheena D. Rolle, The Faith Healing Justice Institute
• Elder Sylvia Rivera, Christ International Church
• Carmen Torres, Co-Founder, Hablamos Español FL
• Ericka Gómez-Tejeda, Co-Founder, Hablamos Español FL
• Victor Sanchez, President, Central Florida LCLAA [2]

These misguided church leaders have confused biblical truth and reduced God’s grace to a marketing tool to promote Covid-19 vaccines. Why do churches use “God’s grace” to score political points and convince people that if they get vaccinated they will experience the grace of God? This is an abuse of the Holy Scriptures. They are exploiting innocent people to accept the arguments of the CDC and the United Nations under the cover of religion. God’s grace is designed to give us salvation, mercy and power to become partakers of His divine nature, not promote personal agendas:

“Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” 2 Peter 1:2-4.

The distorted narrative about God’s grace by these so-called Christian leaders has nothing to do with religion, God or the Bible. They are using religion to push propaganda. Pastors and theologians can twist Scripture and justify almost anything today. In fact, when Jesus proclaimed the pure gospel, He had to deal with religious leaders who misused the Scriptures to support their own imaginations.

Mixing the common with the sacred is nothing new. The Bible is full of examples of those who tried to do this and ended up reaping a bitter harvest. God makes it clear that He detests when people add, change or try to distort His word. Tragically, we will see more of this as we approach the second coming of Christ.

“For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” Revelation 22:18, 19.

“I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” Galatians 1:6-8.

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” 2 Timothy 4:3, 4.

Sources

[1] https://www.orlandosentinel.com/espanol/os-es-vacunate-con-fe-evento-vacunas-covid-19-20210515-bjzuosc4urakri6pmjnck6a2xu-story.html

[2] https://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/guest-commentary/os-op-coronavirus-vaccination-vacunate-con-fe-20210912-wfdiokriovalda5ugx3c7fpma4-story.html