BALTIMORE — The families of the workers at the Key Bridge site are on the minds of many this Easter Sunday.
Rising Sun First Baptist Church is centering their Sunday service on everyone directly impacted by the Key Bridge collapse last week.
In addition to the families of the six workers who died in the Key Bridge collapse, thousands of people in Baltimore were also directly impacted by the crash, especially those who have jobs related to the port.
“Assistant to the pastor here, he has two sons that work, and they were scheduled to go across the bridge that evening, so it has been truly impactful for us as a church family, and we have other folks who have family members who work down there," says Pastor Enel Burns.
It's why this Sunday service at Rising Sun First Baptist Church was not only about resurrection day but also about making sure people whose lives have changed have support from the community.
The church held a prayer vigil of hope for not just the families who lost loved ones, but for the first responders and crews still working to clear the debris and on standby to recover the remaining four victims bodies from the water.
First Lady Candace Burns says it is important for the church to offer continued support, not just while there is an immediate need but even later on as people deal with the long-term effects of this tragedy.
“How do we stand in the gap? How do we remain in a posture of support? How do we ensure that our door never closes? As pastor said we are now really focused on it, right. It just happened, but we know for those 15,000 Marylanders or Americans across the country who are affected by this transportation pipeline which has now been stalled, we know it’s not a day, it’s not a month. It’s going to be an extended period of time where they are going to be dealing with this crisis, and so we have to keep that front and center. and be there however we can be there for them.”
Members of the congregation were asked to donate to food banks helping laid-off Longshore workers and donate whatever they could to longshore Men Union fundraisers, which will help families going through this crisis.
“I believe as a community we are called to come together under this tragedy to support those families that have been impacted, and we are going to do our part here at Rising Sun," says Pastor Burns.
Pastor Burns took a moment to recognize the elected officials, from the local to the state level, for the work they are doing to reduce the overall impact of the loss on families.
“They all have stepped up for such a time as this, and I believe that they are going to do a very good job at making sure we have the resources to rebuild and make sure that this tragedy has the least impact as it possibly could on these families," he says.
The church urges its members and all people in Maryland to reach out to their neighbors who may have been impacted by the tragedy and offer them continued support.
