PINK WITH PURPOSE- Members of the New Life Baptist wore pink in solidarity to support Cancer survivors. Photo: provided

CANCER WILL NOT WIN- Bishop John Ivan Cline calls all cancer survivors to the stage and those who support them to the altar at the pivotal moment of Think Pink Sunday. Photo: provided

Survivors and church members Threcio Philips and Linda Massac were interviewed on the pulpit by church Public Relations Director Kareem-Nelson Hull. Hull touched the arm of Massac as another sister, Yolanda Blaize stood behind her to comfort her as she cried when she recounted the story of the moment she got confirmation that she was infected with Multiple Myeloma Cancer.

“I was still in disbelief,” she said. She later said triumphantly, “but look at me now!”

Philips who had just arrived to church after disembarking a ferry ride from St. Thomas, was returning home from a round of treatment for his invasive cancer that has affected his back.

“It really affected my drumming. Even playing with my daughter, she has to be easy with me,” he told the silent congregation.

The two were interviewed as part of a special segment called ‘Three Questions On Cancer’.

Bishop John Ivan Cline, NLBC Senior Pastor invited all the survivors on stage, many of whom attended with the BVI Cancer Society. Holding their hands in a victorious pose, the church sang and rallied around them at the altar to show support.

NLBC member and Miss World British Virgin Islands Kurtis Kassandra Malone also serenaded the survivors with Whitney Houston’s Didn’t Know My Strength. The church also erupted in spontaneous selections of ‘My God is Awesome’ and ‘His Strength is Perfect’.

‘Think Pink Sunday’ is part of the series of themed Sundays held at the New Life Baptist Church this year. The themed Sundays have either sought to unify the church through coloured themes or themes based on messages with purpose. ‘Think Pink Sunday’ was the held for the first time in the church’s history.

The powerful service omitted a sermon as the focus was placed on the survivors and their encouragement.

“It went well,” told Bishop John Ivan Cline, Senior Pastor at the Church, who had tears in his eyes as he rallied the church through this new type of social awareness.