Anglicans support Covid-19 vaccination campaign in Belgium
The Flemish regional government in Belgium has a long-standing dialogue platform (ViLD) with the officially recognised faith-groups and secular humanists. Through the years, ViLD has worked with the regional government to provide a united response to various global events, terror attacks, and any 'hot-button' issues of the day. As the coronavirus vaccination campaign continues to get rolled out, the government and ViLD made a series of Flemish-speaking public service videos to encourage voluntary participation.
Each video begins with the familiar face of Steven van Gucht, an epidemiologist who has guided the government's decision-making on covid and can often be seen on Flemish talk shows. Then, one representative from each faith group makes a short statement encouraging its members to join the campaign, often citing part of their own tradition. The Anglican video message provided by The Revd Canon Stephen Murray, Vice-Chair of the Anglican Central Committee in Belgium, and Chaplain at St. John’s Anglican Church in Ghent, highlighted famous Anglican scientists and health-care professionals such as Isaac Newton, Lewis Carroll, Florence Nightingale & Edith Cavell as examples of how science and faith can go together.
An additional compilation video brings together the faith representatives in a message of unity against the virus and for the common good. All the videos can be found on YouTube. It is also hoped that in the future, French-speaking videos will also be developed with the other regional governments.