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15,000 white flags placed outside Decatur church honor lives lost to COVID-19

The flags represent the lives lost to COVID-19 in Georgia.

DECATUR, Ga. — If you drive by the First Christian Church of Decatur this week, it will be hard to miss the 15,000 white flags lined up outside the church lawn.

The flags represent the lives lost to COVID-19 in Georgia. 

So far during the pandemic, The Georgia Department of Public Health has recorded 14,761 deaths from the virus, with 72 of them reported Tuesday. 

During this whole week, First Christian Church will display the flags to remember those lives.

"This prayerful, artistic expression is a collaborative effort initiated by the American Friends Service Committee in collaboration with the Federation of Christian Ministries and First Christian Church of Decatur," a Facebook post about the flags says.

Credit: Courtesy of Pastor James Brewer-Calvert

On Sunday, there was an opening ceremony; each day this week at noon and 5 p.m., clergy is available on site for prayer.  

The church is welcoming anyone to come and welcome through the display.

Pastor James Brewer-Calvert said the display will be outside the church until Sunday, Feb. 28 at noon.

On Monday, the nation crossed the sobering milestone of 500,000 American lives lost to the virus. President Biden addressed the nation directly and publicly, speaking from a lectern in the White House Cross Hall. 

He spoke about the half-million lost Americans as though he knew them, adding that "there’s nothing ordinary about them. The people we lost were extraordinary.” 

Biden and his wife, Jill, along with Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff then stepped outside to observe a moment of silence at sunset.

Material from the Associated Press contributed to this report.

    

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