Stephens Memorial hosts Blessing of the Hands; annual hot dog lunch scheduled for Friday, May 17
On Monday, May 13, Stephens Memorial Hospital hosted the annual Blessing of the Hands gathering with Rev. Otho Noggle for National Hospital Week.
Each year, a group of SMH employees gather in a circle at the hospital’s helicopter landing pad. Noggle takes a small bottle of olive oil and walks around to each person in the circle and pours a small amount of the oil on their hands and rubs it in. He then closes the ceremony with a prayer. During the service, he talks about the role the olive tree in the Bible and the history of the healing properties of olive oil.
“We would like to thank Otho for being willing to come pray over and anoint our staff every year for hospital week,” Surisadai Alvarado, SMH Business Development and Social Media Coordinator, said in a report about the event.
SMH will host its annual Hospital Week Cookout on Friday, May 17, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the hospital’s front lawn, 200 S. Geneva St. They will have free hotdogs and hamburgers for the community.
Blessing of the Hands
(Photos by Surisadai Alvarado/Stephens Memorial Hospital)
