This past Sunday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul spoke at the Christian Cultural Center, a non-denominational Christian megachurch located in Brooklyn, urging worshipers to become her “apostles” by telling the unvaccinated to get vaccinated.
Hochul took over as Governor in August 2021 after Andrew Cuomo resigned following eleven allegations of sexual harassment, which were first reported in 2020. Hochul is New York’s first female governor.
Boasting an estimated membership of 40,000 people in 2016, the Christian Cultural Center is pastored by once-advisor to President Trump, evangelical A.R. Bernard.
In her address, Hochul told those in attendance, “What we went through in this pandemic made us stronger,” going on to say she often tells young people who have missed out on important milestones like high school graduations that they are more resilient. “God let you survive this pandemic because He wants you to do great things someday,” she said.
“He let you live through this when so many other people did not,” Hochul continued as applause filled the room.
The governor expressed that the pandemic is not over and said she has prayed “a lot” during this time. Hochul said God answered our prayers: “He made the smartest men and women, the scientists, the doctors, the researchers — He made them come up with a vaccine. That is from God to us.”
“We must say, ‘Thank you, God! Thank you,’ ” Hochul said. She also explained that she wears a necklace indicating she is vaccinated to assure those around her that she is safe to be in contact with.
Hochul told the Christian Cultural Center congregants they were “the smart ones” for being vaccinated. The Governor also said that those who have chosen not to get vaccinated aren’t listening to God and aren’t following what God wants.
Mirroring Jesus’ words in Matthew 28:16-20 when He commissioned His disciples to go out into the world and teach them all He commanded, Hochul called on the church to be her “apostles” and go out and “talk about it,” pleading with the unvaccinated to receive the vaccine because we “owe this to each other.”
“Jesus taught us to love one another,” Hochul said. “How do you show that love but to care about each other enough to say, please get vaccinated because I love you. I want you to live. I want our kids to be safe when they’re in schools. I want you to be safe when you go to a doctor’s office or to a hospital.”
The governor went on to caution listeners about the dangers of unvaccinated healthcare workers giving the virus to patients. “You don’t want to get the virus from them. You’re already sick or you wouldn’t be there. We have to solve this, my friends.” New York’s current mandate requires all healthcare workers without a doctor-approved medical exemption to be vaccinated, or they will be terminated without being able to collect unemployment benefits.
The governor then turned her attention to systemic racial injustice, urging listeners to recognize its existence. “If there’s a denier, I will take you on any day, because I’ve seen it.” She vowed that under her watch as New York’s governor, the state would not turn “a blind eye to this ever again.”
Watch her Christian Cultural Center speech below:
