A military term coined during the 17th century, “front line” referred to the closest proximity to enemy engagement. While it seems strange at first glance to use military lingo during seasons of crisis among civilians, the term captures two essential elements of war: an enemy and a hero.

For over a year, a new kind of battle has raged worldwide. The enemy: COVID. The heroes: front-line workers. A recent season of battle prompted St. David’s-by-the-Sea, Cocoa Beach, to honor local front-line health care workers in a unique way.

While the Intensive Care Unit nurses at Cape Canaveral Hospital, Cocoa Beach, have not made national headlines, they have cared for many of the most critical COVID patients in Brevard County day in and day out since March 2020. On March 9, 2021, Steve Zawadzki, a beloved member of St. David’s, became one of their patients. For over a month, they cared for him with both expertise and compassion. Their care extended to Zawadzki’s family and friends as well. Over the weeks, the nurses held hands, delivered difficult news and wiped away tears of their own.

Each time The Rev. Porter Taylor visited the ICU, he told Zawadzki his church family was praying for him. The nurses were praying for a miracle too.

“I was able to get to know several of the nurses who cared for Steve in the ICU,” Taylor said. “Several of them shared with me that COVID has presented more challenges than they’ve experienced in previous decades of nursing combined. They feel the emotional pain of the patients and their families in a very real way.”

The care the ICU nurses gave Zawadzki can only be described as incarnational. “They were the hands and feet of Jesus to all of us as we held vigil for Steve,” Taylor explained. “And that’s the way Steve lived his life, too. I’ve heard countless stories from his friends and family about the ways Steve showed the love of Jesus to his community. Watching him receive that kind of love was beautiful to witness.”

On April 18, 2021, Zawadzki lost his battle with COVID. The St. David’s community grieves with his wife, Vicky, family and extended family, but in their grief, they also give thanks for his life and his example as a selfless disciple of Jesus.

Knowing the St. David’s family would want to thank the nurses who cared so lovingly for the Zawadzkis, Taylor thought providing a meal for the ICU staff would be helpful since they very rarely take a break. Because of donations from St. David’s members and a partnership with a local restaurant, Brano’s Italian Grill, the church was able to provide meals to bless both shifts. Taylor reached out to restaurant owner, Brano Kunik, and asked if the business could help thank the front-line workers by matching the church’s gift.

Kunik jumped at the opportunity. “When Father Porter called and asked us to partner with St. David’s for these meals, it was an easy yes,” he said. “Everyone has been affected by the pandemic on some level, and this is how we start to heal – we help each other.”

On April 27, Taylor delivered meals for the day shift nurses with a thank-you card signed by several St. David’s members. Later that night, he and Vicky Zawadzki delivered more meals to the night shift nurses. On April 29, Brano’s did the same.

“We’re a proud family-owned business, and that family extends to our local community,” Kunik said. “We’re just happy we could help some of our front-line workers in such a practical way.”

The battle is not over, and the nurses in the Cape Canaveral ICU continue to receive new COVID patients. For years to come, front-line workers around the world will continue processing their collective grief. But St. David’s knows that the incarnational love of Jesus breaks through as a sign of hope in the darkest of times, even, and perhaps especially, on the front lines.