CNN
—
The church where Jimmy Carter taught Sunday School for decades marked its poignant absence this weekend as the former president receives end-of-life care.
Carter, 98, has been teaching Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church in his hometown of Plains, Georgia, since the 1980s. Even a cancer diagnosis hasn’t stopped him from teaching a Bible class in 2015.
But on Saturday, “After a series of short hospital stays, former US President Jimmy Carter decided today to spend his remaining time at home with his family and receive hospice care instead. additional medical intervention,” according to a statement from The Carter Centerwhich was also shared by the church.
The church congregation honored Carter at the first Sunday services since news of his hospice care was announced.
“Lord, we would be wrong this morning if we didn’t lift President Carter up to you,” one prayerful said. “Lord, we pray that you will be with his family (and) those around him. And God, we thank you for his service to this nation.
Afterwards, the Maranatha Baptist Church choir sang “America the Beautiful”.
“Maranatha” is derived from two Aramaic words meaning “Lord, come!” says the church’s website.
Carter became the oldest US president in history after the death of George HW Bush, who died at the end of 2018 at the age of 94.
Carter beat brain cancer in 2015 – but faced a series of health issues in 2019 and underwent surgery to take the pressure off his brain.
The country’s 39th president has kept a low public profile in recent years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but has continued to speak out against risks to democracy around the world, a longstanding cause for him.
Carter was a peanut farmer and a lieutenant in the United States Navy before entering politics. The Democrat eventually served one term as Governor of Georgia and as President of the United States from 1977 to 1981.
In his post-presidency years, Carter founded The Carter Center with his wife, Rosalynn, in hopes of advancing world peace and health. The center has worked to advance democracy by monitoring foreign elections and reducing disease in developing countries over the years.
He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his efforts to promote world peace.
Carter is also a longtime volunteer for Habitat for Humanity.
cnn
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