While many around  Barton County will gather with friends and family to enjoy Super Bowl XLVIII this Sunday, United Methodist Women members at First United Methodist Church in Great Bend hope fans will keep in mind the plight of some who will endure ongoing slavery in the form of human trafficking, either as service workers or sex workers.  
In recent years, several groups, both ecumenical and  secular, have taken up the cause to build awareness of this practice.
“As the Super Bowl ranks second only to Thanksgiving as the day in which Americans consume the most food, some of those who are trafficked will serve food in restaurants or at catered parties.  Others will clean hotel rooms or wash dishes, wome will tidy nail salons, deliver dry cleaning or wash windows; and others will be trafficked as sex workers, working as “escorts” or in men-only clubs,” according to a UMW action alert distributed to members at the January meeting.  
To raise awareness, members are taking part in a photo drive with the theme, “Freeze! United Methodist Women is Intercepting Human Trafficking.”   
“We hope everyone will take a moment to pray for God to give them the courage to comfort the abused, confront the abuser and support those who are at the front lines of the struggle,” said LaVonne Gerritzen, FUMC UMW spokesperson.