By Cynthia Mendoza
In a time when wearing protective masks is part of the new normal, thanks to COVID-19, Seventh-day Adventists throughout the Columbia Union Conference are stepping up to help meet those needs in creative ways, while also sharing encouragement and hope as they do so.
Story by Andre Hastick
Orlando Rosales, the conference’s Multilingual Ministries director, and Rubén Ramos, the vice president of Multilingual Ministries for the Columbia Union Conference, recently traveled throughout the Chesapeake territory for Caravan 2020, themed “El Dia es Hoy” (Today Is the Day).
They visited 10 Spanish-speaking churches, and, at each stop, encouraged every church member to pray for five people with the purpose to personally lead at least one person to Christ within the year.
Story by Andrew S. Lay
Earlier this year, 20 Highland View Academy (HVA) juniors and seniors joined more than 100 academy students from across the Chesapeake Conference to participate in the second annual Capital Model United Nations (Model UN), held at Washington Adventist University in Takoma Park, Md. The high schoolers could not wait to engage fellow students on important and current human rights issues.
About four years ago, Kyle Hardinge, a member of Chesapeake Conference’s Spencerville church in Silver Spring, Md., was under the care of nurses and staff at a local hospital after undergoing heart surgery. Today he, with the aid of his 3-D printer, is returning the care.
Story by Andre Hastick
As the COVID-19 outbreak quickly emerged, the Chesapeake Adventist Community Services (ACS) Department mobilized trained volunteers and partnered with the American Red Cross, state organizations and local churches to provide crisis care to communities across the Chesapeake territory.
Through these partnerships, Chesapeake ACS established the following: a network of 16 church-based food pantries; an emotional and spiritual care hotline; and four personal protective equipment (PPE) donation centers, in collaboration with the Maryland Emergency Management Agency.