Doug and Naomi Foley volunteered at a fund-raising walk.

by Tami Cinquemani

“The Sabbath was intended for four purposes: worship, fellowship, rest, and service,” explained Pastor Andy McDonald to his congregation at Florida Hospital Church in Orlando. “Seventh-day Adventists do really well with the first three purposes, but not so well with the fourth.”

This sermon was the catalyst for members and friends of Florida Hospital Church to look at the needs of their community and experience the service aspect of the Sabbath. During a month of event planning, participants signed up for a variety of service opportunities:

• Performing and distributing gifts for patients and staff at Florida Hospital.
• Volunteering at a 5K run benefitting Pediatric Cancer Foundation and a Central Florida Hemophilia Foundation fund-raising walk.
• Composing letters to military personnel, working on projects at Orlando Junior Academy and Apopka Hope Community Center.
• Collecting items for Central Florida Department of Family Services.
• Assisting with an Orlando Children’s Church event.
• Visiting home-bound church members.

Pablo Bonetti and Lisette Medina served energy food in the form of bananas at a 5K run. (Photo: Stanley Pomianowski)

After a rewarding morning of serving the community, more than 400 volunteers gathered at Hospital Church for a unique worship celebration and to share their experiences. “I don’t know if I touched any lives today, but one thing I know, they touched mine!” said one volunteer. Another stated, “The joy of giving with unselfish, unconditional love has been an absolute blessing.”

A wide variety of stories were told, but the consistent theme was the desire to make this a regular event. Relationships were made, lives were touched, and the ministry of Jesus was understood in a fresh new way.