Florida Conference News

Southern Union Conference invites Adventist business owners and professionals to its ASI (Adventist-laymen’s Services and Industries) Area Convention, November 4-6, at the Sheraton Studio City Hotel in Orlando, Fla. Guest speakers will include Kim Busl (Friday evening) and family members, Jabel and Michelle (pictured), who have served in Africa with Frontline Builders ministry and will tell of mission experiences in Chad, South Sudan, and Mongolia. W.L. Taylor, Southeastern Conference president, will speak Sabbath evening.

Other highlights of the Getting Outside Your Comfort Zone weekend will include inspirational music, fellowship, and testimonies of ASI members sharing Christ in the marketplace. A children’s program will be provided.

For registration details and fees, contact Tom Kapusta, Southern Union Conference, (404) 299-1832 x408. For Sheraton Hotel reservations and group rate information through October 24, call (800) 327-1366, and mention Southern Union Annual Convention.

—by Martin Butler

Adventist Community Team Services (ACTS), a lay-driven group of volunteer disaster responders, immediately went into action with Florida Conference’s Adventist Community Services (ACS) to bring help, hope, and healing to the devastated Gulf Coast.

The first stage of relief operations brought 11 emergency supply-filled vehicles together, August 30, at Camp Kulaqua in High Springs—one day after Hurricane Katrina hit. Plans called for the team to head for Mobile, Ala., to help set up an Adventist-operated disaster warehouse for the State.

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David Canther, Florida Adventist Community Services director, has informed us that their distribution warehouse is currently fully stocked and is unable to accept more contributions at this time. The crew wishes to express their most sincere gratitude for the help received in providing disaster relief supplies.

There is, however, a need for large family tents to serve as temporary housing for displaced residents. Negotiations have been made with Wal-Mart and other retailers to purchase family tents at $58 each. If you would like to sponsor one or more tents, checks can be made out to and sent to Florida Conference with “Hurricane Relief Tents Sponsor” on the memo line. P.O. Box 2626, Winter Park, FL 32790-2626.

If and when the need arises to restock the distribution warehouse, an update will be posted to this news feed.

Florida Adventist Community Services Director David Canther reported the following statistics:

• Local and national high schools, colleges and academies have sent volunteers averaging approximately 300 students per day.
• More than 110 semi-trailer loads of goods delivered into three communities.
• More than 130,000 meals have been prepared that have been distributed by the Red Cross.
• More than $1,000,000.00 worth of goods distributed from Florida warehouses.
• A.C.T.S. is one of the few organizations to actually get goods and services into the community without a
  salary budget—100% volunteers.
• A.C.T.S. has a sound stage, offering nightly concerts to the public.
• A.C.T.S. has two medical units that triage the community and treat as needed. These two state-of-the-art units run on 80Kw generators and are staffed by healthcare professionals.
• A.C.T.S. provides physical, emotional and spiritual healing during this horrific crisis.

A video report of Florida Conference Community Services’ relief effort at Bass Memorial Academy is available on our Hurricane 2005 information page. (Length: 5:05. 17 megabytes. QuickTime required.)

Beginning Friday, September 9 at 8:30 and 11:30 p.m. Eastern, the Hope Channel will broadcast a special report on Hurricane Katrina. The one-hour program features interviews of Adventist relief workers who reveal how the storm has affected Seventh-day Adventists. Nearly a dozen Adventist churches were either damaged or destroyed during the storm and its aftermath. Bass Memorial Academy in Mississippi suffered severe damage with the loss of several roofs. Exclusive video of the storm striking the Academy documents the devastation as it happened.

During the program, viewers will have an opportunity to make donations to rebuild Adventist churches and schools in the Gulf States and Arkansas-Louisiana Conferences. While most relief fund raising campaigns direct funds to agencies providing for the welfare of the general public, funds donated during the Hope Channel special will go directly to help Adventist churches and institutions rebuild.

The Hurricane Katrina Special Report will be rebroadcast in North America all next week:

• Saturday, September 10 at 1:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 7:00 p.m., and 9:30 p.m. (Eastern)
• Sunday, September 11 at 3:30 p.m., 8:00 p.m., 11:00 p.m. (Eastern)
• Monday, September 12 at 9:30 a.m. (Eastern and Pacific)
• Tuesday, September 13 at 8:00 p.m. (Eastern and Pacific)
• Wednesday, September 14 at 9:30 a.m. (Eastern and Pacific)
• Thursday, September 15 at 8:00 p.m. (Eastern and Pacific)
• Friday, September 16 at 7:00 and 10:00 p.m. (Eastern)

The program can also be seen on Hope’s European and International Channels or by streaming video at www.hopetv.org. Please check the web site for the Europe and International Channels broadcast times.

Please help our fellow church members who’ve lived through America’s most costly natural disaster. The phone number for making a gift to Katrina Adventist Aid is (866) 900-0123.

Donations can also be mailed to:
Hurricane Katrina Relief Aid
C/O Hope Channel
P.O. Box 5303
Thousand Oaks, CA 91359

To make an online donation for general disaster relief, please visit www.communityservices.org.

To purchase a satellite dish that receives the Hope Channel, 3ABN, and six other Adventist channels, call (888) 393-HOPE (4673).

We’re now beginning to receive sets of photographs from workers who traveled to the Gulf States Region. These photos will be posted to our Hurricane 2005 page, and additional galleries will be posted as new photos arrive.

This news update contains plenty of updates from various conferences about how they are responding to Katrina’s aftermath as well as other useful information.

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Nampa, Idaho (September 1, 2005)—As people struggle to survive in New Orleans and anarchy seems to reign, many are wondering “Why, God?” The devastation of Hurricane Katrina and the mounting death toll have left many shaken. In response, Signs of the Times and Pacific Press are releasing a pocket-sized sharing pamphlet called Does God Care That I’m Hurting?

This attractive and easy-to-read sharing pamphlet offers hope and reassurance that God is there and that He does care—a message that many need to hear during these difficult times. Jorge Velez, assistant manager for the Texas Adventist Book Center, says the store is helping coordinate an effort to distribute Bibles to refugees being evacuated to San Antonio. “In addition to water and food, one of the top things that people are asking for is a Bible,” says Velez.

It is often during tragedy that people turn to God. “Pacific Press exists to print resources that help spread the message of hope and love that only God offers. And it is during times like these that our mission becomes so clear. We hope church members will use Does God Care That I’m Hurting? to reach out to those who are hurt and confused by this tragedy,” says Dale Galusha, Pacific Press president.

Does God Care That I’m Hurting? includes an offer for free Discover Bible Studies. It is available in packs of 100 for $6.99US or $9.45CAN. To place your order, call toll-free (800) 765-6955 or visit www.AdventistBookCenter.com.

Does God Care That I’m Hurting? will be available at your local Adventist Book Center beginning September 12.

We have created an open forum in the hopes it may be of assistance for those seeking other members of their family and friends. There are spaces designated for posting information about someone who is missing, as well as a place for posting that someone is safe and wants to leave their current contact information for the benefit of people who may be looking for them. http://www.floridaconference.com/katrina/

The 2005 third-quarter issue of Florida Focus is now available for download in Adobe Acrobat format.

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Disaster relief contributions are now being accepted at the Community Services warehouse on the campus of Forest Lake Academy, 3909 E. Semoaran Blvd., Apopka.

The warehouse is not staffed all day. Please call Frank Barton to make an appointment for someone to meet you. (407) 408-1844.

Because of the cost of transporting material and limited access to affected areas, cash donations are most preferred. Non-perishable food and certain clothing items and hygiene products are also accepted: towels, washcloths, shampoo, toothbrushes, toothpaste, disposable razors, shaving cream, soap, nail files, band-aids, combs, brushes, new socks and underclothes, feminine products.

Additional drop-off locations will soon be available in north and south Florida.