Adventist Church members march with “Say No to Violence” messages during the ENDITNOW campaign on Aug. 23, 2025, in Apartadó, Antioquia, northern Colombia. [Photo: North Colombia Union]
Adventist Church members march with “Say No to Violence” messages during the ENDITNOW campaign on Aug. 23, 2025, in Apartadó, Antioquia, northern Colombia. [Photo: North Colombia Union]

Adventists Advocate for Enditnow, Protecting and Honoring the Elderly Across Inter-America

Through marches, visits, and community programs, church members promote respect, care, and a society free from abuse.

News September 29, 2025

September 4, 2025 | Miami, Florida, United States | Libna Stevens, Inter-American Division News

Thousands of Seventh-day Adventists filled churches, city streets, and communities across the Inter-American Division (IAD) to advocate for an end to violence during this year’s Enditnow campaign, a global initiative mobilizing Adventists and community groups to speak out against abuse and promote non-violence.

Sabbath services on Aug. 23, highlighted the campaign’s biblical mandate to “Honor your Father and your Mother,” with a special focus on the elderly, often overlooked, and the responsibility to treat them, as well as parents and guardians, with dignity and respect. That weekend, members marched through cities across Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, Colombia, and Venezuela, carrying banners and posters denouncing violence in homes, public spaces, and elder care facilities. Many also visited seniors, distributing food and care packages in homes and communities.

Elderly residents at the Demetrius Center in Nassau, The Bahamas, receive food and care packages from members of the Redemption, Philadelphia, and Maranatha Adventist Churches on Aug. 23, 2025. [Photo: South Bahamas Conference]
“For us in the Inter-American Division, Enditnow reflects our commitment to promoting peace, dignity, and the safety of all people—children, women, and the elderly,” said Sandra Pinto, IAD children and adolescents and women’s ministries director. She added that the church must take a strong position against violence to strengthen Christian values of love, respect, and justice and promote a safer society.

Rallying Against Violence

Across The Bahamas, Cayman Islands, and Turks & Caicos, hundreds of youth, women, and men rallied in community centers and along main streets to protect the vulnerable, particularly the elderly. Activities included distributing more than 700 food packages, care packages with toiletries and cleaning supplies, and health checks, including blood pressure and blood sugar screenings. At a mass rally in Errol Bodie Community Park, Grand Bahama, social worker Godfrey Theoc and Chief Superintendent Will Hart urged communities to cultivate safe and loving environments for seniors.

“More Love, Less Violence” read some of the banners held by Adventists in San Salvador, El Salvador, during the Enditnow march on Aug. 23, 2025. [Photo: Central El Salvador Conference]
In Turks & Caicos, Raphael Delpheche, family ministries director, stressed, “Abuse of the elderly is a stain on our collective conscience. Listen to their cries—they also have a story to tell.”

Honoring the Elderly

Concern for seniors was also highlighted in Colombia, where local church leaders addressed the growing problem of elder abuse. In the first months of 2024, the National Institute of Legal Medicine reported over 3,000 cases of interpersonal and domestic violence affecting older adults. More than 5,000 church members took part in Enditnow activities, including awareness talks, marches, home visits, healthy breakfasts, radio programs, and tributes celebrating grandparents. Some congregations promoted daily acts of love, such as sharing meals, spending quality time, or recording seniors’ testimonies to preserve their faith legacy.

Young people hand a food package to an elderly person during a special program and distribution activity in Santa Elena de Uairén, part of the South Bolívar Venezuela Mission. [Photo: South Bolívar Venezuela Mission]
Celebrations honoring seniors took place across Colombia. Isabel Bastidas of Barranquilla, homebound for over four years due to illness, returned to church with the help of deaconesses. Her daughter said, “We were overjoyed to see her back in God’s house, something we couldn’t have done alone.”

In Venezuela, church members also took to the streets to raise awareness about violence against women, children, and the elderly. More than 1,500 seniors were visited in their homes, while volunteers cleaned homes and nursing facilities and distributed food and care packages.

Read the full article at interamerica.org.

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