On Friday, June 26, 2020, leaders of Adventist-laymen’s Services and Industries (ASi), a Seventh-day Adventist organization of lay church members in North America, announced that the organization’s 2020 convention has been canceled due to the sharp increase of COVID-19 infections. The event, slated to take place in Orlando, Florida, United States, from July 29 to August 1, 2020, will offer a virtual event this year, organizers said. Below is the official ASi letter to members and supporters—Editors
Dear ASi Family,
We are living in unprecedented times of uncertainty, and we are devastated to share this news with you: the ASi 2020 International Convention in Orlando, Florida, has been canceled. We have been monitoring the situation in Florida very closely and consulting with all stakeholders. Due to deteriorating conditions and the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the region, Rosen Shingle Creek Convention Center has decided not to reopen as scheduled; therefore, they will not be able to provide services to ASi in their venue. We respect Rosen Shingle Creek’s decision as a long-time partner of ASi.
ASi has listened to our constituency, researched diligently with medical professionals, sought expertise from the hospitality industry leaders, and concluded on all fronts to accept the cancellation of our convention in Orlando. We are now working through the ramifications of this unprecedented situation.
This situation is beyond our control, but leaning on God’s almighty power, ASi’s mission and goals are strengthened by these challenges. We are even more committed to engaging and equipping lay missionaries to advance the mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church to share the three angels’ messages of God’s love and grace with the world. The ASi team is working around the clock to explore options to provide the most enriching ASi Virtual Convention experience.
We understand the gravity of the situation for all exhibitors, registrants, and participants who have made travel plans to attend the convention. We will soon update you on our plans and the details for the ASi Virtual Convention.
Though our 2020 in-person ASi Convention in Orlando will no longer take place in the way we intended, we continue to strive toward our purpose and faithfulness to actively spread the gospel of the three angels’ messages in times like these.
Thank you for your ongoing prayers as we continue to seek God in all things and “lean not on our own understanding, but in all ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct our paths” (Ps. 3:5, 6).
