The Church of God held a massive blood drive event through the “Love of the Passover” with Antipolo City, Quezon City, Las Piñas City, Laoag City, etc. participating in “Life-Sharing”.
The members united in the noble work of saving lives by donating blood following the love and sacrifice of Christ who brought salvation to mankind through the New Covenant Passover.
The World Mission Society Church of God (General Pastor Kim Joo Cheol, hereinafter referred to as the Church of God) conducted a global environmental cleanup drive and blood drive relay to commemorate the “New Covenant Passover”.
The Passover, which has the meaning of “disasters pass over,” is a feast of God. A day before His Crucifixion, Jesus Christ established the new covenant through the Passover bread and wine that represents His flesh and blood, and promised the forgiveness of sins and eternal life to mankind (Matthew 26, Luke 22).
Starting from March, blood drive relays have been held locally in Mandaluyong City, Quezon City, Las Piñas City, Laoag City, General Santos City, and Lucena City. About 840 people participated and 460 people donated 207,580 ml of blood. And last April 3, 130 people carried out an environmental protection campaign in Davao New Coastal Road, and practiced God’s love in the Passover.
Last May 2, about 180 people including Church of God members, family, friends and neighbors participated in the blood drive campaign held at the Ynares Event Center in Antipolo City. An official from the Church of God said, “We hope that the blood drive campaign will not only share the love of Christ, but also raise awareness of the importance of blood donation – the only means of supplying blood, and help resolve the deficiency of blood supply, which has worsened due to the pandemic.”
Participants followed COVID-19 quarantine guidelines by wearing face masks, disinfecting hands, checking temperature, and examining their medical condition while maintaining social distancing. In a consistently bright atmosphere, 83 people donated 37,350 ml of blood.
This blood drive campaign was held in cooperation with Antipolo City Hall and Rizal Provincial Hospital System (RPHS) – Margarito A. Duavit Memorial Hospital. Local government officials were invited and present. They included Reynaldo San Juan, the Vice Governor of the Province of Rizal, Nixon Aranas, Councilor of 2nd District of Antipolo, Christian Alarcon, Councilor of 2nd District of Antipolo, Nino Amonelo, Operations Manager of RPHS – Binangonan Blood Bank, Dr. Concepcion Garcia- Lat, Head Doctor of City Health Office, Myla Velgado, Regional Program Coordinator – Center for Health Development – Department of Health (DOH) – CALABARZON and Reuel Vidal, Editor of Antipolo Star Newspaper.
Reynaldo San Juan, the Vice Governor of the Province of Rizal said, “This is where people like you, donors like you come in. When we donate blood, it is stored in the blood banks from where it is distributed to the patients in need of it. One donation from us can save the lives of people in danger. You will be a life-saver by giving just 15-20 minutes of your time and donating at least 500cc of blood in a pain-free and an easy process and you get to save the lives of others in your own little way.”
Councilor Christian Alarcon of District 2, City of Antipolo said, “On behalf of the City Government of Antipolo and leadership of Mayor Ynares, we would like to congratulate and appreciate the World Mission Society Church of God – Antipolo and Marikina Chapter and Chairwoman Zahng Gil-Jah for inspiring and raising this kind of event especially in this time of pandemic – we truly appreciate it. Saving lives is most important in this time. We would like to congratulate the church for a very successful event. Maraming maraming salamat po.” when asked his special message to Chairwoman Zahng Gil-Jah, and to the volunteers from the World Mission Society Church of God (WMSCOG) for the blood drive event.
John Anthony Pimentel, 26, who participated in the blood donation said, “Masaya ako na nakapag-donate ako ng dugo. Masaya yung feeling kasi nakapag-contribute ako sa society sa pamamagitan ng aking dugo. Maraming matutulungan ito na ating kababayan na kailangan na kailangan ng dugo sa mga aksidente o sa mga operations. Dahil dito, mas naisisikat ko yung glory ni Father and Mother sa pamamagitan ng pag-dodonate ng dugo. Kaya sana magkaroon pa ng maraming opportunity ng blood donation dito sa Philippines at sa buong mundo para makapagbigay tayo ng ligaya sa pisikal at sa ispiritwal sa ating mga kababayan sa mundo. Maraming salamat!”
The Church of God, which has provided various voluntary services throughout the country, is also actively participating in overcoming national disasters caused by the pandemic. Donations and food were delivered to underprivileged families in Antipolo, who suffered from hardship and torrential rains, while donating food to the Barangay Hall of Barangay Malaya in Quezon City for residents in quarantine. ASEZ WAO, a youth worker volunteer group, and ASEZ, a college student volunteer group, visited Laoag Divine World University Vaccination Center, Quezon City De Los Santos Medical Center, Tarlac Hospital, The Medical City – Pasig, San Pablo Doctors Hospital, etc.; they delivered handwritten letters and cheering kits packed with snacks to the medical staffs and quarantine officials.
In addition, as about 30,000 residents were urgently evacuated due to the eruption of Taal Volcano in early 2020, they quickly provided relief items such as rice, bottled water, mats, and blankets to shelters in Tagaytay to help the victims. In 2021, ASEZ WAO, in cooperation with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), took the lead in responding to the climate crisis by planting 300 trees in the La Mesa Nature Reserve in Quezon City.
These activities are being carried out not only locally but all over the world. There have been more than 22,500 altruistic activities conducted by 3.3 million members in 7,500 churches in 175 countries, such as disaster relief, helping the underprivileged, environmental protection, educational support, and cultural communication. For its continuous humanitarian action, the Church of God received more than 3,300 awards from governments, institutions and international organizations, such as U.S. President’s Volunteer Service Award from current U.S. President Joe Biden, Former U.S. President Donald Trump, and Former U.S. President Barack Obama, the Presidential Awards from Three Korean Governments, the Green World Award and Green Apple Award, which are international environmental awards.
Here in the Philippines, the Minister of Social Welfare and Development, the Minister of Environment and Resources, the Minister of Health, the Governor of Laguna, the Mayor of Manila, the President of the Philippine Red Cross, the President of the International Council of Environmental Law (ICEL), and others were congratulated by conferring citations, plaques of appreciation, and letters of appreciation. The Church of God believes in God the Father and God the Mother according to the Bible, and it is the only church that has restored the legitimacy of the Early Church by keeping the “New Covenant Passover” that Jesus Christ established 2,000 years ago. Following the teaching of Christ to “become the salt and light of the world,” we are delivering hope to our neighbors and society through various steps.