Ben Carson Tests Positive for COVID-19 — and More News Shorts
In the latest news round-up, Ben Carson has tested positive for COVID-19, a wounded Armenian pastor survives the frontlines and advocates for peace, and Loma Linda University Health unveils new sculpture dedicated to nurses.
Ben Carson Tests Positive for COVID-19. According to Religion News Service, Seventh-day Adventist Ben Carson, the secretary of Housing and Urban Development, has tested positive for COVID-19. News that Carson, whose faith tradition stresses health, has tested positive for the virus was revealed by a HUD spokesperson on Monday, November 9. “Secretary Carson has tested positive for the coronavirus,” Coalter Baker, Carson’s chief of staff, reportedly told ABC News in a statement. “He is in good spirits and feels fortunate to have access to effective therapeutics which aid and markedly speed his recovery.”
The diagnosis comes less than a week after Carson attended an election-night party at the White House where Mark Meadows, President Trump’s chief of staff, also made an appearance and later tested positive for the novel coronavirus. It is unclear if Carson wore a mask while attending the White House election party, where all were tested beforehand, but many — including Meadows — did not wear face coverings. Carson has advocated for mask-wearing during the pandemic, telling ABC News 5 Cleveland in June that “if we all do it, it will make a dramatic difference,” however, he has reportedly been spotted attending indoor events this year without one.
From Religion News Service, “Ben Carson, Seventh-day Adventist, tests positive for coronavirus.”
Wounded SDA Armenian Pastor Survives Conscription, Advocates Peace. According to Trend News Agency, Armenian pastor Hovsep Sahakyan, who was captured during the hostilities in the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, took part in a service held at the House of Prayer of the Seventh-day Adventists in Baku. Sahakyan said that he was glad to be in the House of the Lord. "As a believer, a pastor, I have always wanted the Azerbaijani and Armenian peoples to live in peace. And the word of God speaks of peace. God wants peace, and God wants us to live in peace. I am glad that God miraculously saved my life.”
“When they told me at the military commissariat that I must go to the front, I replied that I am a believer; I will not take up arms and will not kill because the commandment says "Do not kill," Sahakyan added. “But they told me it didn't matter.”
“I went there without a weapon; I thought that I would work in the hospital,” Sahakyan said. “When I was in Gubadli district and the shooting began, I was wounded; a shrapnel hit my leg. They wanted to transfer me to the hospital, but on the way to the hospital, there was an accident. Everyone was killed, except for me, I survived."
“Saving my life, God gave me a new opportunity,” the Armenian pastor said. "I call on the two peoples to live in peace. If I had a choice, I would not choose war. I call on my people to stop the bloodshed and come to peace. I urge all believers who have been called to war not to take up arms and not to go to war." The Armenian pastor added that he agrees that the Nagorno-Karabakh region is not the territory of Armenia.
From Trend News Agency, “Armenian pastor urges Armenian people to stop bloodshed and come to peace.”
Loma Linda University School of Nursing Unveils New Sculpture Honoring 115 Years of Nursing Education. According to Loma Linda University Health News, “Be His Light,” a new sculpture honoring 115 years of nursing education at Loma Linda University School of Nursing, was unveiled in front of West Hall during a livestream dedication ceremony on November 5. The sculpture, set in the 1950s, depicts the blend of a nurse’s faith and clinical practice to provide compassion, hope, and the promise of wholeness. “Be His Light” is one of three life-size, faith-based sculpture installations on the campus of Loma Linda University Health created by sculptor Victor Issa. The sculpture was donated by an anonymous School of Nursing graduate.
According to Elizabeth Bossert, PhD, RN, dean of Loma Linda University School of Nursing, two bible texts served as the inspiration for the bronze sculpture. “Jesus said: ‘I am the light of the world,’ John 8:12 and ‘You are the light of the world,’ in Mathew 5:14,” she said. “His light is represented as an oil lamp in our nursing dedication ceremony — a milestone in each nurse’s journey,” Bossert said. “As our alumni live out Loma Linda University Health’s mission to continue the teaching and healing ministry of Jesus Christ, may they share His light, illuminating the way as they care for a hurting world.”
The year 2020, recognized by the World Health Organization as the “Year of Nurse,” proved true for Loma Linda University Health as the institution celebrated two historic nursing landmarks. Both Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital and Loma Linda University Medical Center were awarded the highest honor of healthcare nursing excellence — Magnet Recognition, part of the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s (ANCC) Magnet Recognition Program.
From Loma Linda University Health News, “New sculpture depicts nurses’ faith and commitment to compassionate care.”
Please note: Spectrum news round-ups are an aggregation of regional, national, and international publications around the world that have reported on stories about Adventists. As such, the accuracy of the information is the responsibility of the original publishers, which are noted and hyperlinked at the end of each excerpt.
Pam Dietrich taught English at Loma Linda Academy for 26 years and served there eight more years as the 7-12 librarian. She lives in Yucaipa, California.
Image: Secretary Carson Visits Faith-Based Homelessness Service Providers in Detroit, August 17, 2020. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on Flickr (public domain).
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