Dora Baker, Adventist Community Services (ACS) coordinator for the Bermuda Conference, received the Excellence in Ministry Award at the 2023 North American Division (NAD) Adventist Ministries Convention in Greensboro, North Carolina. W. Derrick Lea, NAD Adventist Community Services director, presented Baker with the award during the General Session on Monday morning, January 9. Baker and her team are known for their compassionate work in Bermuda and were featured in the September 2020 Gleaner during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic for their diligence in meeting the needs of their neighbors.
Baker was elected Bermuda’s ACS Federation president in 2010. In 2020, the Bermuda Conference Executive Committee elected her to serve as ACS director. At the Third Quadrennial Session of the Bermuda Conference in September 2022, delegates voted for Baker to continue serving as ACS director. In this position, Baker desires to focus more on casting the ACS vision and empowering the federation and church teams. When receiving the award, she thanked God and acknowledged the faithful volunteers who make the ministry work, as well as the support of the Bermuda Conference administrators and pastors.
Food prices in Bermuda have increased to the point where people have to choose between paying bills or feeding their families. Providing food assistance continues to be a pressing need for the 11 ACS teams serving within the Bermuda Conference. Baker reported that they are carefully managing funds received from outside charitable organizations to sustain the food and grocery ministry but she also credits the generosity of the local church congregations. “The members of the church have been so faithful! They are contributing funds, goods, and whatever they can provide.” Non-Adventist neighbors living near the churches have also contributed after hearing about the ongoing work.
Under Baker, ACS also helps residents with completing their education through the GED program. They currently operate three learning centers at the Hamilton, Southampton, and St. David’s churches. “Of the people that lost jobs [during COVID], not all of them have regained employment because they don’t have any type of formal education. So we’re trying to offer the GED program so they can catch up,” Baker explains.
When asked about her motivation to serve in ACS all these years, Baker smiles and says, “I like meeting people and making friends. I am not the type of person to give a meal to someone and then let them continue on their way. We have to create a relationship because I always have evangelism in mind.” Also interested in the social growth of the people she helps, Baker actively seeks to cultivate relationships to help them move beyond their difficult circumstances and build a better life. “The Lord just continues to open doors! I can never take credit for anything because a lot of these things just come to me. Sometimes I get the thought and I say, ‘Okay, Lord. How about this?’ Later, someone just comes and says, ‘Ms. Baker, can we talk?’ I just say, ‘Praise the Lord!’ ”