Congratulations to Steve Jacobsen, current BPFNA member and former business manager, for being honored at the Center for Nonviolent Living's tenth-annual Peacemaker Awards and Picnic on Sunday, July 15, 2012.
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The Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America exceeded its goal of $8,800 and raised $9,137.32 for Conflict Transformation trainings in Chiapas, Mexico.
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Last November, BPFNA was a companion to 15 young indigenous prophets from Chiapas on a remarkable pilgrimage to El Salvador, to La Tierra de los Martires, the Land of the Martyrs.
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After 14-hours on the plane, I landed in Liberia. Along with my co-facilitator Virgil Nelson and his wife, Lynn, I was prepared to lead several 2-day Conflict Transformation (CT) trainings with Baptist pastors and lay leaders. I was not prepared for the heat and the noise that greeted us as we walked out of the airport in Monrovia. Or for the traffic that roared and beeped around us as we made our way to Careysburg, a town north of Monrovia, capital of Liberia.
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In January 2012, the BPFNA and Palmer Theological Seminary (formerly Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary) co-sponsored a traveling course titled Ministry on the Borderline.
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The history, theory, and practice of nonviolent direct action were on the agenda in an April training convened for Asheville, NC area residents by BPFNA partner congregation Circle of Mercy (COM).
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Dr. David Gushee, distinguished professor of Christian ethics and director of the Center for Theology and Public Life at Mercer University, will be the speaker at the Peace Breakfast on June 22 at the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s General Assembly.
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The Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America hires Thea Leticia Mateu Zayas as Summer Conference director.
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The following was written by Rev. Greg Thomas in response to Pastor Charles Worley's comments regarding the LGBTQ community.
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The Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America announces its 2012-2013 board officers and welcomes four new board members. Cheryl Dudley and Bill Brammer will return as president and vice president. Judson Day will join the officers as treasurer and Katy Friggle-Norton as secretary. The new members will begin their board responsibilities in October, 2012.
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The following statements were written by Evelyn Hanneman and LeDayne McLeese Polaski in response to Amendment One passing in North Carolina. The amendment states that, "Marriage between a man and a woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this state."
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On Sunday, May 6, after a three-year process, Circle of Mercy in Asheville, NC approved a statement declaring it a peace church. The statement was unanimously adopted by the congregation.
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The Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America’s (BPFNA) board of directors approved funding for Conflict Transformation trainings in Sudan/South Sudan and the Philippines, as well as funding to assist with the creation of a Baptist Peace Fellowship of Latin America and the Caribbean.
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American Baptist missionary Ray Schellinger was our host for the week. Ray and his wife Adalia run a domestic violence shelter in Tijuana called Deborah’s House. Early in our visit, Ray took us to Friendship Park, described what it had once been, let us see what it has become and invited us to contemplate throughout the week the messages we’d like to add to the wall.
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El misionero bautista estadounidense Ray Schellinger fue nuestro anfitrión durante la semana. Ray y su esposa Adalia se encargan de un refugio contra la violencia doméstica en Tijuana denominado Casa de Deborah. Al comienzo de nuestra visita, Ray nos llevó a Parque de la Amistad, describió lo que había sido una vez, nos dejó ver lo que se ha hecho y nos invitó a contemplar durante toda la semana los mensajes que deseamos añadir a la valla.
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On March 28, 2012, BPFNA Board of Directors approved the organizations official statement regarding a possible war with Iran. The statement, An Open Letter to President Obama has been sent to the US president. The Board is working on modifying the US version to send to other North American leaders.
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This past January, Julie Warner lead a BPFNA Friendship Tour to Burma (Myanmar). I feel blessed to have been a part of this trip, along with Carol Day and Kay Cheves. I was asked by my church to give a report on this incredible experience. I have not tried to build a “scientific” report, but have rather focused on giving our congregation the strongest sense of what we have lived during these almost 3 weeks in the few minutes I had to talk. So I decided to tell three stories representing powerful, key moments that I will never forget.
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En enero pasado, Julie Warner dirigió una gira de amistad de BPFNA a Birmania (Myanmar). Me siento bendecida por haber sido parte de este viaje, junto con Carol Day y Kay Cheves. Mi iglesia me pidió que diera un informe sobre esta increíble experiencia. No he tratado de construir un informe "científico", sino que me he centrado en dar a nuestra congregación el sentido más fuerte de lo que hemos vivido durante estas casi 3 semanas en los pocos minutos que tuve que hablar. Así que decidí contar tres historias que representan momentos clave y poderosos que nunca olvidaré.
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When the Baptist Peace Fellowship became officially welcoming and affirming about 15 years ago, some of the biggest critiques that we got were ‘this is not a peace issue. Our response to that is any justice issue is a peace issue, because we can’t have peace if we don’t have justice.
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Any justice issue is a peace issue because we can't have peace if we don't have justice, and we can't have peace for some people or any people if we don't have justice for all people.
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On Sunday, March 4, the congregation of University Baptist Church in Seattle unanimously approved a resolution of affirmation and celebration of the recently approved Marriage Equality Bill in the State of Washington.
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A fence runs through Friendship Park at the western end of the U.S. border with Mexico. A 20-foot tall steel structure begun in late 2011 and completed in early 2012, it begins at the very spot where (without barriers) it would be possible to stand in California, Mexico and the Pacific Ocean at the same time.
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Una valla corre a través de Parque de la Amistad en el extremo occidental de la frontera EE.UU. con México. Una estructura de acero de 20 pies de altura que comenzó a finales de 2011 y se completó a principios de 2012, que comienza en el mismo lugar donde (sin barreras) sería posible estar en California, México y el Océano Pacífico al mismo tiempo.
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