The following are letters from Archbishop Malkhaz Songulashvili, from the Evangelical Baptist Church of Georgia, who is in Lebanon visiting refugees, ministering to the people, and bringing food and medical supplies.
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BPFNA Founding Director Ken Sehested made these remarks at a memorial service for Glen Stassen held on June 21, 2014 at Crescent Hill Baptist Church in Louisville, KY.
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Modern biblical scholarship has enabled critically thinking Christians to understand what the historical Jesus actually said and what was tacked on later to serve the interests of Rome and early church leaders, but those original messages remain politically inconvenient today.
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The following is a report from our friend Boaz Keibarak on a series of Conflict Transformation trainings held from April 8-14, 2014 in four villages in the Rift Valley in Kenya. The trainings are an ongoing effort to ease conflict and tension between two warring groups in the region: the Pokot and Turkana. In October 2013, 135 people were killed during an eruption of violence in the area.
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On Monday, April 28, the United Church of Christ (UCC) filed a lawsuit in North Carolina arguing that North Carolina’s marriage laws limit ministers’ choices and restrict the freedom of religion guaranteed in the First Amendment, thereby making these laws unconstitutional. While the UCC is the only denominational plaintiff, the suit includes a number of members from other faith traditions. Two of these just so happen to be friends of the BPFNA, Nancy Ellet Allison and Nancy Petty (pastor at BPFNA Partner Congregation Pullen Memorial Baptist Church).
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Gandhi read the Sermon on the Mount when he was young, and I think it influenced his development of the strategy of nonviolent direct action. It was a basis for his whole life. He said, "The Sermon on the Mount went straight to my heart," and was especially delighted in the section which begins: "But I say unto you, that you resist not evil; but whosoever smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also." He wrote, "A life based on Christian truth was precious and indispensable to me, [but] the Church offered me rules completely at variance with the truth I loved."
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From April 18-19, 2014, Lancelot (Lance) Muteyo, director of training and advocacy for the Pan African Peace Network, held a Conflict Transformation session at the Baptist Convention of Malawi (BACOMA). BACOMA is the largest association of Baptists in Malawi and among the most influential in Southern Africa. No one from BACOMA had previously been trained in Conflict Transformation.
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A Peace Pole was unveiled at Winthrop University, Rock Hill, SC on March 24, dedicated to Fr. David Valtierra, former chaplain of the campus Newman Center. BPFNA Operations Coordinator Evelyn Hanneman offered the following ecumenical prayer at the dedication service. Other prayers were offered by a Catholic priest and a Native American in the Catawba language. This Peace Pole joins over 100,000 of them in 180 countries around the world. Many are at Baptist churches.
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Members of the World Peace Networks (WPN) and Local Peace Networks (LPN) committees affirmed the following projects and focuses for 2014 at the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America’s (BPFNA) board meeting in February 2014. LPN focuses on projects within the BPFNA’s four member countries (Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the United States) while WPN focuses on projects outside of North America.
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We're pleased to share these two original dramatic pieces written by BPFNA Partner Congregation Pastor Greg Thomas. "Giving the Devil His Due" tells the story of the Temptation from Satan's point of view. "Caiaphas and Nicodemus" imagines the conversation at the emergency meeting of the Sanhedrin held before Jesus' betrayal. Thanks to Greg for sharing these pieces. You are welcome to use them -- simply be sure to credit Greg.
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The wind grates specks of dirt deeper into my skin as I sip my morning coffee and survey the devastation. I force my eyes away from the maquilas (maquiladoras?) directly in front of me and further into the horizon. The deep blues and reds comfort me that this is still a beautiful world despite humanity’s tendency toward depravity. I’m standing on top of one of Tijuana’s many hills with my back toward a playground where the laughter of children redirects my energy from hopelessness to love.
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El viento hace rozar partículas de suciedad en mi piel mientras me tomo mi café de la mañana y analizo la devastación. Fuerzo mis ojos más allá de las maquilas (¿maquiladoras?) directamente en frente de mí y aún más lejos en el horizonte. Los azules y rojos profundos me infunden el aliento de que este sigue siendo un mundo hermoso pesar de la tendencia de la humanidad hacia la depravación. Estoy de pie en la parte superior de una de las muchas colinas de Tijuana con la espalda hacia un parque infantil, donde la risa de los niños vuelve a dirigir mi energía de la desesperanza al amor.
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As long as history can recall, the Turkana and Pokot ethnic groups have organized cattle raids against each other. Conflict began as a result of livestock theft, and the two groups have since been through numerous periods of war. The escalation of violence between Turkana and Pokot communities shows no sign of ending, and it is becoming increasingly destructive and less manageable. However, after attending a Conflict Transformation training led by Dan Buttry, a young man named Boaz Keibarack found the tools needed to go into these villages and conduct peace talks between the two warring groups.
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And a little child shall lead them! Ayden, age 9, is part of a BPFNA Partner Congregation. He shares here his reflections on participating in the Moral March in Raleigh, NC to protest recent moves of the North Carolina legislature.
Three Catholic anti-nuke activists were sentenced yesterday (February 18) in Knoxville, TN. I was truly blessed to attend their sentencing along with many other supporters and came home deeply impacted, moved...and sad. Their court witness, their being surrounded by many old faces of the Catholic Left, many of them participants in previous Plowshares actions, and the entire court process was simply an amazing event to be present at.
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Eh Nay Thaw, familiar to many of us as a Peace Camp attendee, was recently invited to speak at Centre College in Danville, KY. His speech is inspiring and moving, and we are grateful to be able to share it. (Eh Nay hopes to attend Centre as a student and is currently working to find the funds to make that possible.)
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Many BPFNA members and Partner Congregations took place in a Moral March on February 8, 2014 in Raleigh to protest what many consider an extreme and regressive agenda within the North Carolina legislature. Long-time member Deborah Lynn made the trek from Tennessee to participate and shares her reflections here.
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El legado de Martin L. King, a quien Don Abelardo Díaz Alfaro llamó El Cristo Negro, no se reduce a su destacada y firme oposición al discrimen racial y a las prácticas segregacionistas. Su compromiso fue más allá de la lucha por los derechos civiles insertándose en asuntos como la carrera armamentista, el militarismo y la cultura bélica de los E. U. de N. A.
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I can’t just be a tourist in New Orleans. Why? I see too much. I wish I could report the wonderful rebirth of the Upper and Lower 9th Wards of the city, but I can’t. The neighborhoods lag far behind others in redevelopment. This is not for lack of trying. Some say there are strong political forces with other plans for this land who are working behind the scenes to keep these neighborhoods full of empty lots.
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2013 marks the 200th anniversary of Ann and Adoniram Judson’s arrival in Burma and, from December 3-20, tens of thousands of Baptists will gather in Burma (Yangon and Mandalay) and Thailand (Bangkok, Chian Rai, and refugee settlements along the Thai/Burma border), to celebrate this momentous occasion in Baptist history.
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2013 marca el 200 aniversario de la llegada de Ann y Adoniram Judson a Birmania y, a partir del 3 al 20 de diciembre, decenas de miles de bautistas se reunirán en Birmania (Yangon y Mandalay) y Tailandia (Bangkok, Chian Rai, y asentamientos de refugiados a lo largo de la frontera de Birmania / Tailandia), para celebrar este importante acontecimiento en la historia Bautista.
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I was at Quaker House in Fayetteville, North Carolina, participating in the joint Quaker House-Baptist Peace Fellowship Friendship Tour September 7-9. 2013. The new Quaker House directors, Lynn and Steve Newsom, attended the BPFNA Peace Camp in 2012 and were eager to find ways to partner on peace issues.
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Estaba en Quaker House en Fayetteville, Carolina del Norte, participando en la articulación Quaker House-Gira de Amistad de la Comunidad Bautista de la Paz del 7 al 9 de septiembre de 2013. Los nuevos directores de Quaker House, Lynn y Steve Newsom, asistieron al Campamento de la Paz de BPFNA en 2012 y estaban ansiosos por encontrar formas de asociarse en cuestiones de paz.