Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance
July 2, 2009
Baptists and Roman Catholics in Italy signed an agreement on "mixed" or interchurch marriages between members of the two Christian faith traditions.
Called "A Common document for a pastoral approach to marriages between Catholics and Baptists in Italy," the agreement addresses Baptists and Catholics who marry each other, in order to help these couples in their preparation for marriage and family life. It also seeks to deepen couples' awareness of their rights and obligations toward each other, and clarify their relationship with their respective churches.
With this document, said Anna Maffei, president of the Christian Evangelical Baptist Union of Italy (UCEBI), "we offer to our communities and our pastors a practical guide so that the confessional difference that remains between the future spouses may not be experienced as an obstacle but as enrichment."
Maffei, who signed the agreement on the behalf of Italian Baptists, said that "respective churches should not be competitors anymore but places of listening and encouragement to communion," highlighting "all that is unifying in spirit and love of God."
Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, president of the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI), who signed for Italian Catholics, declared that "the document is a common step in the journey of ecumenism between the Catholic church and the Baptist churches in Italy in a particularly sensitive field" and is "likely to pave the way for further developments."
The agreement holds special significance for Baptists. "As the number of Baptists in Italy is very small, only in a few marriages are both spouses Baptists. In fact Baptists often marry Catholics and this becomes an interchurch marriage," states an accompanying document released by the UCEBI. "In order to clarify the situation, it has become necessary to reach an agreement between the Baptist Union and the Catholic Church."
There are approximately 6,400 Baptists who hold membership within the 116 churches of the UCEBI. In contrast, more than 87 percent of the population of more than 60 million in Italy identify themselves as Roman Catholic.
For the full release: http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=1119
July 6, 2009
US Baptists Sign Letter to President Obama
Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance
June 30, 2009
Several Baptist leaders in the United States signed a letter sent to United States President Barack Obama calling for a just and lasting resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and for the establishment of "two viable, secure and independent states."
The Baptists, who signed the letter along with several other Christian and Jewish religious leaders, stated that "now is indeed the time for immediate and bold American leadership."
In reference to the president's commitment to a two-state solution, the letter welcomed "your call for people on both sides to recognize the pain and aspirations of the other. Because of this conflict many have lost the ability to see the other as human beings worthy of dignity and respect."
The Baptist signatories, who included David Goatley, president of the North American Baptist Fellowship, and Roy Medley, general secretary of American Baptist Churches USA, urged Obama to "go beyond the mere principle of two states and lay out a just and equitable solution that provides dignity, security and sovereignty for both peoples."
Special concern was expressed for the small Christian community in Palestine, which is fast dwindling due to the conflict. "In the birthplace of our faith, one of the world's oldest Christian communities is dwindling rapidly.... Mr. President, it is apparent that unless there is an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement, Christians in the Holy Land may cease to exist as a viable community."
The letter also urged that immediate relief be offered to Gaza, even while calling for the end of rocket attacks on southern Israel
More than 50 religious leaders signed the letter that was sent to the White House in the month of June. Other Baptist leaders signing the letter included T. DeWitt Smith and Tyrone Pitts, president and general secretary of the Progressive National Baptist Convention, respectively; William Shaw, president of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc; and Jimmy Allen, coordinator of the New Baptist Covenant.
June 26, 2009
Leading Asian Theological Educator Dies
Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance
June 26, 2009
Lilian Lim Hui Kiau, President of the Asia Baptist Graduate Theological Seminary (ABGTS), died on Thursday, June 25, in Singapore.
Lim was the first Baptist woman in Asia to be elected to lead a major theological seminary when she was named head of ABGTS, a consortium of nine theological schools in eight countries, in 2005.
Described by colleagues as "a simple lady with a simple faith," Lim was previously Professor of New Testament and Academic Dean at the Baptist Theological Seminary (BTS) of Singapore, one of the nine schools that form the ABGTS consortium. She received her theological training at BTS and at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) in Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States. She earned her PhD from SBTS in 1994.
She served on the executive of the Singapore Baptist Convention and the Asia Pacific Baptist Federation (APBF), one of six regional fellowships of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA). She was also a member of the board of directors of Global Women, a mainly Baptist organization dedicated to empowering women for service and mission globally, and to creating partnerships across national borders and artificial divisions.
Lim was a member of the BWA team participating in the ongoing Baptist-Roman Catholic Conversations between the BWA and the Vatican. She presented papers on various topics at BWA and APBF events, including at the BWA-sponsored Baptist International Conference on Theological Education in Prague, Czech Republic, in July 2008. She wrote one of the Bible studies that will be used during the 20th Baptist World Congress to be held in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 2010.
A memorial service will take place at Calvary Baptist Church in Singapore, on Sunday, June 28, followed by cremation.
http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=1107
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance
June 26, 2009
Lilian Lim Hui Kiau, President of the Asia Baptist Graduate Theological Seminary (ABGTS), died on Thursday, June 25, in Singapore.
Lim was the first Baptist woman in Asia to be elected to lead a major theological seminary when she was named head of ABGTS, a consortium of nine theological schools in eight countries, in 2005.
Described by colleagues as "a simple lady with a simple faith," Lim was previously Professor of New Testament and Academic Dean at the Baptist Theological Seminary (BTS) of Singapore, one of the nine schools that form the ABGTS consortium. She received her theological training at BTS and at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) in Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States. She earned her PhD from SBTS in 1994.
She served on the executive of the Singapore Baptist Convention and the Asia Pacific Baptist Federation (APBF), one of six regional fellowships of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA). She was also a member of the board of directors of Global Women, a mainly Baptist organization dedicated to empowering women for service and mission globally, and to creating partnerships across national borders and artificial divisions.
Lim was a member of the BWA team participating in the ongoing Baptist-Roman Catholic Conversations between the BWA and the Vatican. She presented papers on various topics at BWA and APBF events, including at the BWA-sponsored Baptist International Conference on Theological Education in Prague, Czech Republic, in July 2008. She wrote one of the Bible studies that will be used during the 20th Baptist World Congress to be held in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 2010.
A memorial service will take place at Calvary Baptist Church in Singapore, on Sunday, June 28, followed by cremation.
http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=1107
Haitian University President Calls on Nation to Work Together
Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance
June 25, 2009
Jules Casseus, president of the Northern Haiti Christian University (UCNH), made an impassioned call to Haitians to work together for national reconstruction.
"The future of this country depends on us Haitians-not foreigners - and it is up to us to save the homeland," declared Casseus, who was speaking at the recent graduation exercise of UCNH, formerly known as Haiti Baptist Theological Seminary and renamed in 1993.
UCNH, founded by the Baptist Convention of Haiti, a member body of the Baptist World Alliance, is a private, Christian four-year university located in Limbe, in the largely under-served rural north of Haiti, about one hour outside the city of Cap-Haitien. It is one of only a handful of colleges located outside of a major Haitian city, and seeks to meet the need for higher education among the less wealthy. The university's major programs are agriculture (agronomy), business & computer science, fine arts & Christian leadership, and theology.
Casseus, the author of several books, including "Haiti What Kind of Church....What Kind of Freedom?" and "Elements of Haitian Theology," decried individualism, mismanagement, and environmental degradation in the Caribbean country. "The case of Haiti remains a clinical case," he said. "We hurt ourselves by our ignorance, our individualism and our irresponsibility that make our living conditions worse."
Deforestation and soil erosion continue to cause severe problems; agricultural production continues to decline and give way to imports; and "the accelerated migration of our Haitian brothers seems to have no limit. They continue to leave the country en masse," Casseus said.
"Those responsible for public administration continue to put their personal advantage before the country and corruption is rampant," he declared. "The principles of respect for others, the right and duty of the citizen, human rights, and justice is no longer observed," Casseus pronounced.
In a call to action, he told the students, faculty, staff and guests at the graduation ceremony, "We must continue to deploy more efforts to reach the new Haitian society that we dream of for the twenty-first century, and the third centenary of our first black republic."
http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=1106
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance
June 25, 2009
Jules Casseus, president of the Northern Haiti Christian University (UCNH), made an impassioned call to Haitians to work together for national reconstruction.
"The future of this country depends on us Haitians-not foreigners - and it is up to us to save the homeland," declared Casseus, who was speaking at the recent graduation exercise of UCNH, formerly known as Haiti Baptist Theological Seminary and renamed in 1993.
UCNH, founded by the Baptist Convention of Haiti, a member body of the Baptist World Alliance, is a private, Christian four-year university located in Limbe, in the largely under-served rural north of Haiti, about one hour outside the city of Cap-Haitien. It is one of only a handful of colleges located outside of a major Haitian city, and seeks to meet the need for higher education among the less wealthy. The university's major programs are agriculture (agronomy), business & computer science, fine arts & Christian leadership, and theology.
Casseus, the author of several books, including "Haiti What Kind of Church....What Kind of Freedom?" and "Elements of Haitian Theology," decried individualism, mismanagement, and environmental degradation in the Caribbean country. "The case of Haiti remains a clinical case," he said. "We hurt ourselves by our ignorance, our individualism and our irresponsibility that make our living conditions worse."
Deforestation and soil erosion continue to cause severe problems; agricultural production continues to decline and give way to imports; and "the accelerated migration of our Haitian brothers seems to have no limit. They continue to leave the country en masse," Casseus said.
"Those responsible for public administration continue to put their personal advantage before the country and corruption is rampant," he declared. "The principles of respect for others, the right and duty of the citizen, human rights, and justice is no longer observed," Casseus pronounced.
In a call to action, he told the students, faculty, staff and guests at the graduation ceremony, "We must continue to deploy more efforts to reach the new Haitian society that we dream of for the twenty-first century, and the third centenary of our first black republic."
http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=1106
June 25, 2009
Ruth: The Story of a Refugee
By Elijah M. Brown
Last week, on Saturday, June 20, the world once again commemorated the annual World Refugee Day (http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49c3646c46d.html). Under the banner: “Real People, Real Needs,” we were reminded that there are still 42 million uprooted people around the world, many of whom face a “shortage or lack of the essentials of life – clean water, food… and protection from violence and abuse.”
These are real people with real needs. And you and I can make a difference.
Behind the overwhelming numerical statistics are individuals who can be influenced by individuals. One connecting with one.
And the Bible is no stranger to promoting the potential of one in partnership with the displaced and uprooted. The book of Ruth is a case study in such an ethic.
Ruth is the story of a young woman who found herself in Israel, a country that differed in culture, religion and background from the one in which she was raised. And what is more, there was a long history of suspicion, hostility and violent armed conflict between the peoples of Moab and Judah. Imagine yourself as a young, single woman with the responsibility of providing for an older relative, with only limited access to land or finances, separated from family and friends, and suspiciously viewed with ethnic hostility in all of your daily interactions.
Ruth was forced to glean the leftover grain that was first missed by harvesters and servants, and it is in this context of difficultly and poverty that the Biblical story introduces Boaz. Having compassion, Boaz extended an open hand to Ruth and helped her with financial and material goods. Over the course of the grain and barley harvests this initial relationship grew.
Ruth is usually told as a story of love and marriage or as a foreshadowed celebration of King David or of Christ himself. These interpretations may be true. But what is often lost in these themes is the reality that this is a story about crossing boundaries, of an immigrant who came from a country that was deemed “suspicious,” about showing compassion and financial generosity specifically to the displaced within our communities.
There are 42 million living as displaced in our world today. Ruth reminds us that these are real people with real needs and that while we each have a Biblical ethic to be generous with our resources, we are also given the opportunity for something so much deeper: friendship.
Real people, real needs. One connecting with one.
Last week, on Saturday, June 20, the world once again commemorated the annual World Refugee Day (http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49c3646c46d.html). Under the banner: “Real People, Real Needs,” we were reminded that there are still 42 million uprooted people around the world, many of whom face a “shortage or lack of the essentials of life – clean water, food… and protection from violence and abuse.”
These are real people with real needs. And you and I can make a difference.
Behind the overwhelming numerical statistics are individuals who can be influenced by individuals. One connecting with one.
And the Bible is no stranger to promoting the potential of one in partnership with the displaced and uprooted. The book of Ruth is a case study in such an ethic.
Ruth is the story of a young woman who found herself in Israel, a country that differed in culture, religion and background from the one in which she was raised. And what is more, there was a long history of suspicion, hostility and violent armed conflict between the peoples of Moab and Judah. Imagine yourself as a young, single woman with the responsibility of providing for an older relative, with only limited access to land or finances, separated from family and friends, and suspiciously viewed with ethnic hostility in all of your daily interactions.
Ruth was forced to glean the leftover grain that was first missed by harvesters and servants, and it is in this context of difficultly and poverty that the Biblical story introduces Boaz. Having compassion, Boaz extended an open hand to Ruth and helped her with financial and material goods. Over the course of the grain and barley harvests this initial relationship grew.
Ruth is usually told as a story of love and marriage or as a foreshadowed celebration of King David or of Christ himself. These interpretations may be true. But what is often lost in these themes is the reality that this is a story about crossing boundaries, of an immigrant who came from a country that was deemed “suspicious,” about showing compassion and financial generosity specifically to the displaced within our communities.
There are 42 million living as displaced in our world today. Ruth reminds us that these are real people with real needs and that while we each have a Biblical ethic to be generous with our resources, we are also given the opportunity for something so much deeper: friendship.
Real people, real needs. One connecting with one.
June 23, 2009
400th Celebration to Focus on Worship
Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance
June 23, 2009
Worship will be at the heart of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) Annual Gathering to be held in Ede, Netherlands, from July 27 to August 1, as the BWA celebrates the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Baptist movement.
The first Baptist church was established in 1609 by English exiles in Amsterdam in the Netherlands .
Morning worship throughout the week will focus on the work of outstanding Baptists throughout the past 400 years, including Baptist pioneers Thomas Helwys and John Smyth; missionary leaders such as George Liele, William Carey, Ann Judson, Johannes Oncken, and Lottie Moon; outstanding preachers such as Charles Spurgeon, George Truett, Rubens Lopes, and William Tolbert; and Baptist prophets Martin Luther King, Jr., Samuel Sharpe, and William Knibb.
BWA General Secretary Neville Callam said that “the contribution of pioneers in the Baptist movement will be recognized, along with the outstanding work done by missioners, visionaries in the prophetic mold, preachers and teachers.”
A special quadricentennial service will be held on Thursday, July 30, at the United Mennonite Church in Amsterdam. The worship service will feature a Litany of Thanksgiving to be led by mostly young Baptist leaders. Denton Lotz, former general secretary of the BWA, will be the keynote speaker at this service.
Worship materials that will be used throughout the week are being translated into several languages in recognition of the number of nations that will be represented at the Gathering in Ede . Approximately 350 delegates and participants from 45 countries are registered to attend.
The order of service for the quadricentennial service will be posted on the BWA website (http://www.bwanet.org) on July 30 for Baptist churches to download and use in their own 400th anniversary celebrations. It will be available in at least seven languages, namely German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Russian, Swahili and English.
Callam encourages “Baptists everywhere to hold similar services where they live, drawing upon the resources offered as they see fit.”
http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=1103
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance
June 23, 2009
Worship will be at the heart of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) Annual Gathering to be held in Ede, Netherlands, from July 27 to August 1, as the BWA celebrates the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Baptist movement.
The first Baptist church was established in 1609 by English exiles in Amsterdam in the Netherlands .
Morning worship throughout the week will focus on the work of outstanding Baptists throughout the past 400 years, including Baptist pioneers Thomas Helwys and John Smyth; missionary leaders such as George Liele, William Carey, Ann Judson, Johannes Oncken, and Lottie Moon; outstanding preachers such as Charles Spurgeon, George Truett, Rubens Lopes, and William Tolbert; and Baptist prophets Martin Luther King, Jr., Samuel Sharpe, and William Knibb.
BWA General Secretary Neville Callam said that “the contribution of pioneers in the Baptist movement will be recognized, along with the outstanding work done by missioners, visionaries in the prophetic mold, preachers and teachers.”
A special quadricentennial service will be held on Thursday, July 30, at the United Mennonite Church in Amsterdam. The worship service will feature a Litany of Thanksgiving to be led by mostly young Baptist leaders. Denton Lotz, former general secretary of the BWA, will be the keynote speaker at this service.
Worship materials that will be used throughout the week are being translated into several languages in recognition of the number of nations that will be represented at the Gathering in Ede . Approximately 350 delegates and participants from 45 countries are registered to attend.
The order of service for the quadricentennial service will be posted on the BWA website (http://www.bwanet.org) on July 30 for Baptist churches to download and use in their own 400th anniversary celebrations. It will be available in at least seven languages, namely German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Russian, Swahili and English.
Callam encourages “Baptists everywhere to hold similar services where they live, drawing upon the resources offered as they see fit.”
http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=1103
June 20, 2009
Lotz Receives International Religious Liberty Award
Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance
June 19, 2009
Denton Lotz, former general secretary of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA), received the International Award for Religious Liberty on Thursday, June 18, in Washington , DC , in the United States .
Lotz, who was named General Secretary Emeritus upon his retirement from the BWA in 2007, was awarded for making “religious freedom a major focus of his ministry as church leader and church statesman,” at the 7th Annual Religious Liberty Dinner, which was sponsored by Liberty magazine, the International Religious Liberty Association (IRLA), and the Seventh Day Adventist Church .
In his response, Lotz, who is president of the IRLA, stated that the award was recognition of the role that Baptists have played in the defense of religious liberty since the founding of the Baptist movement 400 years ago, in 1609. Baptists, he said, were often persecuted because of their anti-establishment stance and their defense of the liberty of conscience. “Baptists were a persecuted group,” he told the roughly 300 guests gathered in the ballroom of the Capital Hilton hotel in Washington . “We believe that where religious freedom is denied, all other freedoms are denied,” he explained.
Keynote speaker for the dinner was Emanuel Cleaver, II, United States Congressman from Kansas City in the state of Missouri , and co-chair of the International Religious Freedom Caucus in the US Congress. “Religious freedom is a God-given gift, a sacred right,” said Cleaver, an ordained United Methodist Church minister and the first African American elected as mayor of Kansas City . “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, freedom of conscience and freedom of religion, yet persecutions and atrocities are still taking place," Cleaver stated.
For the full release: http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=1102
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance
June 19, 2009
Denton Lotz, former general secretary of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA), received the International Award for Religious Liberty on Thursday, June 18, in Washington , DC , in the United States .
Lotz, who was named General Secretary Emeritus upon his retirement from the BWA in 2007, was awarded for making “religious freedom a major focus of his ministry as church leader and church statesman,” at the 7th Annual Religious Liberty Dinner, which was sponsored by Liberty magazine, the International Religious Liberty Association (IRLA), and the Seventh Day Adventist Church .
In his response, Lotz, who is president of the IRLA, stated that the award was recognition of the role that Baptists have played in the defense of religious liberty since the founding of the Baptist movement 400 years ago, in 1609. Baptists, he said, were often persecuted because of their anti-establishment stance and their defense of the liberty of conscience. “Baptists were a persecuted group,” he told the roughly 300 guests gathered in the ballroom of the Capital Hilton hotel in Washington . “We believe that where religious freedom is denied, all other freedoms are denied,” he explained.
Keynote speaker for the dinner was Emanuel Cleaver, II, United States Congressman from Kansas City in the state of Missouri , and co-chair of the International Religious Freedom Caucus in the US Congress. “Religious freedom is a God-given gift, a sacred right,” said Cleaver, an ordained United Methodist Church minister and the first African American elected as mayor of Kansas City . “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, freedom of conscience and freedom of religion, yet persecutions and atrocities are still taking place," Cleaver stated.
For the full release: http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=1102
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