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Issue 6 ~ December 2004 |
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Welcome to Associational |
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INSIDE * From the Interim Director * News: - Canadian and U.S. Baptists Meet - American Baptist Executives Adopt Anti-Gay Statement - "Jerusalem Council" Process Underway - Nashville Church Calls Co-Pastors * Calendar * Contributions * New Mailing Address * Prayer Request Peace and grace to you in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, who comes to us as a wailing child this Advent season. The child is intent on drawing our attention, expecting we will wait on him, stretching our patience with his unending need of us. There is no sentimental stable scene here. Jesus is a mess. Can we worship this Son of God in such a chaotic moment? Can we throw our lot in with such a disorderly Savior, the Christ who is so vulnerable, so bereft of position and prestige, so without strategy, tactic or plan to make his way in the world? I hope so, dear friends. All of our talk in the Association of Welcoming & Affirming Baptists about discerning Godıs new thing, all of our conversations about attending to the Movement of the Spirit, about having the courage to let go of old ways and old structures in order to venture to a new land, is now put to the test. In November, the American Baptist Churches went yet further in dismissing a part of the body. Below are links to news reports and responses related to the statement adopted by the Regional Executive Ministers Council of the American Baptist Churches. The council overwhelmingly approved a seven-point statement that includes commitments to "voluntarily refrain from recommending or approving persons who are practicing homosexuals for positions and ministries on the regional and national levels of denominational life"; and to "voluntarily refrain from conducting or participating in marriage ceremonies for same-sex couples." The REMC statement is an attempt, in its own words, "to preserve unity within our American Baptist fellowship and to promote faithfulness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ." But the unity and wholeness of Christ, and the fidelity he calls us to, never come about by cutting off a portion of the body. That's the violent way of a system bent on its self-preservation. Christ's calling is always about welcome. Always. However, this welcome makes no sense to the system. It subverts the rules of the system and therefore threatens the viability of the system. So with high-minded words, seemingly noble and pious aspirations for unity -- even with a sense of the sacred -- the system moves to cut off the hand that would bless the unacceptable one. The REMC action simply underscores the unraveling of the denomination: the efforts to remove W&A churches and leaders from American Baptist life will not wane. West Virginia churches continue to call for the removal of W&A churches from the denomination. Their resolution, according to the West Virginia Baptists for Biblical Truth web site (www.wvbbt.org), has been ratified by 61 churches so far. And in Maine, a church is seeking the dismissal of Immanuel Baptist Church, a W&A congregation in Portland, from the Cumberland Baptist Association. So now come the calls to fight back, now rises our own urge to strike a blow in return. Already there are appeals to organize and strategize for battle. In the coming days, we in this fellowship of churches will be challenged to continue our discernment, to grapple with the questions of where the Movement is moving and where we should invest our energy. We are challenged to discern what is faithful witness in this time. But what an opportunity. Itıs a chance to practice being a fellowship called by Christ, to witness to another way, a way so different from the path of political campaigns and institutional skirmishes, a way so marginal itıs literally off the map: the way of Jesus, born of an unwed mother, "in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn." May we be encouraged by the shape of things to come, by the Good News announced even now, by the Child who wails yet also wonders. Peace, Daniel Pryfogle Interim Director Association of Welcoming & Affirming Baptists daniel@wabaptists.org News Just Before All Saints Day 2004: Canadian and U.S. Baptists Meet [Welcoming Canadian and U.S. Baptist leaders met in Toronto for an historic conversation October 29 to explore possibilities for greater collaboration across the border. The conversation preceded the fall meeting of the Gathering of Baptists of Ontario and Quebec, an organization of individuals from some 30 churches who are on the margins in the Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec. The Rev. Cam Watts, moderator of the Gathering, offers the following reflection on the cross-border conversation and fall meeting.] Daniel Pryfogle asked me to write a brief note about two recent meetings of Canadian and American Baptists in Toronto. A dozen and a half pastors and not pastors, from varied backgrounds, met on Friday, October 29, at Woodbine Heights Baptist Church to have a conversation about challenges and graces in our moving toward (or further along with) welcoming and affirming churches. We did there what we do best as Baptists: told our stories. Several of them were stories in isolation, some included the sharing of personal revelations/growing awareness of who we are as persons, all of them were listened to raptly. Did we accomplish much besides encouragement for our journeys? Was there any other agenda? The next day at Yorkminster Park Baptist Church, the Gathering of Baptists welcomed Daniel and Rick Mixon [interim pastor of Association member First Baptist Church, Granville, Ohio] to our Fall gathering to offer us insight for how we can minister with GLBT persons (our denomination has encouraged us to minister to them). You know Daniel and Rick and so you know how great an afternoon we had. What you don't know is that we dovetailed our event with a Preaching Fellowship in the morning for a broader spectrum of Baptists that featured Joseph Jeter, professor of Homiletics at Brite Divinity School. The morning ended with him telling us (us being a large group that definitely included some non-W&A Baptists) of being invited to preside at his lesbian niece's wedding. He readily accepted, but was asked by her if this would pose a problem for his church judicatory authorities. He replied that was their problem. Woo-hoo! Rick left us with the challenge as to which church would be the first in Canada to be welcoming and affirming. I am hoping that there will be more than one at the same time. American Baptist Executives Adopt Anti-Gay Statement The Regional Executive Ministers Council of the American Baptist Churches, meeting Nov. 20 at the American Baptist Assembly at Green Lake, Wis., agreed to "voluntarily refrain from recommending or approving persons who are practicing homosexuals for positions and ministries on the regional and national levels of denominational life"; and to "voluntarily refrain from conducting or participating in marriage ceremonies for same-sex couples." By a vote of 20-3, with three abstentions, the executives adopted a seven-point statement that includes a call for other American Baptists to embrace the executives' pledge. Related Articles: - To read the full REMC statement, go to: http://www.abc-usa.org/news/20041202a.htm - The Rev. Larry Bethune, pastor of Association member University Baptist Church in Austin, is quoted in the following news article about the REMC statement: http://www.ethicsdaily.com/article_detail.cfm?AID=5082 - For a response to the REMC, read the open letter of the Rev. Doug Donley, pastor of Association member University Baptist Church in Minneapolis, at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AWABdiscernment/message/25 - The American Baptist Churches USA Black Caucus, also meeting November 19 at Green Lake, issued a statement calling for unity across theological differences. "Our concern is for the growth and health of ABCUSA," the statement reads. "We are of the mind that drawing a line in the sand on any one social issue is unproductive." To read the full statement, go to: http://www.abc-usa.org/news/20041208.htm - To join an online conversation about discerning the Association's witness in this time, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AWABdiscernment/ Jerusalem Council Process Underway A dialogue process proposed by the American Baptist Ministers Council and modeled after the Jerusalem Council of Acts 15 is underway across the denomination to explore the issue of homosexuality. The process precedes the August 2005 meeting of the Ministers Council Senate when it will vote on a proposed bylaw change that would bar gay and lesbian clergy from serving on the Senate. For information on the Jerusalem Council process and to learn about upcoming conversations, go to: http://www.ministerscouncil.com/JCProject.htm Nashville W&A Church Calls Women As Co-Pastors Glendale Baptist Church, an Association member congregation in Nashville, has called the Rev. April Baker and Dr. Amy Mears as co-pastors. Meanwhile, an angel appeared to a foursome of Baptist executives on the 9th hole at the Belle Meade Country Club outside downtown Nashville and said, "Do not be afraid. For see, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people." For the rest of the story, go to: http://www.glendalebaptist.org Calendar * Daniel Pryfogle, the Association's interim director, will preach Jan. 16, 2005, at Madison Avenue Baptist Church in New York City. Later that day a forum for Association members and friends will be held at 2 p.m. at Judson Memorial Baptist Church, also in New York. * Welcoming movement leaders from the Disciples of Christ and the United Church of Christ will meet with the Alliance of Baptists and AWAB representatives Feb. 2, 2005, in Columbus, Ohio, for an exploration of joint ministry around LGBT issues. If you are interested in being part of this conversation, please e-mail Daniel Pryfogle at daniel@wabaptists.org. * American Baptist leaders, including representatives of the Association, Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America, the Coalition for Baptist Principles, and the Roger Williams Fellowship, will hold a summit Feb. 18-19, 2005, in Rochester to discuss a collaborative response to anti-gay actions in the denomination. To learn more, contact the Rev. Alan Newton, executive minister of the American Baptist Churches of the Rochester/Genesee Region, at 585-436-9233 or anewton@localnet.com. * The 2005 Alliance of Baptists Convocation will be held April 1-3, 2005, at First Baptist Church, Greenville, S.C. To learn more, go to: http://www.allianceofbaptists.org * The American Baptist Biennial will be held July 1-3, 2005, in Denver. AWAB's National Retreat will follow July 4-7 in Boulder. Stay tuned to www.wabaptists.org for more details. * The 20th Annual Gathering of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America is slated for August 1 - 6, 2005, at Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon. To learn more, go to: http://www.bpfna.org New Mailing Address Please note that the Association has a new mailing address: The Association of Welcoming & Affirming Baptists P.O. Box 1423 Cary, North Carolina 27512 Contributions The generosity of Association members and friends is amazing. We have received more than $15,000 in contributions in the past month. Every gift is a testimony to the deepness and wideness of God's love for all God's children. These gifts support the ministry of the Association, including this online communication. If your church has not yet made its 2004 contribution, please send it in soon. If you are looking for a way to say "Yes!" to welcome and affirmation, consider making a tax-deductible individual gift before the end of the year. The Association is grateful for every gift, no matter the size. For your convenience, the Association now offers a secure online giving option at: http://www.wabaptists.org/donations.htm
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