INSIDE
From the Interim Director
To the people of the Spirit: Grace and peace to
you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
This is the season of Pentecost, a moment when the fire of the Spirit falls
on the church, burning through old categories, old boundaries, and old
habits we so rely on. The Spirit burns so that new life might be set free.
This is the season of Pentecost, a moment when the Wind rushes in, mixing us
up, confusing us, shaking our pretensions of being in control. The Spirit
blows so that new life might be set free.
This is the season of Pentecost, a moment of incredible surprise, when in
the midst of confusion we come to understand each other and ourselves. If
previously we defined ourselves as the maligned and marginalized, and even
unconsciously relished our role as the embattled minority within a sick
religious system, now the Spirit spins us around so that we come to see our
giftedness. The Spirit wakes us to the reality of our blessedness. It
matters not whether the religious system accepts us, for we come to
understand that we are already affirmed. The Spirit blows us into the arms
of God where we discover we are the beloved.
This spinning, dear friends, is the movement of the Spirit among welcoming
Christians. The testimony of our Baptist brothers and sisters, and the
witness of our partners in other traditions, is that a new day is upon us.
As one leader put it, we're moving from being wounded outsiders to happy
queer people. The old stories told us this day would come, a time when, to
paraphrase the prophet, God's spirit would be poured out on all flesh and
our gay sons and our lesbian daughters shall prophesy, and old straight men
shall dream dreams and young queers shall see visions.
The Association of Welcoming & Affirming Baptists is saying yes to the
Spirit's turning. We are embracing it, delighting in it. Through
conversations over the past two years with members across this Association,
the AWAB council has discerned a new direction for our life together. We
call it "A Welcome Change." The heart of this vision is to nurture
ministries of inclusion.
The Association's members are passionate about calling out and cultivating
new lgbt and allied leadership. The Association's members, growing numbers
of individuals and congregations, are excited about exploring new
relationships with Baptists in Canada and Cuba. We're thrilled about a new
partnership with welcoming folk in the United Church of Christ and the
Disciples of Christ, a relationship that will lead to collaborative efforts
in community organizing, leadership development, lgbt clergy support, youth
ministry, even new church planting. We're passionate about other ecumenical
partnerships, particularly our involvement with the Institute for Welcoming
Resources
http://www.welcomingresources.org, a new communications enterprise in
which Baptist prophets Howard Bess and Ken Sehested are providing
leadership.
Our embrace of A Welcome Change means we're waking to the Good Work that's
alive among us. Rather than start a new national, top-down program, the
council is clear that our primary task is to tell the Good News and to
invite others to participate in the movement that's already on the move. We
do that through our quarterly newsletter, The InSpiriter, and through our
web site, <http://www.wabaptists.org>,
which attracts more than 3,000 visitors monthly. We're putting church
leaders in touch with colleagues through special events, so they can support
and resource each other. We've recently given a small grant to the Alliance
of Baptists Youth and Children's Ministry Network, which, among its many
gifts, is forming the next generation of lgbt leadership. This summer we
are providing scholarships to lgbt seminarians and other emerging leaders to
participate in the Association's LGBT & Allies Retreat in the Rockies, July
4-7, at the University of Colorado at Boulder. These are the thrilling
signs of A Welcome Change.
If this news excites you, if this spinning of the Spirit makes you want to
dance, then I invite you to send a contribution to the Association today.
Your gift, whatever size, will be a declaration of our wild freedom in
Christ and our abundant fellowship with each other.
The Spirit is releasing us, friends, and turning us toward the bounty of
God's blessings: the many gifts of our life together. Can you feel the
Wind? Say yes to this astonishing moment. Throw up your prayers and your
pocketbooks, and watch Peace and Joy skip across the sky. As the Irish
rockers U2 sing, "It's
a beautiful day. Don't let it slip away."
In Christ's love,
Daniel Pryfogle
Interim Director
Association of Welcoming & Affirming Baptists
P.O. Box 1423
Cary, NC 27512
919-460-7069
daniel@wabaptists.org
P.S. For your convenience, we offer an online giving option -- a simple and
secure
way to make your tax-deductible contribution. Go to
http://www.wabaptists.org,
and click on the "Donate Online" button.
News
Fraud
Alert: Con Artists Calling AWAB Churches
Con artists have been calling on AWAB
churches over the past few weeks, pretending to be AWAB pastors, council
members, or the interim director and asking for money. The calls come
collect from Canada. Please do not accept the collect calls.
In this scam, the caller generally says he has been mugged in Toronto and
needs money to return to the U.S. The caller has gleaned details about AWAB
leaders via the web and is quite convincing.
AWAB has reported the scam to law enforcement agencies. If you have been
contacted, please e-mail details to Interim Director Daniel Pryfogle at
daniel@wabaptists.org.
Welcoming Baptists to Worship
and Witness at ABC Biennial
The Association will gather for prayer,
celebration, and public witness at the
American Baptist Biennial July 1-3 in Denver.
The Association's business meeting, open to all, will be held July 1 from
5-6:30 p.m. New council members will be elected and two awards will be
presented: The Randle R. Mixon Award for Christian Service and The Barbra
MacNair Award for Christian Witness. The AWAB worship service will be held
July 2 from 11:15 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Both events will be held in Rooms 501/502
at the Colorado Convention Center, site of the biennial proceedings.
AWAB and other friendly Baptist folk will share an alternative exhibit space
in Rooms 501/502. AWAB's Rainbow Choir will sing outside the main plenary
sessions of the biennial. AWAB's Hospitality Suite will be open at various
hours at the Holiday Inn Denver Downtown. Check at the AWAB resource table
for Hospitality Suite hours and room number.
To register for the Biennial, go to:
http://www.abc-usa.org/biennial/index.shtml
For a complete schedule of AWAB activities at the ABC Biennial, go to:
http://www.wabaptists.org/biennial.htm
Retreat Registration Deadline
Approaching:
Registration Online and by Downloaded Form
Registration is
underway for the Association's Retreat in the Rockies, four days of
fellowship for lgbt folk and straight allies July 4-7 following the American
Baptist Biennial in Denver.
The retreat will be held on the campus of the University of Colorado at
Boulder, just north of Denver. The focus of the retreat is on the spiritual
needs of individuals rather than the generally congregational-focused themes
of larger Association gatherings.
This year's retreat leader is the Rev. Dr. Rick Mixon, interim pastor of
First Baptist Church of Granville, Ohio, and a longtime leader in the
welcoming movement. Rick will reflect on "Faith Beyond Resentment," a theme
developed by the gay theologian James Alison in his book of the same title.
The worship leader is the Rev. Jacki Belile, pastor of Grace Baptist Church
in Chicago.
Information and registration materials are available online. The early
registration deadline is April 30. Go to:
http://www.wabaptists.org/retreat.htm
Calendar
Mary Wilson, will preach at the 5th Annual Multi-Faith Pride Service in
Austin. Mary is pastor of AWAB member Church of the Savior in Cedar
Park, Texas. The Multi-faith Pride Service is June 9, 7 p.m., at First
United Methodist Church in Austin.
Daniel Pryfogle, AWAB's interim director, will preach on June 12 at First
Baptist Church of Granville, Ohio. On June 11 Daniel will facilitate a
retreat for the congregation as it discerns its mission and vision for new
leadership. For more information on the church, go to:
http://www.firstbaptistgranville.org
The American Baptist Biennial will be held July 1-3, 2005, in Denver.
AWAB's LGBT & Allies Retreat in the Rockies will follow July 4-7 in Boulder.
(See above.)
The Association will hold its biennial
business meeting July 1 and worship service July 2. For further details,
go to:
http://www.wabaptists.org/biennial.htm.
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. Speakers include Marcus Borg, Doris Garcia-Mayol, Cam
Watts, and Paul Dekar, with music by Michael Stern. To learn more, go to:
http://www.bpfna.org
Contributions
Question:
How does it make you feel to give to the Association in a time of
discouraging denominational news and distressing cultural developments?
Answer: Fabulous!
Question: What if you don't care about all this bad news and instead are
laughing and playing. How does giving making you feel then?
Answer: So fabulous!
Question: Well, is it easy to give?
Answer: Find out at:
http://www.wabaptists.org/donations.htm
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
Prayer Requests
Prayer Requests
Please remember Peace Community Church in Oberlin, Ohio, as the congregation
faces the possibility of being disfellowshipped from the American Baptist
Churches of Ohio because of the church's welcome.
Please remember the leaders of Baptist Youth Camp, a summer program that
includes four AWAB churches, as they prepare for the July 3-8 camp at Laurel
Ridge, N.C.
Please remember AWAB's search committee and council as the Association seeks
a new executive director.
The Peace of Christ be with you.
Associational is a periodic e-newsletter of
the Association of Welcoming & Affirming Baptists, a network of 50 churches
and hundreds of individuals who have joined together to advocate for the
full inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons within
Baptist communities of faith. Please forward this e-newsletter to
interested friends. To subscribe, send an e-mail to
e-subscribe@wabaptists.org
with SUBSCRIBE in the subject line. To be removed from this list, send an
e-mail to
e-unsubscribe@wabaptists.org
with REMOVE in the subject line. To read back issues of Associational, go
to: http://wabaptists.org/associational.htm.
To learn more about the Association, go to:
http://www.wabaptists.org.
The Peace of Christ be with you. |
