Hear the Spirit: Proclamation 1

By Neville Callam  

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Baptist Association of Belize

http://www.baptistassociationofbelize.net  

 

First Baptist Church at Kingston

Ontario, Canada  

http://www.firstbaptistkingston.net  

 

First Baptist Church at Kingston, Ontario, Canada, was founded in 1840 with 12 members through the support of the Baptist Colonial Missionary Society of London and with the efforts of John Gilmour, later the founder of Montreal Baptist College.

 

The church believes "it is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and of every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations." As such, "it is the duty of every child of God to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by personal effort and by all other methods in harmony with the good news of Christ."

 

There is a commitment to creation care. "Christians have a spiritual responsibility over the whole world, a holy trusteeship in the gospel, and a binding stewardship in our possessions." Therefore, "Christians are called to care for the earth, God's gift in trust to us."

 

Social responsibility is an important calling because all "men and women are made in the image of God...regardless of race, religion, color, culture, class, sex or age." The congregation has a "concern for justice and reconciliation throughout human society and for the liberation of men and women from every kind of oppression."

 

Describing itself as "a community of diverse people who have found meaning, hope and forgiveness in following the Lord Jesus Christ," First Baptist at Kingston conducts Bible studies in both Spanish and Portuguese to help meet the needs of members and visitors mainly from Latin America. "We have a reputation for being a compassionate and caring church with strong ministries to refugees, families of prisoners and ex-convicts through Project Reconciliation, and the Helen Tufts Nursery School."

 

The aim, says Kevin Smith, the church's pastoral team leader, is to have a congregation that celebrates the Triune God in worship, cares for each other, cultivates a deep relationship with God, communicates the Good News to others, and collaborates with one another as a team.

 

First Baptist, a Baptist World Alliance Global Impact Church®, is affiliated with the Central Canada Association of Baptist Churches, the Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec, and Canadian Baptist Ministries.

 

     

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Beverly Dunston Scott, a past vice president of the Baptist World Alliance Women's Department, died on July 11, 2011, in Windham, Vermont, in the United States, at 80 years old.  

 

Scott was president of the North American Baptist Women's Union from 1997-2002, president of the Lott Carey's Women's Auxiliary between 2001 and 2004, and a vice president of American Baptist Churches (ABC) USA from 1982-1983.

 

She held membership on various BWA bodies, including on its General Council, the Commission on Doctrine and Interchurch Cooperation, the Commission on Freedom and Justice, and the Christian Education and Literature Workgroup.  

 

She was part of the team that participated in the BWA dialogues with the Mennonite World Conference from 1989-1992, and was a member of the search committee that resulted in the appointment of the current director of the BWA Women's Department, Patsy Davis.  

 

Scott was a trustee for Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, from where she graduated in 1952.  

 

She earned a master's degree in nursing from Yale University, a Master of City and Regional Planning degree from Rutgers University in New Jersey, and a doctorate in education from New York University.  She served 23 years as a professor of urban planning at Rutgers University and was Professor Emeritus at Rutgers after her retirement.  

 

Her husband, James Scott, former senior pastor of Bethany Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey, was president of the Lott Carey Convention from 1982-1985 and of ABC USA from 1992-1993. He currently sits on the BWA Commission on Ministry, and chaired the BWA Congress Program Committee from 1995-2000, which helped to plan the 2000 Baptist World Congress in Melbourne, Australia. He is a former member of the BWA General Council, the Commission on Baptist Worship, the Commission on Baptist Heritage and Identify, the Human Rights Award Committee, and the World Evangelization Strategy Workgroup.

 

In addition to her husband, James, she leaves daughters Lindal and Kimberly.

 

Funeral services were held at Bethany Baptist Church on July 16.

 

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Charles Walker, pastor, musician, composer, professor and author, died August 21 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. He was 76 years old.

 

Walker, a relative of gospel music great Mahalia Jackson, was pastor of Philadelphia's Nineteenth Street Baptist Church for more than 30 years, retiring in October 2010.

 

He served as recording secretary, chairman and later as executive secretary of the Foreign Mission Board of the National Baptist Convention, USA, where he led several food and humanitarian aid missions to Ethiopia and coordinated the construction of schools, libraries and hospitals in various locations in Africa.

 

He composed Requiem for Brother Martin, a work for chorus and orchestra in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr., several other musical compositions, and chronicled the life of gospel songwriter Lucie Campbell in the biography, Miss Lucie.

 

He is a former member of the Baptist World Alliance Commission on Baptist Worship and the Baptist World Aid Committee.

 

Walker is noted for his role in helping to found a black student caucus and for leading an 18-day student protest in 1969 that resulted in the addition of more black faculty members at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School in New York state.

 

Walker graduated from DePaul University with both a bachelor and master's degree in music, continued his studies in piano in Paris, France, and participated in several International piano competitions throughout Europe.   

 

He accepted his call to ministry while teaching at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and left to attend the Colgate-Rochester School of Divinity where he earned his Master of Divinity Degree.  He held several honorary doctorate degrees from various educational institutions and was the recipient of a number of awards.

 

He is survived by wife Barbara and sons, Jason and Pierre.

 

Funeral services were held August 29 at Triumph Baptist Church in Philadelphia.

 

 

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With Trula Duane of the United States, a member of the BWA Promotion and Development Committee, on the passing of her husband, Jerry, on July 31

 

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Baptist World Aid

Africa
Zimbabwe
Education Grant - 1,900.00

Sierra Leone
Poverty Reduction - 8,000.00

Horn of Africa
Famine Relief - !5,000.00

Asia
Asia Pacific Baptist Aid Support - 15,000.00

Japan
Earthquake Relief - 25,000.00

India
Orphan and School - 1,000.00

Andaman Islands
Post-tsunami Relief  - 33,250.00

Sri Lanka
Post-tsunami Relief - 55,000.00

Nepal
Refugee Relief - 1,000.00

Caribbean
Haiti
Toilet Construction Project - 41,200.00
School and Orphanage Construction - 169,139.77
Operational & Ancillary Costs - 45,925.00

Europe
Croatia
Education Grant - 2,500.00

North America
United States
Mosquito Nets 4,050.00

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Monthly Prayer Guide

Each week, the staff of the Baptist World Alliance prays for conventions and unions throughout the world.

 

We invite all other Baptist conventions and unions, and individual Baptists everywhere, to join us in these prayers.

 

For the month of September we will remember the following:

   

European Baptist Federation Council, Nazareth, Israel, September 21-24,