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21st Baptist World Congress (#BaptistCongress15)
21st Baptist World Congress (#BaptistCongress15)

Movements and Changescongrats

Sweden

Tomas Bj�rsdorff, elected president of the Uniting Church in Sweden, succeeding Ann-Sofie Lasell

Congratulationscongrats

To former President of the Baptist World Alliance Billy Kim, on the celebration of his 80th birthday
BWAID  
The following are disbursements by Baptist World Aid during the month of June. Unless otherwise stated, amounts are in United States currency.
 

Africa

Central African Republic 

IDP Food Relief Project:               $15,000.00

 

Peace Building Project                 $5,000.00

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From the General Secretarygs

Multi-Dimensional Christian Spirituality

By Neville Callam

 

Neville Callam

 

Between 1993 and 2006, I participated in many conferences in Europe. The location of these meetings offered me opportunity to experience something of the life of diverse monastic communities on the continent, which I found to be profoundly enriching.

 

On the occasions when I attended meetings in Annecy, France, I was able to join in worship with the Trappist monks at the Abbey of Tami�. This Cistercian Abbey, established in the 13th century, lies in the beautiful French Alps, 50 kilometers from Geneva. After joining in worship in the church attached to the abbey, hardly can one forget the silence, the prayers, and the rest and joy that filled one's mind. On a special occasion, there was rare opportunity to share fellowship time with leaders and members of the community. I experienced Tami� as a place marked by the pax Christi.

Member Bodies in Actionmba

The first known Baptist Christians in what is now Moldova were baptized by German Baptists in Turtinon in 1876. The first Russian-speaking congregation began in Kishinev in 1908. German Baptists formed an association in 1907 and Russian-speaking Baptists formed another in 1920.

 

The Union of Christian Evangelical Baptist Churches of Moldova was formed when the country gained its independence in 1991 after the breakup of the Soviet Union. It reports a membership of almost 20,000 members in more than 480 churches, helping to make Moldova one of the strongest centers of evangelical Christianity in the former Soviet Union. Moldova has the highest percentage of evangelicals per capita of all countries of the former USSR.

 

The union operates the College of Theology and Education (CTE), the leading Baptist school in Moldova. CTE averages approximately 30 graduates per year and aims to meet the need for close to 100 Baptist churches in Moldova that still lack pastors.

 

In March 2013, Baptists in Moldova hosted a missiological conference on the topic, "Evangelical Mission in the Eastern European Orthodox contexts: Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine." There were 135 participants from 16 countries from Eastern and Western Europe, Central Asia and North America.

 

In cooperation with other partners, Moldovan Baptists ran medical clinics in new churches and in communities where there were no churches. Clinics were staffed by Moldovan Christian doctors and nurses.

 

Tabitha House is a Baptist extended facility in Northern Moldova that provides long term care for seniors in need. The home has a capacity for 40 residents who are recommended by Baptist union churches. Several residents are widows of pastors. Land for the facility was donated by the local village and the home is required to reserve at least five spaces for village residents.


In June 2007, the Baptist union entered into partnership with the Moldovan Orthodox Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Moldova to form Moldovan Christian Aid (MCA). MCA aims to assist people in need, engages social justice issues, fosters ecumenical cooperation and works with related organizations on social and development issues.

 

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Church Spotlightchurch
Tallowood Players performing at the Baptist Youth World Conference in Singapore in July 2013
Tallowood Baptist Church (TBC) in Houston, Texas, in the United States, says its "aim is to jump into the middle of God's activity in the world, joining in his mission of displaying his glory through Christ among every people, nation, tribe and tongue."

 

Tallowood's commitment to mission is demonstrated through a number of initiatives. International and language congregations supported by TBC are the Tallowood Chinese Congregation, the Greater Houston Burmese Baptist Church, the Sudanese Christian Church, the Arabic Evangelical Baptist Church and Hispanic Tallowood.

 

TBC helps to plant new churches in Texas and states such as Kansas and South Dakota and several churches in Guinea Bissau in West Africa. It aims to plant 30 new congregations in 30 years as it seeks to grow "not only through addition of disciples on campus, but multiplication through church planting."

 

TBC has supported missioners in Milan in Italy, Dubai in the Middle East and in Peru, and has planned short term mission trips to international locations such as Taiwan, Romania and Brazil.

 

A Baptist World Alliance Global Impact Church, Tallowood has participated in a number of BWA events, including the 2013 Baptist Youth World Conference in Singpaore. 

 

Its vision is to be "an international, multicultural body of believers in Christ making disciples who are being transformed through Jesus Christ, making relationships in a life-giving community of sacrificial love, and making an impact on the world by sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with others."

Memoriamsmemoriams

Arnoldo Canclini, one of the foremost church historians and historical theologians among Latin American Baptists, died on June 10, from complications associated with diabetes. He was 88 years old.  

 

Canclini served the Baptist and evangelical communities inside and outside of Argentina and was a respected member of the academic fraternity in his country.

 

He was a longtime pastor of Iglesia Bautista del Centro; was, for many years, a professor at the International Baptist Theological Seminary in Buenos Aires, Argentina's capital; director of the Editorial Department of the Baptist Publication Board and its successor; and a director of the journal, Baptist Expositor, and of the Tribune, an evangelical magazine.

Canclini was given special honorable membership within the Argentina Baptist Association. He was, up until the time of his passing, a member of the Baptist World Alliance Commission on Baptist Heritage and Identity.

 

He co-founded the Christian Alliance of Evangelical Churches of Argentina, was a past president of the Argentina Bible Society and a member of the Argentine Council for Religious Freedom.  Canclini was a former president of the Institute of Las Malvinas, a member of the Brown Institute and played a leading role in integrating the National Academy of History.

 

Canclini participated in conferences and meetings in Asia, Europe and North America. 

 

His publications included 400 Years of Argentine Protestantism. He died just before the publication of his most recent work on the history of Piedra Buena.

In 2009 he was honored by the National Congress for his contribution to Argentina.

 

Funeral services took place on June 11 at the Iglesia Bautista del Centro.

 

He leaves wife, Naomi, and children, Cristina and David.

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