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{{Short description|Baptist Christian denomination}}
{{baptist}}The '''Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America''', [[acronym|abbreviated]] '''BPFNA''', is a nonprofit [[501(c)(3)]] organization headquartered in [[Charlotte, North Carolina]]. It is an association of [[Baptist]], [[Christian]] churches.
The '''Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America-Bautistas por la Paz''' ('''BPFNA-Bautistas por la Paz''') is an [[Association of churches|association]] of [[Baptists|Baptist]] [[Christianity|Christian]] churches. The headquarters is in [[Charlotte, North Carolina]].


==History==
Formed in [[1984]], their mission statement is as follows: "The Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America gathers, equips and mobilizes Baptists to build a culture of peace rooted in justice. We labour with a wonderful array of peacemakers to change the world." <ref>http://www.bpfna.org/about</ref>
The Convention has its origins in the establishment of the Baptist Pacifist Fellowship by a group of the [[American Baptist Churches USA]] in 1939. <ref> C. Douglas Weaver, ''In Search of the New Testament Church: The Baptist Story'', Mercer University Press, USA, 2008, p. 141</ref> It was officially founded in 1984. <ref> William H. Brackney, ''Historical Dictionary of the Baptists'', Scarecrow Press, USA, 2009, p. 73</ref> According to an association census released in 2024, it claimed 77 churches. <ref> BPFNA, [https://www.bpfna.org/about-us About Us], bpfna.org, USA, retrieved April 25, 2024</ref>


Most members of BPFNA-Bautistas por la Paz are located in one of the four member nations of the organization (Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the United States) however anyone around the world committed to the work of peace and justice can join. The BPFNA-Bautistas por la Paz membership is composed of individuals and organizations with the latter being mostly churches. Some churches choose to get involved at a deeper level and are considered to be partner congregations of the organization.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bpfna.org/join/partner-congregations |title=Partner Congregations &#124; BPFNA |access-date=2019-11-18 |archive-date=2019-12-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191212224044/http://www.bpfna.org/join/partner-congregations |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Membership is available to any Baptist church that is interested in the goals of the BPFNA and are willing to provide funding to achieve them. Founding Executive Director, Ken Sehested, advocated an explicitly ''Baptist'' peace organization because; <blockquote>"With some exceptions, progressive movements--those dealing with justice and peace issues--have few entry points into the subculture of Baptist institutions. By and large their voices simply are not heard; or, if heard, not heeded, primarily because the vocabulary and appeals to authority are so different from our traditional language of faith." <ref>http://www.bpfna.org/whybp</ref></blockquote>


BPFNA-Bautistas por la Paz is a faith-based partner of [[Equal Exchange]] through the [[Baptist Fair Trade Project]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://equalexchange.coop/baptist|title = Baptist Fair Trade Project &#124; Equal Exchange}}</ref>
There are 73 partner churches in the [[United States]], and 2 in [[Canada]], a very small membership in proportion to the total number of Baptist churches in [[North America]]. Its size reflects that the agenda of the body has more in common with the [[pacifism]] of the historic [[peace churches]] than the views of the majority of Baptists, even those that are otherwise engaged in peace efforts.


==Beliefs==
BPFNA is a supporting member of [[Christian Peacemaker Teams]] and is on CPT's Steering Committee. <ref>http://cpt.org/annreport/2004/YearinReview2004.php</ref>
It seeks to gather, equip and mobilize peacemakers of faith across North America and beyond to engage in the work of peace rooted in justice. BPFNA-Bautistas por la Paz provides resources and tools on a variety of social justice issues such as racial justice, justice for migrants and refugees, climate/[[environmental justice]], justice for indigenous and native peoples and LGBTQ+ liberation to name a few.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bpfna.org/mobilize/resources |title=Resources &#124; BPFNA |access-date=2019-11-18 |archive-date=2019-12-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191212223540/http://www.bpfna.org/mobilize/resources |url-status=dead }}</ref> The organization also has several small grant programs to help fund local and global peacemaking initiatives.


''The Baptist Peacemaker'' is a quarterly journal published by the BPFNA.
==Baptist Peacemaker==


''Baptist Peacemaker'' is a quarterly publication by BPFNA-Bautistas por la Paz focusing on the work of peacemakers in the BPFNA-Bautistas por la Paz network.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bpfna.org/equip/pm-archives |title=Archived copy |access-date=2019-11-18 |archive-date=2019-12-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191212223452/http://www.bpfna.org/equip/pm-archives |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==See also==

* [[Pullen Memorial Baptist Church]]
==Annual Summer Conference==

BPFNA-Bautistas por la Paz holds a Summer Conference (also known affectionately as '''"Peace Camp"''') each year. Each gathering focuses on a different theme and changes location within the BPFNA-Bautistas por la Paz member nations, usually held on a university campus.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bpfna.org/mobilize/annual-theme |title=Annual Themes &#124; BPFNA |access-date=2019-11-18 |archive-date=2019-12-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191212223512/http://www.bpfna.org/mobilize/annual-theme |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2019, however, the Summer Conference was held in conjunction with the 6th [[Global Baptist Peace Conference]] in [[Cali, Colombia]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bpfna.org/gather/summer-conference |title=Summer Conference &#124; BPFNA |access-date=2019-11-18 |archive-date=2019-12-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191212082908/http://www.bpfna.org/gather/summer-conference |url-status=dead }}</ref>


==References==
==References==
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==External links==
==External links==
*[http://www.bpfna.org/ Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America Official Web Site]
*[https://www.bpfna.org/ BPFNA-Bautistas por la Paz website]
*[http://www.baptist-peace.org.uk/ Baptist Peace Fellowship (UK)]
[[eo:Baptista_Pac-Kunularo_de_Norda_Ameriko]]


{{DEFAULTSORT:Baptist Peace Fellowship Of North America}}
[[Category:Baptist organizations]]
[[Category:Baptist denominations in North America]]
[[Category:Organizations based in Charlotte, North Carolina]]
[[Category:Organizations based in Charlotte, North Carolina]]
[[Category:Religious organizations established in 1984]]
[[Category:Christian organizations established in 1984]]
[[Category:Baptist denominations established in the 20th century]]
[[Category:Human rights organizations based in the United States]]
[[Category:Affirming Christian denominations in the United States]]
[[Category:1984 establishments in the United States]]

Revision as of 16:05, 14 November 2024

The Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America-Bautistas por la Paz (BPFNA-Bautistas por la Paz) is an association of Baptist Christian churches. The headquarters is in Charlotte, North Carolina.

History

The Convention has its origins in the establishment of the Baptist Pacifist Fellowship by a group of the American Baptist Churches USA in 1939. [1] It was officially founded in 1984. [2] According to an association census released in 2024, it claimed 77 churches. [3]

Most members of BPFNA-Bautistas por la Paz are located in one of the four member nations of the organization (Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the United States) however anyone around the world committed to the work of peace and justice can join. The BPFNA-Bautistas por la Paz membership is composed of individuals and organizations with the latter being mostly churches. Some churches choose to get involved at a deeper level and are considered to be partner congregations of the organization.[4]

BPFNA-Bautistas por la Paz is a faith-based partner of Equal Exchange through the Baptist Fair Trade Project.[5]

Beliefs

It seeks to gather, equip and mobilize peacemakers of faith across North America and beyond to engage in the work of peace rooted in justice. BPFNA-Bautistas por la Paz provides resources and tools on a variety of social justice issues such as racial justice, justice for migrants and refugees, climate/environmental justice, justice for indigenous and native peoples and LGBTQ+ liberation to name a few.[6] The organization also has several small grant programs to help fund local and global peacemaking initiatives.

Baptist Peacemaker

Baptist Peacemaker is a quarterly publication by BPFNA-Bautistas por la Paz focusing on the work of peacemakers in the BPFNA-Bautistas por la Paz network.[7]

Annual Summer Conference

BPFNA-Bautistas por la Paz holds a Summer Conference (also known affectionately as "Peace Camp") each year. Each gathering focuses on a different theme and changes location within the BPFNA-Bautistas por la Paz member nations, usually held on a university campus.[8] In 2019, however, the Summer Conference was held in conjunction with the 6th Global Baptist Peace Conference in Cali, Colombia.[9]

References

  1. ^ C. Douglas Weaver, In Search of the New Testament Church: The Baptist Story, Mercer University Press, USA, 2008, p. 141
  2. ^ William H. Brackney, Historical Dictionary of the Baptists, Scarecrow Press, USA, 2009, p. 73
  3. ^ BPFNA, About Us, bpfna.org, USA, retrieved April 25, 2024
  4. ^ "Partner Congregations | BPFNA". Archived from the original on 2019-12-12. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  5. ^ "Baptist Fair Trade Project | Equal Exchange".
  6. ^ "Resources | BPFNA". Archived from the original on 2019-12-12. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  7. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2019-12-12. Retrieved 2019-11-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. ^ "Annual Themes | BPFNA". Archived from the original on 2019-12-12. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  9. ^ "Summer Conference | BPFNA". Archived from the original on 2019-12-12. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
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