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AMERICAN BAPTIST CHURCHES NEWS FOR APRIL 17, 1998
American Baptist News for April 17, 1998
American Baptist News Service________________
Office of Communication / American Baptist Churches USA
P.O. Box 851, Valley Forge, PA 19482-0851
Phone: (610)768-2077 / Fax: (610)768-2320 
Richard W. Schramm, Director (E-mail: RICH_SCHRAMM@ECUNET.ORG)

______________________________________________________________________________

UPDATE: APRIL 17, 1998
____________________________________________________________________________

INTERNATIONAL MINISTRIES COMMISSIONS, REAPPOINTS MISSIONARIES
by Roger Rayl, American Baptist International Ministries
     Commissioning services were held April 3 for eight American
Baptist Board of International Ministries missionaries at Upper
Merion Baptist Church in King of Prussia, Pa.  The new appointees
will serve in Africa, Asia and Latin America. 
     For six of the missionaries this will be their first term of
service.  Two missionaries were reappointed. 
     Duane and Marcia Binkley are returning to missionary work in
Thailand, where Duane will serve as Fellowship secretary of the
Thailand Baptist Missionary Fellowship.  He will be the liaison
between the missionaries, International Ministries partners in
Thailand and the six different mission organizations who cooperate in
the work in that country.  Marcia will be assisting in those
administrative duties as well as working with the Thailand Karen
Baptist Convention.  From 1982-1993 the Binkleys served as
International Ministries missionaries to the Karen people in
northwest Thailand.  Health problems, that forced a return to the
United States, now have stabilized.  While they were in the United
States Duane worked for the Lake Soil and Water Conservation
District, Painesville, Ohio, where he reviewed subdivision and
development plans for erosion and sediment control.  Prior to their
last work in Thailand Marcia was a teacher assistant for the mentally
handicapped.  Duane has a bachelor's degree from Kent State
University.  Marcia graduated from Malone College with a bachelor's
degree.  The Binkleys have three children: Sean, 10; Erin, 6; and
Shannon, 4.                               
     Deliris Carri¢n will go to El Salvador, where she will be
working in coordination with the Christian education programs at the
Baptist schools in Santa Ana and San Salvador.  She also will be
developing a program of pediatric occupational therapy at the First
Baptist Church of San Salvador.
For nearly four years Carri¢n has been assistant pastor of the
Hispanic Evangelical Church in Lawrence, Mass., where she has
provided coordination of a ministry with at-risk youth.  She also
helped to develop a Christian education program for women in a drug
rehabilitation program.  She has a M.Div. degree from Andover Newton
Theological School.  In 1995 Deliris served as an American Baptist
volunteer missionary to the Dominican Republic.  She is in the
process of being ordained by the Convention of Baptist Churches of
Puerto Rico.
     Lynn and Virgil Nelson will work in Kikongo, Democratic
Republic of the Congo (Zaire).  They will serve at the Bible
Institute, where pastors, or those who have been called to become
pastors, come for training.  There are also programs there designed
to help the community.  Lynn and Virgil, an ordained American Baptist
minister, both have been involved with Project Understanding, a
community ministry of 27 churches headquartered in Ventura, Calif. 
Lynn was coordinator of tutoring and Virgil was coordinator of
outreach.  Lynn graduated from Earlham College with a bachelor's
degree in philosophy and family relations.  Virgil received an M.Div.
in education and counseling from Crozer Theological Seminary.  The
Nelsons have three children: Kent, 22; Kim, 22; and Taelor, 26.
     Vital Pierre will join his wife, Ketly, an International
Ministries missionary, in the Atlantic coast region of Nicaragua,
where they will work with pastors and leaders to strengthen existing
Baptist churches and start new churches.  They also will minister to
those affected by unemployment and marginalization.  Vital, a native
of Haiti, received a bachelor's degree in ministry from Florida
Theological Seminary, and has been a missionary at the Haitian
Missionary Baptist Church, San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic.
     Dennis and Diane Plourde will be in the Philippines, where they
will assist the Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches in Iloilo. 
Dennis will work in Christian education, while Diane will be involved
in women's ministry.  Previously she was an International Ministries
volunteer missionary to the 
New Life Center in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in 1996.  For the last 10
years Dennis has been pastor of the Newton Junction Baptist Church,
Newton Junction, N.H.  He received an M.Div. degree from Andover
Newton Theological School and is a doctoral candidate at the
University of Stirling, Scotland, with anticipated completion of his
studies this year.  Diane has been kindergarten coordinator and
teacher at St. Joseph's Plains Community Center, Lawrence, Mass., and
a self-employed graphics artist.  She has a master's of education
degree from the University of New Hampshire.  The Plourdes have two
children: James and Christopher.  

AMERICAN BAPTIST LEADERS ENDORSE  DECLARATION OF COOPERATION'
     American Baptist Churches USA General Secretary Daniel E.
Weiss, past ABC/USA President G. Elaine Smith and Baptist World
Alliance General Secretary Denton Lotz were among 26 Baptist
signatories to a "Declaration of Cooperation" issued late last month
by The Carter Center in Plains, Ga.
     The document was the result of two recent meetings of Baptist
leaders organized by former President Jimmy Carter, an active
Southern Baptist layman.  It calls all Baptists "to a common prayer
effort...to treat each other with mutual respect...to reach out to
all of our neighbors in a spirit of racial reconciliation...[and] to
exert our maximum efforts to end religious persecution in all
nations."  
     In addition to the abovementioned American Baptist leaders,
endorsers of the declaration included Dr. Tyrone S. Pitts, general
secretary of the Progressive National Baptist Convention and an
ordained American Baptist; Dr. Tom Elliff, president of the Southern
Baptist Convention; Dr. James Dunn, executive director of the Baptist
Joint Committee on Public Affairs; Dr. Lawrence Edward Carter Sr.,
dean of the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel at Morehouse
College; and Dr. Daniel Vestal, coordinator of the Cooperative
Baptist Fellowship.
     The full text of their statement follows:
     "Acknowledging that there are unresolved issues among us, the
signatories to this declaration wish to overcome differences that may
impede our mission, which is to bring about a spiritual awakening in
our nation and around the world.
     Therefore, in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior:
     a)  We call all believers to a common prayer effort in a spirit
of Christian love.  We will pray for one another and adhere to Paul's
admonition,  Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one
another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you' (Ephesians
4:32).
     b)  In response to the love of God that has been implanted in
our hearts by the Holy Spirit, we will treat each other with mutual
respect as brothers and sisters in Christ.  We will demonstrate this
commitment in our personal devotions and public acts.
     c)  We will reach out to all of our neighbors in a spirit of
racial reconciliation.  We call on every Baptist church to form a
partnership with a church of a different culture or ethnic group.
     d)  We covenant to exert our maximum efforts to end religious
persecution in all nations and to encourage unfettered religious
liberty for all peoples.
     e)  We will seek other ways to cooperate to achieve common
goals, without breaching our Baptist polity or theological integrity,
in order that people may come to know Christ as Savior, and so that
God may be glorified in ever-increasing measure."  
     In announcing publication of the declaration, President Carter
said, "We call on other Baptists to join us in accomplishing the
goals set out in this declaration and in adopting the same attitude
of forgiveness, Christian love, and a willingness to treat each other
with respect."
     He added: "My hope is that it will be possible in the future to
arrange common efforts to work together, perhaps on the issue of
racial reconciliation."

GENE WRIGHT TO HAVE SURGERY
     Dr. J. Eugene Wright, well-known educator, pastor and former
interim executive director of the American Baptist Churches'
Ministers Council, will undergo surgery to treat a malignant tumor on
his salivary gland.  The procedure is scheduled for April 30, with an
anticipated six-week radiation treatment to follow.  Cards and
messages for Gene and his wife, Jeannette, may be sent to them at USC
University Hospital, 1500 San Pablo, Los Angeles, CA 90033 or to
their home, 27871 Calle Neruda, Mission Viejo, CA 92692.

SHAW APPROVED AS LEVEL II INSTITUTION
     American Baptist-related Shaw University in Raleigh, N.C., has
been approved by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to
offer master's degrees.  The school has announced that the Master of
Divinity Degree Program will be offered in the 1998-1999 academic
year and that master's degrees in 
Teaching and in Business will be offered in succeeding years. 
President Talbert O. Shaw has led the 133-year-old institution since
1987.

MARGARET BRISTOL, FORMER MISSIONARY TO JAPAN, DIES
     Margaret Bristol, former educator and American Baptist
International Ministries missionary to Japan, died March 29 at age
88.  In 1967 Bristol was appointed as a special service worker at the
Shokei Girls School in Sendai, Japan, where she taught English.  She
later returned to that country as a fully-commissioned missionary
before retiring in 1975.  Prior to her missionary service she was
assistant dean of students at American Baptist-related Keuka College. 
She was active within the (then) American Baptist Convention as a
member of the General Council, the Board of Managers of the American
Baptist Home Mission Society and the National Council of American
Baptist Women.  Condolences may be sent to her daughter, Mrs. Helen
Zidowecki, at R.R.#2, Box 279, Litchfield, ME 04350.

BAPTIST WORLD ALLIANCE OFFICIALS PLAN VISIT TO CHIAPAS REGION OF
MEXICO
     Baptist World Alliance officials have announced plans to visit
the troubled Chiapas region of Mexico this September.  At that time
they intend to meet with leaders of the 80 Baptist churches there.
     In preparation for that trip Dr. Denton Lotz, BWA general
secretary; Tony Cupit, BWA director of Study and Research; and Daniel
Carro, general secretary for the Union of Baptist Churches in Latin
America, met March 16 in Mexico City with Mexican Baptist Convention
Vice-Presidents Gilberto Guttierrez Lucero and Luis Gerardo Garcia.
     One of the poorest parts of Mexico, Chiapas is a predominantly
Catholic area which has witnessed significant growth among
evangelicals in recent years.  The region has received worldwide
attention because of the violence resulting both from confrontations
between the Zapatista National Liberation Army and the Mexican
government and from tensions between evangelicals and Catholics.
     The BWA notes that Baptists are part of an interdenominational
group working for human rights in the area.  Baptist lawyer Jorge Lee
serves as a liaison among the indigenous people, the Mexican Baptist
Convention and the Mexican government.

STUDENTS FROM AMERICAN BAPTIST-RELATED COLLEGES
TO STUDY AT HONG KONG BAPTIST UNIVERSITY
     More than 25 students from 10 American Baptist-related colleges
and universities will live and study with Chinese students in a new
program to be launched this fall at Hong Kong Baptist University.
     Those participants will be among the approximately 160 North
Americans from church-related schools who will inaugurate the
program.  According to Hong Kong Baptist University officials, the
students will take a full load of credit courses and live in campus
dormitories with Chinese roommates, most of whom will be non-Christians.
     Among the institutions related to American Baptist Educational
Ministries whose students will participate are: Alderson-Broaddus
College, Philippi, W.V.; Eastern College, St. Davids, Pa.; Franklin
College, Franklin, Ind.; Judson College, Elgin, Ill.; Kalamazoo
College, Kalamazoo, Mich.; Keuka College, Keuka Park, N.Y.; Linfield
College, McMinnville, Oreg.; Ottawa University, Ottawa, Kans.;
University of Sioux Falls, Sioux Falls, S.D.; and William Jewell
College, Liberty, Mo.
     Hong Kong Baptist University is a ministry of the Hong Kong
Baptist Convention, a partner  union with American Baptist
International Ministries.  Founded in 1956, it includes approximately
5,000 degree students and 35,000 night and weekend students.
     According the university's president, Dr. Daniel C.W. Tse, "We
believe this study-abroad program will be one of the most effective
ways to build lasting personal friendships between North American
Christians and many of the future leaders of China."

98U417.WFN

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