wfn.org | Re: AMERICAN BAPTIST NEWS FOR MARCH 12, 1996

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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.PARTI@ECUNET.ORG)

_________________________________________________________
_________________________________

UPDATE: MARCH 12, 1997
_________________________________________________________
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NEWS FEATURES
AMERICAN BAPTISTS SEND INITIAL RELIEF FUNDS IN WAKE 
OF MIDWEST/SOUTH STORMS; VOLUNTEERS, MORE FUNDS NEEDED
     American Baptist National Ministries' Office of
National Disaster Response, acting in conjunction with
the American Baptist World Relief Office, has released an
initial $5,000 grant to the American Baptist Churches
of Ohio and $5,000 to the American Baptist Churches of
Indiana following disastrous flooding in the two
regions.  Church World Service has issued an emergency
appeal for $300,000 to meet immediate needs of
residents along the Ohio River and its tributaries.
     American Baptist Churches of Ohio has reported that
members of three American Baptist congregations
have been affected by the flooding, Linwood Baptist
Church and Columbia Baptist Church, Cincinnati, and
Vinton Baptist Church, Vinton. 
     American Baptist Churches of Indiana has reported
"large numbers of congregants who lost homes or
were flooded out," according to Dr. Larry Mason,
executive minister.  Mason noted that there were many
victims
without insurance or emergency resources.  Nearly half of
the members of Utica Baptist Church were flooded out
of their homes.  The town was 75 percent underwater.
     The death toll in a week of violent storms,
tornadoes and flooding across the eastern half of the
U.S.
now stands at 59.  Close to 12,000 families in Ohio,
Indiana and Kentucky have been affected by the disaster.
Throughout the 16 counties declared a federal disaster by
President Clinton, families in Ohio remain isolated, and
damage to homes, water supply and treatment facilities,
roads and other facilities are being reported.  President
Clinton also issued a major disaster declaration for 13
counties in Indiana affected by the flooding.  An
additional 15 counties in Kentucky have been added to the
nine counties already declared as federal disaster
areas in the state. 
     Church World Service Disaster Resource consultants
are assessing needs and helping faith-based
community disaster recovery programs.  Church World
Service has begun sending blankets and other supplies to
stricken areas.  The extent and nature of the damage will
necessitate long-term assistance.  In Kentucky a
Council of Churches spokesperson noted that the flooding
has been "so overwhelming that officials have not yet
made an estimate of damage."
      In Arkansas 1,500 families are starting to rebuild
their lives following devastating tornadoes.  An
additional four counties in Arkansas have been added to
the nine included in the major disaster declaration made
on March 2, in the aftermath of the tornadoes. 
     While the Ohio River has been receding in
Cincinnati, continued flooding downstream poses the 
potential threat of flooding along the Mississippi River. 
And with spring approaching, said Ken George, director
of National Ministries' Office of National Disaster
Response, "the early flooding has raised concerns that
the
Midwest and the South could face flooding--and relief
needs--comparable to 1993."
     Local congregations have been active in responding
to the disaster.  In Patriot, Ind., one of the poorer
river communities in the area, approximately 70 percent
of the city flooded.  Patriot Baptist Church was on high
ground and was not damaged.  The church opened a food
pantry; the Rev. Frank Forthman, Patriot s pastor,
reported feeding 100 people with only two pots of soup.
"We felt we d been at the feeding of the 5,000,"
Forthman said.
     American Baptist congregations in the flooded areas
continue to aid their communities and communities
around them, but, says Larry Mason, "the needs are
large."

     National Ministries' Office of National Disaster
Response alerted ABMen Disaster Relief to the
immediate needs in Ohio.  ABMen has dispatched leaders
and its 34-foot trailer to sites along the Ohio River to
assist with emergency relief work.
     Congregations are urged to assemble "Gifts of the
Heart" (clean-up and health kits) and send to
strategically located warehouses.  For information about
the kits call 1-800-ABC-3USA, ext. 2426.
     Additional funds are needed for immediate needs and
for ongoing relief.  Contributions may be sent
through American Baptist region offices using the Monthly
Report on Mission Support form.  Funds should be
designated on line #7 for "One Great Hour of
Sharing--Ohio/Indiana Flood Relief."
     There also will be a long-term need for volunteers
once waters recede and specific clean-up tasks are
identified.  For information about individual or group
volunteer opportunities contact Carole Dieciedue,
director
of National Ministries' Volunteers In Mission, at
1-800-ABC-3USA, ext. 2449.

ABMEN DISASTER RELIEF SENDS LEADERS, TRAILER TO FLOOD
SITES
     ABMen Disaster Relief has dispatched leaders and its
34-foot trailer to sites along the Ohio River where
recent flooding has caused damage.  
     ABMen Executive Director Z. Allen Abbott reports
that ABMen Disaster Relief teams are heading for
an area in which a number of American Baptists have been
impacted.  The Rev. Diane Steelman pastors two
American Baptist congregations, Linwood Baptist Church
and Columbia Baptist Church, on the Ohio River
banks in Cincinnati.  While the churches themselves are
not seriously damaged, ten American Baptist families in
the area were forced from their homes and are now staying
with friends and relatives, according to Abbott.  
     ABMen Disaster Relief work is undertaken in
cooperation with other American Baptist organizations,
FEMA, the Red Cross and Church World Service.  Abbott
noted, "We will be cooperating further to help the
500 families of the flooded community," adding, "This is
the most comprehensive effort to date for ABMen
Disaster Relief."
     The ABMen Disaster Relief trailer is lodged in the
American Baptist Churches of the Great Rivers
Region.  It will be on display at the American Baptist
Churches' Biennial Meeting in Indianapolis, June 24-27. 
Two additional trailers will be added in the next year to
expand the coverage of ABMen Disaster Relief coast to
coast.  This expansion is nearly three years ahead of
schedule, but is based on demand for the ministry, Abbott
said.

WORLD BAPTIST GROWTH, CHALLENGES CITED
AT BAPTIST WORLD ALLIANCE EXECUTIVE MEETINGS
     Church growth, challenges to and progress on
religious liberty issues, and evangelism strategies were
reported and discussed when representatives of Baptist
unions around the world gathered March 3-6 in McLean,
Va., in semiannual sessions of the Baptist World Alliance
(BWA). 
     Participants at the meeting also approved a theme,
"Jesus Christ Forever. Yes!," for the 18th Baptist
World Congress to be held in Melbourne, Australia, in the
year 2000.  "We want to say something to the world
at the start of the millennium, and this theme says it
for us," said BWA General Secretary Denton Lotz.  
     Because BWA President Nilson Fanini has emphasized
evangelism during of his presidency, reports of
conversion and baptisms were the focus of much of the
discussions.
     BWA officials noted growth in many areas of the
world.
     o  In Cuba, churches have been packed, including one
service where more than 100 young people in the
Western Convention of Cuba responded to a call to the
ministry.
     o  Samuel Fadeji, president of the All-Africa
Baptist Fellowship and the general secretary of the
Nigerian Baptists, reported an increase in church
planting recently in Nigeria and Ghana.  He noted that
there are
5,600 churches and over one million baptized believers in
the Nigerian Baptist Convention.
     o  Karl Heinz Walter, BWA regional secretary for
Europe, noted growth and revival in certain areas of
the Middle East because of the Bible.  "Many people have
become Christians just by reading the Bible," Walter
said. 
     o  Caribbean Baptists now are concentrating on
mission to each other," said Peter Pinder, BWA regional
secretary for the Caribbean Baptist Fellowship. "We in
the Caribbean must start to send missionaries to other
countries."  There are over 190,000 Baptists in the
Caribbean but little growth, he said, adding, "There is
great
potential for growth, but leaders must first catch the
vision."
     o  Edwin Lopez, regional secretary from the Asian
Baptist Federation, reported that work begun in 1992
in Singapore to reach Nepal, Cambodia and Mongolia has
been realized; there now are Baptist conventions in
Nepal and Cambodia and two churches in Mongolia.  The ABF
vision for 2000 extends to Bhutan, where there 
already are three areas of active Baptist work, and to
Tibet and China.
     o  Daniel Carro, BWA regional secretary for Latin
America, reported that Baptists in Latin America
soon will meet to approve a special evangelism program in
effect from now to 2000 and culminating in a
combined Latin America evangelistic crusade in 1999.  And
in what Ignacio Loredo, president of the Argentine
Baptist Convention, described as "a historic moment,"
Baptists and Roman Catholics in Argentina met for the 
first time in their history last December.
     o  In North America, while evangelism is a
continuing challenge, so is racism.  Dr. Daniel E. Weiss,
American Baptist Churches USA general secretary and
president of the North American Baptist Fellowship, said,
"It ought to be of deep concern to Baptists that
leadership on civil rights today in North America comes
from the
Nation of Islam."  Weiss noted that the 60 million
Baptists in North America need to stand up against racism
as
a witness and testimony.  He also commended the dramatic
response of Baptists, through contributions and
service, in helping in the rebuilding of churches in the
U.S. destroyed by racially motivated arson attacks.
     The leaders also heard reports on the suffering of
Baptists in Bulgaria, Thailand and other places.
     o  Theo Angelov, general secretary of the Baptist
Union of Bulgaria, described his homeland as "a
country in agony."  Angelov said Bulgaria's current
rulers had ruined the country and pushed Bulgaria into
economic collapse with 300 to 1,000 percent inflation. 
The Baptist Union has distributed over 8,000 parcels of
food around the country, half of which has gone to
Baptist churches and some to orphanages and
kindergartens. 
"In spite of that the churches are filled," Angelov said,
"as people are trying to find hope.  Our Baptist churches
give hope as well as food."  Baptist World Aid, the BWA's
relief and development arm, is planning a major
wheat shipment and Baptists around the world are being
asked to pray that the government will open up the
doors in Bulgaria so that food supplies can go in.
     o  While Karen refugees from Burma on the Thailand
border need food and medical supplies, they also
need help from world governments to solve their political
situation, officials reported.  Thousands of Karen
refugees live along the Thai-Burma border, forced there
because of a continuing civil war with the SLORC
government of Myanmar.  Many of the refugees are Baptists
who welcomed a BWA team that included Denton
Lotz; Tony Cupit, director of Study and Research;
Thorwald Lorenzen, head of the BWA Human Rights
Commission; and Edwin Lopez, ABF regional secretary. 
After the BWA team report, members of the Executive
Committee agreed to ask Baptists around the world to
write to their governments on behalf of the refugees, and
to ask the government leaders of Myanmar to stop raiding
the camps.  Paul Montacute, of Baptist World Aid,
reported that many Baptist groups already are helping
through the Burma Border Consortium and through
missionaries of the American Baptist Churches USA in
Thailand.
     o  In a report on war-torn Liberia, Emile Sam-Peal,
general secretary of the Liberia Baptist Missionary
and Educational Convention, Inc., thanked Baptists around
the world for the support and encouragement Liberian
Baptists received during the long years of their civil
discord.  "I do not know what the Baptists of Liberia
would
have done without the help and support from our greater
Baptist community," Sam-Peal said.  "We need your
continuing support.  We need you to help us rebuild
Liberia," he said.
     In other actions:
     o  Tony Cupit, director of the BWA's Division of
Evangelism and Education, asked all Baptists to focus
on evangelism as the new millennium approaches.  He
called for a major commitment of international Baptist
churches to baptize new believers in January 2000.  
     o  Dr. George Younger, BWA representative to United
Nations and former executive minister of the
American Baptist Churches of New Jersey, called on
Baptists to take a more active role in the United
Nations. 
"There were many opportunities which Baptists had not
taken advantage of," he said.
(Founded in 1905, the Baptist World Alliance is a
fellowship of 188 Baptist unions, including American
Baptist
Churches USA, and relates to more than 42 million
baptized believers.  This news feature is based on
reports
provided by Wendy Ryan, director of BWA Communications. ) 
                                                 

                              o

o  Word has been received of the death Jan. 29 of Dr.
Donato Ramirez Ruiz, who served for 32 years as an
American Baptist home missionary in Mexico.   Ruiz served
as pastor and church planter in Mexico from
1939 to 1951.  Beginning in 1948 he served as business
manager at the Baptist Seminary of Mexico.  He also
taught, counseled students and carried a variety of
additional administrative responsibilities at the
seminary.  Ruiz
was named director of missions/general missionary in
Mexico in 1952.  He retired in 1971.  Born in Torreon,
Mexico, Ruiz was a graduate of William Jewel College and
Colgate Rochester Divinity School.  He also
attended Central Baptist Seminary.  He was married to
Emma Blanco de Ramirez,  who also served as an
American Baptist home missionary.  Condolences may be
sent to her at Rio Balsas 5538, Jardines de San
Manuel, Puebla, Pue. 72570 (Foreign), Mexico.  In 1870
Mexico became the first Latin American country to host
the work of the American Baptist Home Mission Society and
The Woman s American Baptist Home Mission
Society (now National Ministries). Since 1973 American
Baptist mission work in Mexico has operated under the
aegis of International Ministries.

o  On April 20, 1997, which has been designated Volunteer
Sunday by American Baptist Churches USA, many
congregations will take time to recognize their members
who serve as volunteers.  Volunteerism has become a
strong national trend that will be highlighted April 27
when President Clinton and others meet in Philadelphia,
Pa., for the President's Summit for America's Future. 
The summit is aimed at bringing America to a new level
of commitment to volunteer service, especially targeting
the nation's young people.  During 1996, through
National Ministries' Volunteers In Mission program and
International Ministries' Volunteer Services, more than
200 persons served as volunteer missionaries.  Hundreds
more participated in group mission/work tour
experiences, one of which was the rebuilding of the Olive
Grove Missionary Baptist Church in Littleton, N.C. 
The 108-year-old church was burned in January 1996. 
Materials to help recognize volunteer service are
available
from the Volunteers In Mission office.  For more
information or to order materials contact Carole
Dieciedue,
Volunteers In Mission, P. O. Box 851, Valley Forge, PA
19482-0851; phone 1-800-ABC-3USA, ext. 2449.

o  American Baptist regional and national staff gathered
in Hialeah, Fla., Feb. 15-19, for the annual meeting of
the American Baptist Evangelism Team (ABET) and a
mini-conference titled "Contexto: Evangelism in North
American Contexts."  The combined event, sponsored by
American Baptist National Ministries, was attended by
60 church leaders from across the U.S. and Cuba. 
"Evangelism in the North American context is a
missiological
task," noted the Rev. David Laubach, National Ministries 
associate executive director for Evangelism and
Church Renewal and convener of the event. "The Gospel in
our culture requires the same 'translation' as in any
international, cross-cultural mission setting."  Dr.
George Hunsberger, professor of missiology at Western
Theological Seminary and coordinator of the "Gospel and
Our Culture Network," provided a framework for
understanding various American contexts.  Dr. Samuel
Pag n, president of the Evangelical Seminary of Puerto
Rico, was daily Bible study leader.  In addition to
national and regional staff, participants included
Hispanic
leaders from the Visi¢n 2001 mentor program, Indian
Ministries  coordinators, leaders from the Eastern
Baptist
Convention of Cuba and local church pastors.  On Sunday
participants visited Cuban, Haitian and African-
American congregations to learn about contexts in Miami. 
The Rev. Samuel Chetti and Dr. Eduardo Font,
respectively executive and associate executive minister
of the Los Angeles Baptist City Mission Society,
described Los Angeles contexts.  Dr. Roy Acosta,
president of the eastern convention in Cuba, reported on
evangelism in Cuba and the bridges to new Cuban American
Baptist congregations in Florida.  New church
planter, the Rev. Sherrie Chaplin, from Bradenton, Fla.,
helped interpret ministry with retirees in Florida. 
Also at the meeting Dr. Fred Ansell, executive minister
of the ABC of the Central Region, concluded his
leadership of ABET.  The Rev. Judy Albee, area minister
in the ABC of Indiana, was elected the new chair of
ABET and the ABC Evangelism Council.  Other actions
included the acceptance of a recommendation from the
ABC New Church Planting Council that the March 7-11,
1998, annual meeting be a joint effort with a planned
New Church Planting summit.  ABET also affirmed a
proposal from the ABC Evangelism Council to plan a 
focus on evangelism for the next millennium.  In
addition, new evangelism resources, including "The
Source"
notebook, and the "Coloring Outside the Lines" conference
at the American Baptist Assembly, Green Lake, Wis.,
Aug. 9-15, 1997, were introduced.

o  The company leasing 20,000 feet of space here at the
American Baptist Mission Center has decided not to
renew its option for a second one-year lease.  The
lessee, LMC Properties, Inc. of Middle River, Md., a
subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, is
consolidating the Management and Data Systems division in
its
King of Prussia corporate facilities.  It began occupancy
at the Mission Center through a one-year lease
beginning in May 1996 with an option for renewing that
lease for an additional year.  An agreement with
American Baptist Churches USA will allow it to extend its
original lease one month before vacating the space on
June 30, 1997.  The company has focused its activities
here on developing unclassified commercial contract
software programs for communications corporations such as
Bell Telephone and on providing a location for
recently employed personnel who are in training in such
subjects as ethics, communications, management
processes and systems.  The decision to lease a portion
of the Mission Center building was reached in 1995
following a study of space utilization authorized by the
American Baptist Churches' General Board.  The study
concluded that a reduction in the space utilized by the
denominational offices not only was feasible but
desirable
as an act of good stewardship.  Other current tenants
include Intergraph, Inc. and DuPlex Corporation.  

o  The world's largest ecumenical organization has begun
a special year-long emphasis in support of migrants,
refugees and other uprooted people.  The American Baptist
Churches-related World Council of Churches has
declared 1997 to be the "Ecumenical Year of Churches in
Solidarity with Uprooted People."  The emphasis
is designed to "give global witness to the support of
churches for refugees, migrants and displaced people
around
the world...at a time of growing concern about
'xenophobic hostility,'" according to the WCC.

97U312___________________________________________________
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