BWA General Council Resolution 2007.1
The General Council of the Baptist World Alliance Annual Gathering, meeting in Accra, Ghana, July 2-7, 2007:
Resolves to commemorate in this historic setting the two hundredth anniversary of the beginning of the abolition of the slave trade.
Admits a long history of human enslavement that has broken families, robbed identities, stripped dignity and inflicted deep and inexpressible pain.
Confesses our own sinful silence and shameful histories of implicit and complicit involvement.
Acknowledges and appreciates those who have already publicly and formally apologized for and repented of their and their nation’s involvement in these monstrous acts against humanity.
Stands in gratitude for the numerous men and women who have struggled for truth and justice, who refused to accept the enslavement of human beings, resisted enforced oppression, and lived lives of perseverance and meaning. Although often left nameless, their collective story is truly powerful.
Calls for:
Freedom for the 27 million still trapped in modern-day slavery across the world—from Brazil to Bangkok.
Freedom from the global systems of economic injustice and exploitation that create the circumstances that foster slavery.
Freedom from all forms of racism and bigotry that debase our societies.
Freedom from our silence in the face of the above realities.
Further calls on Baptists worldwide to stand against this ongoing and pervasive evil institution, support endeavors to eradicate it, study the history in order to isolate its causes and inform our present, and compassionately minister to those trapped by it.
We resolve prayerfully to join hands together, to refuse to celebrate until freedom is found for all.
Citations
Original Source Bibliography: Callam, Neville, editor. Baptist World Alliance 2007 Yearbook: Minutes of the General Council Meeting and Directory. Falls Church, VA: Baptist World Alliance, 2007.
Original Source Footnote/Endnote: Neville Callam, ed., Baptist World Alliance 2007 Yearbook: Minutes of the General Council Meeting and Directory (Falls Church, VA: Baptist World Alliance, 2007), p. 93.
Online Document Full Citation: BWA General Council Resolution 2007.1 200th Anniversary of the Passing of the Act to Abolish the Slave Trade in the British Colonies; https://baptistworld.org/resolutions.
In-text Online Document Citation: (BWA General Council Resolution 2007.1).