Previous Human Rights Day Resources

For more than twenty years, the Baptist World Alliance has encouraged Baptist congregations around the world to observe Human Rights Day. The date coincides with the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted on December 10, 1948.

2013 | 2012

2013

An Invitation to Observe Human Rights Day on December 7 and 8, 2013

Japan Colombia General Resources United Nations

This year, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights celebrates its 20^th anniversary. So, the theme for Human Rights Day at the UN this year is 20 YEARS: WORKING FOR YOUR RIGHTS, with an emphasis on identifying the challenges that lie ahead.

BWA Human Rights Day will take place on December 8, 2013, or December 7 for churches worshiping on Saturday. This year, we will have two focuses:

The first is in regards to the ongoing situation of violent conflict and human rights violations in Colombia. Click here for more information.
The second emphasis for this Human Rights Day is a clamor for a “nuclear-free, arms-free world.” Click here for more information.

This December 07/08, you have the chance to bring these two concerns to your local congregation, sharing the plight of our brothers and sisters in Colombia and Japan, praying for them, and raising awareness among your own people about the difficulties they face. The information shared here can spark advocacy initiatives through letters to your own governments, demanding their commitment to address these issues at the international level. Furthermore, your church can write letters of love and solidarity. If you would like to do that, please email it to Shannon@bwanet.org, and we will send all the letters we receive to Baptists living in Colombia and in Japan. Feel free to also contact the BWA’s Freedom & Justice Division by phone: +1-703-790-8980 or Fax: 703-893-5160 as well, if you have further questions/comments/ideas or would like to know of other ways that you can be plugged into the Baptist World Alliance®.

We hope to have the greatest amount of Baptists worldwide including the observation of Human Rights Day as part of their Advent celebration. Please utilize the resources on this page to shape your own Human Rights Day Worship Service. If your congregation is going to do this, please let our office know so that we can follow up on your worship experience. Thank you.

Raimundo Barreto
F&J Director

“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”

Nuclear Arms Free World with a focus on Japan		Peace in Colombia
Photo of a weekly log tracking radiation levels around the Koriyama Baptist Church in Japan. Credit: Rothangliani Chhangte, BWAid Director		Photo of BWA delegation and its hosts from the Peace Commission of the Colombian Evangelical Council visiting the National Center of Historical Memory in Bogota. Behind them you see the monument which remembers the dozens of thousands who died in the conflict, and who have been some times buried anonymously in mass graves. Credit: Centro de Memoria, Paz y Reconciliación, Alcaldía Mayor de Bogotá

General Suggestions for Worship		General Suggestions for Worship MCC Worship Packet* – English Spanish
Prayers Prayers for Peace and Justice Praying for Hiroshima for Peace		Prayers Praying for Peace in Colombia
Litanies In Remembrance of the 3.11 Great Eastern Japan Disasters		Litanies A Litany of Lamentation and Hope
Sermons		Sermons
Actions		Actions Praying for Peace in Colombia
Other Resources Statement from the Japan Baptist Convention Articles Nuclear Power Generating facilities Considered as a Human Rights-Related Issue Reports Japan Summary Report Disarmament Resources Educational Materials Videos Nuclear Disaster and the Gospel of Reconciliation		Other Resources Statement on the Way of Just Peace Articles Act Alliance (Spanish)

Click here for BWA press release.

General Resources for Human Rights Day
Articles

Prayers

Litanies

Praying for Peace on the International Day of Peace

Actions

Praying for Peace on the International Day of Peace

United Nations:
20 years defending human rights

Information & Resources

*Material used with permission from Mennonite Central Committee, Colombia.

2012

Nigeria Prayer Requests / Litany / Bible Verses / Hymns /Other Resources

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
    and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
19     to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. (Luke 4:18-19)

This year, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights will focus on inclusion and the right to participate in public life. The theme draws directly from Articles 19, 20 and 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which speak of the right to freedom of expression and opinion, the right to freedom of assembly and association and the right to take part in government, either directly or through freely chosen representatives.

This Dec. 08/09, 2012 you have your chance to be a part of this history of advocacy and worship.

There are many places in the world where these and other rights are threatened today. As people of faith, we believe that there should be continuous encouragement to pray for and act on behalf of all people facing threats and violations of their human rights in different parts of the world.

This year, the BWA particularly calls on all Baptists around the world for a common day of prayer during Human Rights Day for the people of Nigeria, in light of the increasing episodes of violence in northern and central Nigeria, where more than 1,400 people have been killed in attacks by the extremist group Boko Haram since 2010. This environment of violence and fear inhibits individual freedom of expression and the safety to speak out against these injustices.

Our intention is to have the greatest amount of Baptists worldwide observing Human Rights Day as part of their Advent celebration. Please utilize the resources below to shape your own Human Rights Day Worship Service. If your congregation is going to do this, please let our office know so that we can follow up on your worship experience.

Feel free to contact the BWA’s Freedom & Justice Division by phone: +1-703-790-8980, Fax: 703-893-5160 or email: fandj@bwanet.org if you have further questions/comments/ideas or would like to know of other ways that you can be plugged into the Baptist World Alliance®.

WORSHIP RESOURCES

Bible Verses

2 Cor. 3:17

Galatians 3:28

1 Peter 2:16

Isaiah 62:10-12

Hymns

Zo ha kpapka kpe haboka “God calls us to be at one” (Seka, J.)
A ti, Señor te pedimos, a traditional song from Chile ( Span., Port.,English,German & French)
Bambelela “Never give up”, a Xhosa song from South Africa (words in Xhosa and English)