The Baptist World Alliance® (BWA) hosted three groups at its international offices in the Washington, DC, suburb of Falls Church in September.
Sixty two members of the 100-voice Brazilian Memorial Baptist Choir from the capital city of Brasilia came to the BWA offices on September 12. They sang for the BWA staff and were briefed by staff members about the ministries of the BWA. The choir was on a singing tour to a number of Baptist churches in the Washington Metropolitan Area.
BWA staff received members of the Shiloh Baptist Association in the state of Virginia in the United States on September 17. The association includes churches in Culpeper, Fauquier, Greene, Madison, Orange, and Rappahannock counties, mainly in central Virginia.
The group, which comprised ordained clergy and lay persons, was on a familiarization tour of several Baptist entities located within the Washington Metropolitan Area, including the BWA. Senior staff members of the BWA made brief presentations on BWA ministries and responded to questions.
Sixteen Baptist leaders from Washington, DC, Southern Maryland and Northern Virginia, spent the morning of September 27 considering the local church’s role in development and aid. Rothangliani Chhangte, who took up the post of director of Baptist World Aid on August 1, gave examples of how the BWA is helping to resource programs to reduce poverty, disease, and suffering around the world.
BWA General Secretary Neville Callam also briefed the group on his upcoming meetings with Baptists in Australia, Papua New Guinea, and Mizoram, India.
The gathering was the latest in a series of “coffee receptions” for Baptist pastors hosted by Callam. The receptions are aimed at encouraging fellowship and cooperation with key Baptist congregations and groups in close proximity to the BWA offices, and to communicate directly with local congregations and institutions on the work of the BWA. Previous meetings have included discussions on church and media, freedom and justice advocacy for Baptists, and other topics of interest to local churches.
Baptist World Alliance®
© October 5, 2012