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The Biennial meeting of American Baptist Churches was held in Puerto Rico June 23-26th. It was one of the best overall attended gatherings in recent years with a very strong presence of people from the Baptist churches in Puerto Rico. while I was helping behind the scenes and didn’t get to fully experience the event, here are some highlights :
- Spanish is the predominate language in Puerto Rico. So while most worship services were predominately in English with translation headphones for Spanish speakers, Saturday night was the reverse -- entirely in Spanish. Rev.Dr. Roberto Dieppa-Báez preached and a mass choir of over 180 sang.
- The new United State Ambassador for International Religious Freedom was introduced and brought greetings. Rev. Dr. Suzan Johnson-Cook is an American Baptist pastor from New York.
- Attendees got to worship Sunday morning in local Puerto Rican churches.
- The new organizational structure for American Bapstists was approved overwhelmingly. The overall feeling of the gathering was upbeat and positive without any divisive issues overtaking the agenda.
- Music was everywhere with a Puerto Rican flavor: from children’s choirs to drum circles to small jazz ensembles to a 20-member praise and worship band to a full orchestra. Added to the mix from the states were the Morehouse College Glee Club, San Francisco Chinese choir, and many other guest artists. You could not go far without hearing God’s voice through music.
- You get a taste of the true diversity of the American Baptist Churches at a biennial meeting. The next one will be in the midwest at Overland Park, Kansas, June 21-23, 2013.
For Photos and more information about the Puerto Rico gathering visit: www.abc-usa.org
— DG
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