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[Note: I am pleased to share this news release on the celebration of the 400th anniversary of the start of the first Baptist congregation in Amsterdam. I am headed there on Saturday for part of the celebration.]
For Immediate Release from the Baptist World Alliance |
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Major Baptist celebrations begin this week in Europe |
| Washington, DC (BWA) -- The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) and the European Baptist Federation (EBF) have planned major activities to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Baptist movement, beginning July 24 until August 1. The EBF, one of six regional fellowships of the BWA, will host Amsterdam 400 in the capital of the Netherlands, the site of the first Baptist church which was founded by British exiles in 1609. Amsterdam 400, which runs July 24-26, includes various events to mark the significant occasion. The Opening Celebration on Friday will include the participation of BWA General Secretary Neville Callam, while BWA President David Coffey will preach at the final service on Sunday. There will be workshops and seminars on Baptist beginnings and Baptist beliefs, ethnic and multiethnic churches in Europe, religious freedom, human trafficking, and urban theology. Plenary sessions will explore the subjects of mission, freedom, community and discipleship. Worship and Bible studies will hold center stage, led by several choirs such as the Central Choir of the Baptist Union of Hungary, and speakers from around the continent including Teodor Oprenov, general secretary of the Baptist Union of Bulgaria, Valeriu Ghiletchi, bishop of the Union of Christian Evangelical Baptists of Moldova and vice president of the EBF, and Toivo Pilli, rector of the Tartu Baptist Theological Seminary in Estonia. Raquel Contreras, a BWA vice president, former president of the Union of Baptists in Latin America, and president of the Union of Evangelical Baptist Churches of Chile, will be a special guest speaker, along with Coffey and Callam. The EBF Council will convene for its annual meeting during the Amsterdam celebration. The BWA Annual Gathering will be held in Ede, which is 38 miles or 62 kilometers from Amsterdam, from July 27 to August 1. The Gathering, held each year in a different country, will focus on the 400th year of Baptist witness in worship, forums, study groups, and workshops. Leading Baptist theologians, historians, educators and scholars will participate. There will be reflections on the work of Baptist pioneers such as Thomas Helwys, missionaries such as George Liele, outstanding preachers, including Charles Spurgeon, and prophets such as Martin Luther King, Jr. A special quadricentennial service will be held on Thursday, July 30, at the United Mennonite Church in Amsterdam. The worship service will feature a Litany of Thanksgiving to be led by mostly young Baptist leaders. Denton Lotz, former general secretary of the BWA, will be the keynote speaker at this service. The liturgy for the quadricentennial service will be available on the BWA website (http://www.bwanet.org/) as of July 30 for use by Baptist congregations around the world in their own 400th anniversary celebrations. |
