American Baptists hold in prayer Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee and Illinois, where at least 38 tornadoes recently caused significant damage and the tragic loss of lives. More than 70 deaths have been reported and persons are still missing.
Read MoreOn Thursday, September 2, 2021, the morning after the remnants of Tropical Storm Ida fell upon New Jersey, the ABCNJ ministry team contacted all our churches and pastors. We have heard back from 6 of our churches who have suffered damage, ranging from minor (some water damage or one or two trees down) to major (roof or water damage).
Read MoreOn Saturday, September 11, 2021, the ABCNJ Council met to discuss the ministry and work of the Region. Part of our time was dedicated to remember and pray. We prayed for various needs and concerns from our Council members. Together we called upon the Lord, our refuge, and our strength. Below are prayer concerns we lifted for the community. We invite you to join us in prayer.
Read MoreA letter from ABCNJ Executive Minister and Senior Regional Pastor, Rev. Miriam Méndez.
Read MoreInformation on how you and your congregation can partner with ABCNJ in providing relief in Haiti. On August 14, 2021, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake devastated Haiti. While lasting less than a minute, over 54,000 houses were destroyed, in addition to public and religious buildings, schools, and businesses. The earthquake caused over 2,200 deaths and 12,000 serious injuries.
Read MoreDear ABCNJ Family, Please join us in prayer for our sisters and brothers in Haiti. Many of you have called and asked how can we provide support to our sisters and brothers in Haiti. We join the rest of our ABCUSA family in continued prayer for Haiti and in giving through One Great Hour of Sharing.
Read MoreABCUSA Anti-Racism Task Force article for July 2021. We celebrate our time together at the Biennial Mission Summit. We prayed together, brainstormed ideas, and shared our stories. We embraced the sacredness of the human story, and we honored the human experience as a denomination and as a people. We are grateful for your interest, curiosity, and willingness to explore with us in the work of anti-racism, especially in the context of our faith. Together we created brave sacred spaces where we answered the call to prayer, self-understanding and listening, and learning, unlearning, and relearning. We answered the call to reflection and introspection—to look inward and inward and to examine our individual and collective thoughts and feelings. As the ABCUSA, we dared to open ourselves to better understand who we have been, who we are, and who we desire to become. Archbishop Desmond Tutu said, “All of our humanity is dependent upon recognizing the humanity in others.” We continue the journey.
Read MoreWhile we had to postpone our mission trip to Puerto Rico due to Covid, we are excited to announce that we can now announce our rescheduled date!
The American Baptist Churches of New Jersey (ABCNJ), in partnership with the American Baptist Home Mission Societies (ABHMS), is providing an opportunity for our churches to get directly involved in “Rebuilding, Restoring, Renewing Puerto Rico,” a multi-year initiative following the devastation caused by Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017.
Read MoreThe American Baptist Churches of New Jersey join our Haitian brothers and sisters in prayer.
On Wednesday, July 7, 2021, President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in his private residence located on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince, the country’s capital.
Read MoreNews from the ABCUSA Anti-Racism Taskforce, including pre-biennial events. “One aspect of the work of the ABCUSA Anti-racism Task Force has been to identify resources. What we have discovered is that ABCUSA has a variety of resources created within the denomination. The American Baptist Policy Statement on Racial Justice (1985) is one of these resource treasures.”
Read MoreWith our deepest condolences, we inform our ABCNJ community of the passing of Rev. Dr. James A. Scott, beloved Pastor Emeritus of Bethany Baptist Church in Newark, NJ. Rev. Dr. Scott went home to be with the Lord on the morning of Saturday, May 15, 2021. Our prayers go out to his family and the Bethany Baptist Church family.
Read MoreThis is hard work. It requires being honest with myself and listening—truly listening—to my beloved friends who are speaking a truth that can be hard to hear. It takes letting go of the fear that I hold onto: fear that my ego will be hurt, that I will lose…something, fear that I’m not doing the work I claim to be doing.
Read MoreOnce again, creation groans and our hearts are full of sorrow because of the violence and hatred that continues to touch our world, neighbors, and lives…
Read MorePlan to experience the vitality of our American Baptist family together with other American Baptists from all corners of the United States and the world through the June 2021 online Biennial Mission Summit event!
Read MoreReunión de Mujeres (vía zoom…)
Read MoreThe Anti-Racism Task Force met for the first time on November 10, 2020. This meeting yielded an unprecedented commitment and dedication to the work of Anti-Racism. Through prayer, discernment, and honest reflection we have begun to identify and surface the historical and present experiences and stories of peoples affected by racism. We are dawning a new age in which we realize that providing symposiums and multifaceted resources are essential, and yet the great benefit to these initiatives is the revelation that anti-racism work is work that must be on-going.
Read MoreTo mark the 2021 Lenten Season, the ABCUSA Office of the General Secretary will share an online devotional for prayer and contemplation entitled “2021 Lent: A Time to Get REady.” Invited persons from across the country will offer video reflections inviting us to embark on a spiritual journey of preparation.
Read MoreSerie de estudios y conversaciones acerca de las narraciones bíblicas de la pasión de Jesús y las implicaciones de su muerte y resurrección. Una excelente oportunidad para obtener ideas refrescantes para los sermones de Semana Santa.
Read More“[The one] who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as [the one] who helps to perpetrate it. [The one] who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.” – Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Stride Toward Freedom
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