The Rochester Summit Affirmation

To:  All Concerned American Baptists

To: All Concerned American Baptists

Below is a copy of a statement which was endorsed at a Summit in Rochester, NY on February 18-19, 2005 by a diverse group of 158 American Baptist men and women, ages from 20's to 80's, gathered from 14 states, 49 Associations and 11 Regions or State Conventions. The group consisted of clergy and laity; local, regional, and national leaders; and members of the ABCUSA General Board and Program Boards. You are invited to add your online signature endorsing this affirmation.


IN ENGLISH:

We reaffirm that the Old and New Testaments are the sufficient ground of our faith and practice and, under the experience of the Holy Spirit, we need no creed or confession.

We rededicate ourselves to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and call our entire denomination to the common task of sharing the whole gospel with the whole world. We call upon all American Baptist Churches to be welcoming communities of faith where every child of God is included. Individually we espouse soul freedom, endeavoring to live by the moral and ethical principles taught by Christ and revealed in scripture, realizing that God is the ultimate and sole judge of our thoughts and actions. As worshipping communities, we celebrate being worthy trustees of all of God's creation. We uphold freedom of religious expression, expect no conformity to any creed or binding confession, and strive for justice within all human relationships.

We affirm the denominational leadership that God has imparted to us who support our Baptist principles of soul freedom and local church autonomy and commit ourselves to be the "Bridge-Builders" that our General Secretary has called us to be.

IN SPANISH:

Nos afirmamos en que tanto Antiguo como Nuevo Testamentos son suficiente fundamento de nuestra fe y prácticas y que, interpretando éstos bajo la dirección del Espíritu Santo, no necesitamos de credo o confesión alguna.

Queremos dedicarnos en todo nuestro ser a Jesucristo como Señor y Salvador; y hacemos un llamado a todo nuestra denominación a colaborar en la misión común de compartir el Evangelio pleno con la totalidad del mundo. Hacemos un llamado a todas las congregaciones de las Iglesias Bautistas Americanas a ser comunidades de fe inclusivas, en las que todo hijo y toda hija de Dios se siento bienvenido y bienvenida. Individualmente abogamos por la libertad del ser humano, esforzándonos por vivir bajo los principios morales y éticos enseñados por Cristo y revelados en las Escrituras, entendiendo que Dios es juez único y final de nuestros pensamientos y acciones. Como comunidades de adoración, celebramos el ser dignos administradores y administradoras de toda la creación de Dios. Defendemos la libertad de expresiones religiosas, no esperamos conformarnos a ningún credo o confesión que nos ate de manera involuntaria y nos esforzamos por la justicia a través de y en todas las relaciones humanas.

Afirmamos el liderato denominational que Dios nos ha impartido, quienes apoyan nuestros principios Bautistas de libertad individual y la autonomía de la iglesia local, y nos comprometemos a ser los y las “constructoras de puentes” que nuestro Secretario General nos ha llamado a ser.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

The The Rochester Summit Affirmation Petition to All Concerned American Baptists was created by and written by A group of American Baptists gathered at the Summit at Rochester, NY - David Hess, web coordinator (cdavidhess@aol.com).  This petition is hosted here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no endorsement of this petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. For technical support please use our simple Petition Help form.

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