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Peace Vigil in downtown Rome
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During the peace vigil people spoke and prayed from the balcony of the Italian Baptist Union offices
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Worship was a highlight at the conference
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Victor Rembeth from Indonesia leading in prayer
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Gustavo Parajon from Nicaragua spoke about needing to have a voice
Journal from Dan Buttry
Rome, Italy—February 2009
“Let me speak!” That was the message that spoke most powerfully to me during the Global Baptist Peace Conference held in Rome, Italy February 9-14, 2009. The message was not delivered in a plenary message or sermon. It was not on the program. Rather this message erupted during a question and answer period following the plenary presentation of Gustavo Parajon. Rev. Sini Ngindu Bindanda, a Baptist pastor from Congo who is now pastoring an immigrant church in Milan got up to ask a question, but he began with a long statement about the war in Congo. He was very well spoken, but clearly was not speaking directly to Gustavo's presentation. The moderator finally tried to cut him off and press for the question, even approaching for the microphone, but the Congolese pastor said, "Let me speak." He was proud, gentle yet insistent. He continued on determined to say what he wanted to say. Finally the moderator gave up and let him finish. After Rev. Bindanda concluded, Gustavo responded that one of the important things for people from small countries (perhaps small in terms of global power, not necessarily geographic size) is the need to find a voice. This Congolese pastor raised his voice and was determined to have his say. What he said was something we needed to hear as the war in Congo is the bloodiest since World War II yet gets very little attention. He was a voice for the millions of voiceless from one of the most marginalized places on the planet.
Raising the voices from the margins was an important part of our experience in Rome. My wife Sharon and I led a session that included teaching on the theme of “Mainstream and Margin” as well as the Bible study on Rizpah in 2 Samuel 21 in which Rizpah raised her voice through a nonviolent action from an incredibly marginalized position. At the conference we heard stories from places like Morocco, Zimbabwe, Nagaland, Angola, and US prisons. We had sermons from a clergy couple from Cuba and a powerful sermon about violence against women. The voices kept coming from the margins with compelling prophetic messages.
On Friday all the conference participants went to downtown Rome. After a few hours of touring on our own we all gathered back at the headquarters of the Italian Baptist Union for a demonstration. We made a large circle in the piazza in front of the Baptist union offices. We wore rainbow-colored pinafores with signs about the various wars going on around the planet and the number killed in each conflict as well as quotes from people like Jesus, Gandhi and King. Those pinafores reflected the rainbow flags with “PACE” on them (pace is Italian for peace) that fly at the doors or balconies of many Italian homes and churches. During the demonstration as people walked through the piazza folks stood on the balcony outside the Baptist union office to read facts about the wars, then we had prayers from people from Uganda, Congo, Palestine and other war torn lands. Again the voices were raised from the margins, this time in public prayer.
The importance of the voice being heard was experienced again in our worship service on that Friday night which took place at the Waldensian Church downtown immediately following the public peace vigil. After closing the vigil singing “We Shall Overcome,” we walked to the church for a 3-hour service with incredible music, a sermon from Ken Sehested and communion. But the telling moment came in the prayers of the people. The Italians had organized a number of people from various countries to pray in their own languages followed by a sung response from the congregation. People from Zimbabwe, Cuba, Nepal, Italy, Congo and the US (my friend and neighbor Ken Flowers of the Greater New Mt. Moriah Baptist Church) were among those praying. It was time to end and the music leader started to move to the next song, but a man from Nigeria insisted on praying, and so he led in a prayer, then another from Uganda, then another. It was a beautiful moment of the Spirit moving the margins to speak, empowering the margins to take their holy place before God's mercy seat and plead about the horrors and hopes of their countries. I was moved to tears at the power of having one’s voice for these dear friends.
There is so much to share about the conference. I encourage you to go to our website in a couple weeks to see some of the presentations, pictures and videos so you can share a bit in the conference: www.globalbaptistpeace.org.
I deeply appreciate the partnership of many of you in this Global Baptist Peace Conference. Some of you were with us in Rome. Many of you prayed individually or in your churches. Many of you gave to support the scholarships that enabled people from the margins to attend the conference. International Ministries supported the conference with many missionaries attending and providing leadership development grants so that many of our international partners could attend, particularly women.
These are financially difficult times in the United States and in many of our churches. I deeply appreciate all you do to support me in my peacemaking ministry with International Ministries. If you want to give to keep these ministries going in a strong and vibrant manner, then either visit the IM website’s giving page: http://www.internationalministries.org/give (I’m on the pull-down menu under “Global Consultants”) or send a check to International Ministries, P.O. Box 851, Valley Forge, PA 19482, noted “For on-going support of Dan Buttry.” Thank you for your partnership in global mission!
Peace,
Dan
Rome, Italy—February 2009
“Let me speak!” That was the message that spoke most powerfully to me during the Global Baptist Peace Conference held in Rome, Italy February 9-14, 2009. The message was not delivered in a plenary message or sermon. It was not on the program. Rather this message erupted during a question and answer period following the plenary presentation of Gustavo Parajon. Rev. Sini Ngindu Bindanda, a Baptist pastor from Congo who is now pastoring an immigrant church in Milan got up to ask a question, but he began with a long statement about the war in Congo. He was very well spoken, but clearly was not speaking directly to Gustavo's presentation. The moderator finally tried to cut him off and press for the question, even approaching for the microphone, but the Congolese pastor said, "Let me speak." He was proud, gentle yet insistent. He continued on determined to say what he wanted to say. Finally the moderator gave up and let him finish. After Rev. Bindanda concluded, Gustavo responded that one of the important things for people from small countries (perhaps small in terms of global power, not necessarily geographic size) is the need to find a voice. This Congolese pastor raised his voice and was determined to have his say. What he said was something we needed to hear as the war in Congo is the bloodiest since World War II yet gets very little attention. He was a voice for the millions of voiceless from one of the most marginalized places on the planet.
Raising the voices from the margins was an important part of our experience in Rome. My wife Sharon and I led a session that included teaching on the theme of “Mainstream and Margin” as well as the Bible study on Rizpah in 2 Samuel 21 in which Rizpah raised her voice through a nonviolent action from an incredibly marginalized position. At the conference we heard stories from places like Morocco, Zimbabwe, Nagaland, Angola, and US prisons. We had sermons from a clergy couple from Cuba and a powerful sermon about violence against women. The voices kept coming from the margins with compelling prophetic messages.
On Friday all the conference participants went to downtown Rome. After a few hours of touring on our own we all gathered back at the headquarters of the Italian Baptist Union for a demonstration. We made a large circle in the piazza in front of the Baptist union offices. We wore rainbow-colored pinafores with signs about the various wars going on around the planet and the number killed in each conflict as well as quotes from people like Jesus, Gandhi and King. Those pinafores reflected the rainbow flags with “PACE” on them (pace is Italian for peace) that fly at the doors or balconies of many Italian homes and churches. During the demonstration as people walked through the piazza folks stood on the balcony outside the Baptist union office to read facts about the wars, then we had prayers from people from Uganda, Congo, Palestine and other war torn lands. Again the voices were raised from the margins, this time in public prayer.
The importance of the voice being heard was experienced again in our worship service on that Friday night which took place at the Waldensian Church downtown immediately following the public peace vigil. After closing the vigil singing “We Shall Overcome,” we walked to the church for a 3-hour service with incredible music, a sermon from Ken Sehested and communion. But the telling moment came in the prayers of the people. The Italians had organized a number of people from various countries to pray in their own languages followed by a sung response from the congregation. People from Zimbabwe, Cuba, Nepal, Italy, Congo and the US (my friend and neighbor Ken Flowers of the Greater New Mt. Moriah Baptist Church) were among those praying. It was time to end and the music leader started to move to the next song, but a man from Nigeria insisted on praying, and so he led in a prayer, then another from Uganda, then another. It was a beautiful moment of the Spirit moving the margins to speak, empowering the margins to take their holy place before God's mercy seat and plead about the horrors and hopes of their countries. I was moved to tears at the power of having one’s voice for these dear friends.
There is so much to share about the conference. I encourage you to go to our website in a couple weeks to see some of the presentations, pictures and videos so you can share a bit in the conference: www.globalbaptistpeace.org.
I deeply appreciate the partnership of many of you in this Global Baptist Peace Conference. Some of you were with us in Rome. Many of you prayed individually or in your churches. Many of you gave to support the scholarships that enabled people from the margins to attend the conference. International Ministries supported the conference with many missionaries attending and providing leadership development grants so that many of our international partners could attend, particularly women.
These are financially difficult times in the United States and in many of our churches. I deeply appreciate all you do to support me in my peacemaking ministry with International Ministries. If you want to give to keep these ministries going in a strong and vibrant manner, then either visit the IM website’s giving page: http://www.internationalministries.org/give (I’m on the pull-down menu under “Global Consultants”) or send a check to International Ministries, P.O. Box 851, Valley Forge, PA 19482, noted “For on-going support of Dan Buttry.” Thank you for your partnership in global mission!
Peace,
Dan