Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America

“The board of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America, meeting in Fort Worth, Texas, Feb. 9-11, [1995] declared the organization a welcoming place for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered persons and pledged to work with them for their personal security and full equality.”  (Baptist Press, February 24, 1995)

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BPFNA Issues First Gay/Lesbian Statement

In February of 1993, the BPFNA released a “Statement on Lesbian and Gay Issues.”  This initial statement called on “churches to welcome lesbian and gay people as participants in the community of faith.”  But they lacked a “consensus” as to whether or not “sexual orientation and sexual expression of gay and lesbian people is sinful” or whether “gay and lesbian people [should be included] in positions of leadership in our churches.”  (Baptist Peacemaker/Spring1993, pg. 22)

BPFNA Issues Second Statement

In February of 1995, the BPFNA announced that it would be a “welcoming place for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered persons.” (Word & Way, March 9, 1995, pg. 2)  The 1995 “Statement on Gay and Lesbian Justice” stated in part:

The BPFNA board will take an active role at denominational meetings to oppose any resolutions which assault the integrity of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered persons and prevent them from becoming members of churches, being ordained, being credentialed for chaplaincy and pastoral counseling and being employed in denominational structures.  (emphasis ours)

The BPFNA board and staff will encourage local congregations to structure an open dialogue with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered persons and groups and also provide practical resources for their use.  (Attachment 2, Board Minutes Feb. 9-11, 1995)

American Baptists De-fund BPFNA:  A Third Statement Issued

In May of 1995, the BPFNA issued yet another statement entitled “Statement on Justice and Sexual Orientation.”  This statement was an effort to tone down the militant aspect of the previous statement which resulted in a loss of support—specifically, from the American Baptist Churches in the USA.  According to Baptist Today, a CBF-funded national newspaper, BPFNA executive director Ken Sehested said “American Baptist leaders took offense not primarily with the statement’s affirmation of gay and lesbian orientation, but with a sentence pledging to oppose denominational resolutions which attach homosexuals.”  (July 13, 1995, pg. 22)  According to Sehested, this new statement is a “refinement” of the February 1995 statement, “not a reversal.”  Sehested further noted that “inclusion of gays and lesbians [in Church life] is an issue of justice.”  (Baptist Peacemaker/Spring-Summer 1995, pg. 10)

CBF Funding of the BPFNA:  A Recent History

In 1995, after the BPFNA issued its statement in support of homosexuality, the CBF “discontinued regular funding,” but left “open the option of providing support to the Baptist Peace Fellowship on a project basis.”  (Fellowship News, July/August 1995, pg. 15 and also see March 1996, pg. 12)   However, despite the BPFNA’s extreme pro-homosexuality statement, the CBF continued to quietly fund the BPFNA as a non-budget item--$9,000 in 1996, a total of $2,000 more than the CBF took away in 1995.  According to an ABP article, the CBF Coordinating Council voted in its April 1997 meeting to re-establish funding ($8,000) for the BPFNA as a budget item.  The significance of this re-established relationship is that the CBF had “to make mid year budget cuts two years in a row” because of “plateaued income.”  (ABP, “Fellowship Coordinating Council projects modest budget growth,” April 21, 1997.  Also see Baptist Press article, “Momentum Stalled, CBF Board Discusses Growth Initiatives,” April 21, 1997)  Most recently, the CBF Coordinating Council approved in its February 1999 meeting over $11,000 in funding for the BPFNA.  It is also important to note that the BPFNA has never rescinded its pro-homosexuality statement.

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