‘By God’s grace, may we be a people of hope!’

Freedom of Religion or Belief was a key theme at the 2019 Council of the European Baptist Federation (EBF), which also highlighted 'impulses of hope' across the region

Many members of the EBF are based in countries which impose restrictions on religious freedom and this was reflected at the latest Council, where two sessions and seminars were devoted to the issue. Members heard directly from Baptists in affected countries such as Iraq, Serbia, Bulgaria and Ukraine, as well as Baptist politicians involved in enacting legislation. Baptist World Alliance General Secretary Elijah Brown, a long-time religious freedom campaigner, brought a global perspective.

The Council concluded with a new resolution on Freedom of Religion or Belief, which emphasised how this is a continuing concern: this was the fifth resolution on the subject in 12 years, and the fourth in the last three. (scroll down for a more detailed report).

The resolutions help member unions strengthen their advocacy work, and General Secretary Tony Peck encouraged all Baptists to draw from our shared heritage and campaign on the issue. ‘We Baptists follow Thomas Helwys in advocating freedom of religion for all – we have a great contribution to make.’ He added that it is surprising how sometimes ‘we discover hope in Christ strongest among those who are suffering for their faith.’
 
A further resolution on Climate Change was issued at the end of the gathering, which took place in Glasgow, Scotland in the 150th anniversary year of the Baptist Union of Scotland. A record number of delegates - around 170, from more than 40 Unions - gathered to discuss the work of the EBF, whose region also encompasses the Middle East and Central Asia as well as Europe.

This year's Council also saw the induction of new EBF President Meego Remmel, from Estonia, who succeeds British Baptist minister Jenni Entrican after her two year term ended (pictured).


 
It also marked the end of the first Transform, the EBF's younger leaders' programme: six men and five women participated in the two year programme which offered growth in Christian discipleship, character and leadership skills in an international setting.  



 

Six ‘impulses of hope’ across EBF – message from General Secretary

 
There are several ways Baptists are bringing the hope of the gospel to a troubled region - and God is calling us to further develop these impulses of hope.

That was the message from EBF General Secretary Tony Peck at the 2019 Council. We are living in a period of ‘polarisation and fragmentation’ across our political landscape, Tony told delegates in his opening address.
 
We also continue to be challenged by issues of migration across Europe, where the reluctance to welcome the migrant, refugee and asylum seeker has fuelled 'a nationalistic rhetoric of exclusivism that reminds some commentators of the build up to the dark days of the 1930s and 1940s'. Conflict in the Middle East continues and peace there is ‘always fragile’.
 
Tony said he drew attention to these features of our region ‘not to deliberately paint a gloomy picture’ but to remind us that ‘this is the context in which we live and seek to witness to our faith in the Risen Lord Jesus Christ who has overcome the worst that evil can do.’
 
Baptists are bringing the hope of the gospel to the region, Tony said, outlining six ‘impulses of hope’ that he believes we are making. Though not an exhaustive list, these are things that are happening already ‘that perhaps God is calling us to develop further.’
 
1 A renewed emphasis on life-long discipleship 
In some of our Unions and member churches there is a renewed emphasis on forming life-long disciples, Tony said. We should never stop being learning disciples, ‘because that is what the word means.’
 
2 A renewed willingness to be risk-takers for the sake of the Gospel
God is continuing to call us onwards to 'take the unchanging Gospel of Jesus Christ in to a changing context.' And for some, that means thinking outside the box of the institutional church, encouraging those whom we sometimes call pioneers to engage in new frontiers for the Gospel and Gospel mission.
 
3 A renewed concern to truly love the stranger and our neighbour 
‘I have seen the results of what happens when God’s people truly reach out in love to the stranger and the refugee,’ said Tony, citing examples in Lebanon and Vienna, Austria. ‘Such a reflection of God’s love imprints itself on the minds of those who are vulnerable and homeless and in many cases speaks to them of a God who love them and a Saviour who can be theirs.’
 
4 A renewed commitment to peace and reconciliation in place of conflict 
'Whenever I travel to the Middle East,' said Tony, 'I am stuck by the efforts made by Baptists and other believers to stand in the gap between opposing violence and hatreds, and unequivocally follow the follow Jesus in advocating for peace and non-violence as part of their witness.
 
5 A renewed concern to be good stewards of the God’s creation in which he has set us. 
'Surely we of all people should be at the forefront of concern about what is happening to our planet, and be first among those who argue for its responsible stewardship and the careful use of its resources,' noted Tony. (Click here for the 2019 EBF resolution on climate change.) 
 
6 A renewed confidence and hope in God 
Our ‘greatest challenge’, said Tony, is to retain our hope and confidence in the living God ‘when sometimes the signs seem to be to the contrary’. He said Baptists bring the hope of the gospel to those two words ‘polarisation and fragmentation’ that characterise so much of our region of Europe and the Middle East today. Let us not get caught up with lesser that might distract us.

Citing Romans 5, Tony concluded, ‘By God’s grace, may we be a people of hope!’

 

Forum on Religious Freedom

 
A two-part forum on Religious Freedom took place on the Friday of the 2019 Council. The first featured addresses from Baptists involved in advocacy on the issue. Valeriu Ghiletchi, a recent member of the Moldovan Parliament and of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, gave an insight into his involvement in six Council of Europe resolutions, three of which related to freedom of religion. During one he gave an account of the 'humiliating' restrictions he had endured growing up in the Soviet era – a personal testimony which swung a tight vote.

Freedom of religion is ‘a complex issue that affects us all,’ he said. While Governments don’t always listen, he continued, ‘I believe these resolutions from the Council of Europe are important.'
 
John Mason, a member of the Scottish Parliament and a former Westminster MP, addressed the forum. John is a member of Easterhouse Baptist Church, and chairs the Cross-Party Group on Freedom of Religion or Belief. He had first hand experience of religious freedom restrictions while serving as a mission worker in Nepal in the 1980s. The Cross-Party Group meets four times a year and tends to focus on different faith groups. In recent times it had written to the Pakistan ambassador about treatment of Christians in Pakistan, and the BBC about its representation on Radio 4. John said that one of his hopes was to see a closer working together of Christian groups in this field.
 
Elijah Brown, General Secretary of the Baptist World Alliance, also addressed the panel. Elijah is a specialist in human rights and religious liberty, having helped to launch the 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative, a religious liberty advocacy agency, and later becoming its executive vice president and CEO. Religiously motivated discrimination and harassment were on the increase for all faiths, he said. ‘The trend is quite clear.’
 
One aspect of this growth centred around 'the intersection of technology and human rights and personal identity.' Elijah gave examples of how technology had been used to restrict Baptists: one pastor in the EBF region was fined after posting an invitation to an Easter service.

There were positive implications and negative ramifications about technology, Elijah said. It is here to stay, but it needs more Christians to highlight the ethical concerns, otherwise the ‘Googles and the Facebooks’ will be setting the ethical parameters.
 
Elijah also spoke of a new area of research which suggests that the more a country restricts religious freedom, the more it is working against its economic interest of its own country. Each church has a social and economic footprint, he argued. If you give decision makers information about this social and economic impact, it will ‘allow them to articulate policies that further religious freedom.’
 
The second part of the forum saw members who are living in countries that restrict freedom of religion share their stories. Testimonies were shared from Ukraine (in the eastern, occupied territories), Serbia, Bulgaria and Iraq.
 
Christer Daelender, who has long led the EBF’s ministry in this area, spoke of the importance of international relations with those whose freedoms are restricted. The EBF also works to train local leaders, as well as contacting national authorities to advocate for minorities.

Not tied to a legal system, the EBF also offers a ‘diplomatic voice’, said Kieryn Wurts the EBF Research Assistant in Freedom of Religion and Belief. The EBF has in recent years filed reports on Kyrgyzstan, Turkey and Egypt, and has representation on the United Nations.
 
‘We keep running into the same anxiety – where did democracy go?,' she said. 'There is much concern for human rights.
 
‘We need to stand up at local, national and international – and speak with clarity: freedom of religion and belief for all.’
 
Christer is stepping away from this work, and received a standing ovation. Tony said he had been a pioneer, who 'really helped us to up our game on religious freedom.'
 
The EBF released a new resolution on Freedom of Religion and Belief, building on its resolutions of recent years. Shayla Merivale, minister of Wincanton Baptist Church, chaired the Resolutions' committee.