Baptists to tackle controversial social and political issues

-29/4/04

A range of social and political hot potatoes including asylum, debt and Islam are all set to come under the spotlight at what could be a controversial Baptist Assembly this year at Cardiff.

On the final morning of the Assembly, a Public Resolution Session will debate the Baptist Assembly's response to the Government's Domestic Violence Crime and Victims' Bill, personal debt in the UK and the 2004 Asylum and Immigration Bill.

Twenty-one seminars and twenty-four special interest group meetings are planned, covering a variety of topics relevant to the church and society, from coping as a parent to producing a good church newsletter.

Three seminars will look at how Jesus relates to Islam and there will be a workshop on combating stress.

Stephen Rand, Co-Chair of Jubilee Debt Campaign will advise Baptist churches on how to take action to reduce world debt and increase fair trade.

Joel Edwards, General Director of the Evangelical Alliance will open the Assembly with a keynote address on 'The Challenges of the Church'.

Other speakers include Anna Maffei, Vice President of the Baptist Evangelical Union of Italy and Dr Billy Kim, President of the Baptist World Alliance, who hold their World Congress next year in Birmingham.

The Assembly is the annual gathering of British Baptists, arranged jointly by the Baptist Union of Great Britain (BUGB) and BMS World Mission. It will be held for the second time at the Cardiff International Arena.

Nearly 3000 people representing Baptist churches across the country are expected to attend the event, which runs through the Bank Holiday weekend from Friday 30 April to Monday 3 May.

During the weekend, Peter Manson and Martin Hodson will also be inducted as President of the Baptist Union of Great Britain and BMS World Mission respectively.