The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 5
From The Board & sTaFF
Jesus was in the Borderlands. How do we change our
current way of thinking to become more Christ-like in our
work and relationships?
* Putting extra effort in learning Spanish and providing
support for board and staff members to learn Spanish to
make the bilingual/multilingual dream become reality.
Our definition of peacemaking
* Becoming more open to taking risks financially and
learning to function from a mentality of abundance.
Are we inviting people from the Borderlands to simply be in the room
or actually offering them a seat at the table?
Our definition of peacemaking frames the work we do
and our mentality around it. Over the past few years
we have become more intentional in our work and are
able to more accurately assess and name our complicity
in White Supremacy. In the training, we began to ask
ourselves if Bautistas por la Paz has maintained a view
of peacemaking that is in itself a construction of the
dominant Center.
We explored whether we reinforce the Center by:
* Inviting people from the Borderlands in, but pushing
back if "the way it's always been done" is challenged.
* Failing to question the Centered assumption that
"progress" means bringing people from the Borderlands
into the Center.
* Imposing our version of peacemaking rather than offering
a vision that inspires people to want to join the work.
* Prioritizing who we may lose over considering who we
may be making space for.
* Operating from a North American business model when
it comes to allocating funds.
* Partnering with organizations that reinforce our
worldview instead of challenging it.
* Creating a more regional focus to organize, bring
BPFNA closer to people, and better hear the voices of
those in the Borderlands.
* Understanding that we may lose some people, but being
open to those god calls us to be in relationship with.
* Developing a willingness to reprioritize responsibilities
even if it means not doing something we feel is important.
* Implementing significant changes to programming
like Summer Conference to make them more genuinely
accessible, inclusive and welcoming.
* Examining our staff and board structure to make room at
the table for more people from the Borderlands to have a
voice in leadership and decision-making.
This analysis left us with much to consider. As a
result, we will establish an ad hoc board committee to
process the information and develop concrete ideas to
move us forward. I also invite you to become part of the
conversation in transforming BPFNA ~ Bautistas por
la Paz into the anti-racist, multicultural, multilingual
organization we imagine for ourselves.
-Allison Paksoy is the Communications Manager for BPFNA ~
Bautistas por la Paz.
* Creating programs that prioritize people in the Center.
(For example, Summer Conference is a
big-time investment, it's costly, it's mostly
in English, and it's only accessible for
those with sufficient resources of time and
money.)
Implications for
Change
Our leaders from Crossroads were
refreshingly honest about their own slow
shift as an organization; a process they
say has taken the past 15 years. As we
take further steps on our own journey, we
imagine such work as:
* Considering how we might shift the
focus to multiple new centers.
* Moving closer to new partners and
learning more deeply how to be good
allies.
Baptist Peacemaker
jul-sep 2017
5
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017
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The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - No label
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 2
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 3
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 4
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 5
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 6
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 7
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 8
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 9
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 10
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 11
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 12
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 13
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 14
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 15
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The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 17
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The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 27
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The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 30
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 31
The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America July-September 2017 - 32
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/peacemaker/38-1
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/peacemaker/37-4
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/peacemaker/37-3
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/peacemaker/37-2
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/peacemaker/37-1
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/peacemaker/36-3
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/peacemaker/36-2
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/peacemaker/36-1
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/peacemaker/35-4
http://www.brightcopy.net/allen/peacemaker/35-3
https://www.nxtbook.com/allen/peacemaker/35-2
https://www.nxtbook.com/allen/peacemaker/35-1
https://www.nxtbook.com/allen/peacemaker/34-4
https://www.nxtbook.com/allen/peacemaker/34-3
https://www.nxtbook.com/allen/peacemaker/34-2
https://www.nxtbook.com/allen/peacemaker/34-1
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com