There's a place for you at Village
Beloved Community Initiative
Village Baptist Church has become one of the most diverse churches in the Bowie area. While we celebrate this diversity, we also recognize that we have more work to do to become a “Beloved Community,” where each person feels valued, welcomed, and celebrated equally as a member of one common family.
For more information on the Beloved Community Initiative
FROM THE APRIL VILLAGE VOICE
Village Baptist Church aspires to become a “Beloved Community”. We are reminded of our commitment to this vision often, as we lovingly display our Beloved Community banner. The Village Baptist Church Covenant also provides a beautiful picture of the community we desire to build. To begin this work as a congregation, we will be having a retreat on May 15, 20211. The retreat will be the beginning of a dialogue about how to make Village stronger. It will take time, patience and love to make this work meaningful.
Dr. King once said that the most segregated hour of the week was Sunday at 11:00 AM. This is still true for so many people of faith and we should be proud that Village is a living, breathing example of how people from different walks of life can come together, share God’s love and commit to the work we are charged with as followers of Christ. While this is an example of a church community that should make us all proud, we would be remiss to not understand that many of the issues that came to bear so clearly in the Spring and Summer of 2020 affect every part of our society. Even a church like Village isn’t immune. Now is the time to move boldly toward that vision by no longer standing in silence as the nation reckons with our country’s shameful treatment of people of color. We accept our moral obligation to stand against racism, discrimination, bigotry, and prejudice and to engage in the fight for justice and righteousness.
Village Baptist Church has seen a tremendous amount of change over the course of the last decade, particularly in the last three years, with the retirement of our Senior Pastor, who served the church for 33 years, the departure of our Associate/Interim Pastor, and the arrival of our new Senior Pastor. Perhaps most notably, we now stand out as one of few churches in our community that truly reflects the racial diversity of Bowie. We celebrate this diversity, while at the same time recognizing that we have work to do to become a community where each person feels valued, welcomed, and celebrated equally as a member of one common family.
In order to take the first step towards living into this ideal Beloved Community, we recognize the importance of taking stock of where we are as a congregation through a process of conversation and storytelling. The last time we did this was over 20 years ago, as we were preparing to move into our new church building after the old one was destroyed in a fire. We need to take time to celebrate the ways we have lived into a Beloved Community in the past, wrestle with the ways in which we have not, and begin imagining who we want to be going forward.
Through a process of conversation facilitated by the Beloved Community Team, we will seek to address the topics above with as many church members as possible. This process of appreciative inquiry will allow the team to bring detailed notes from each conversation together and begin to lay out next steps based on the information gathered from the congregation. Keep an eye out for more information via weekly emails, announcements, and Pastor Emily’s sermons.
Village Baptist Church aspires to become a “Beloved Community”. We are reminded of our commitment to this vision often, as we lovingly display our Beloved Community banner. The Village Baptist Church Covenant also provides a beautiful picture of the community we desire to build. To begin this work as a congregation, we will be having a retreat on May 15, 20211. The retreat will be the beginning of a dialogue about how to make Village stronger. It will take time, patience and love to make this work meaningful.
Dr. King once said that the most segregated hour of the week was Sunday at 11:00 AM. This is still true for so many people of faith and we should be proud that Village is a living, breathing example of how people from different walks of life can come together, share God’s love and commit to the work we are charged with as followers of Christ. While this is an example of a church community that should make us all proud, we would be remiss to not understand that many of the issues that came to bear so clearly in the Spring and Summer of 2020 affect every part of our society. Even a church like Village isn’t immune. Now is the time to move boldly toward that vision by no longer standing in silence as the nation reckons with our country’s shameful treatment of people of color. We accept our moral obligation to stand against racism, discrimination, bigotry, and prejudice and to engage in the fight for justice and righteousness.
Village Baptist Church has seen a tremendous amount of change over the course of the last decade, particularly in the last three years, with the retirement of our Senior Pastor, who served the church for 33 years, the departure of our Associate/Interim Pastor, and the arrival of our new Senior Pastor. Perhaps most notably, we now stand out as one of few churches in our community that truly reflects the racial diversity of Bowie. We celebrate this diversity, while at the same time recognizing that we have work to do to become a community where each person feels valued, welcomed, and celebrated equally as a member of one common family.
In order to take the first step towards living into this ideal Beloved Community, we recognize the importance of taking stock of where we are as a congregation through a process of conversation and storytelling. The last time we did this was over 20 years ago, as we were preparing to move into our new church building after the old one was destroyed in a fire. We need to take time to celebrate the ways we have lived into a Beloved Community in the past, wrestle with the ways in which we have not, and begin imagining who we want to be going forward.
Through a process of conversation facilitated by the Beloved Community Team, we will seek to address the topics above with as many church members as possible. This process of appreciative inquiry will allow the team to bring detailed notes from each conversation together and begin to lay out next steps based on the information gathered from the congregation. Keep an eye out for more information via weekly emails, announcements, and Pastor Emily’s sermons.
For more information on the Beloved Community Faith Gathering
FROM THE APRIL VILLAGE VOICE
In this issue of the Voice, you will see an article from the Beloved Community Team, sharing information about the work we are doing and the upcoming retreat we invite each of you to participate in. Over the course of the next month and half leading up to the retreat, I also want to invite you on a journey of prayer and study for the life and fellowship of our church.
Throughout the month of April, we will have a Faith Gathering on Tuesday evenings at 7 p.m., on Zoom, during which we will explore our own church covenant as it relates to a biblical understanding of Beloved Community. Each week, we will dig deep into one section of the covenant to learn more about who we are as a church and how we can live more fully into the Beloved Community God called us to be. The Zoom information is included below.
In addition, we would like to ask you to pray for the church. Each week, we will commit to praying for a different aspect of our church covenant, asking God to show us how to lean more deeply into that part of our commitment to one another, and thanking God for the ways we have done so in the past. This year, Pentecost Sunday and the anniversary of Village Baptist Church’s incorporation fall on the same day, May 23. So, I am going to commit to stopping and praying for Village Baptist Church each week at 5:23 p.m., and I invite you to join me. Look out for prayer topics announced each week in worship, the weekly newsletter, and on facebook!
I’m excited for us to be able to engage in conversation, Bible study, and worship that will guide us as we step into life post-pandemic and recommit to our shared vision of being a true Beloved Community. I believe Village Baptist Church is one of the most beautiful faith communities I have ever been a part of, and I hope this work we do together will allow us to be a beacon for others as well.
In this issue of the Voice, you will see an article from the Beloved Community Team, sharing information about the work we are doing and the upcoming retreat we invite each of you to participate in. Over the course of the next month and half leading up to the retreat, I also want to invite you on a journey of prayer and study for the life and fellowship of our church.
Throughout the month of April, we will have a Faith Gathering on Tuesday evenings at 7 p.m., on Zoom, during which we will explore our own church covenant as it relates to a biblical understanding of Beloved Community. Each week, we will dig deep into one section of the covenant to learn more about who we are as a church and how we can live more fully into the Beloved Community God called us to be. The Zoom information is included below.
In addition, we would like to ask you to pray for the church. Each week, we will commit to praying for a different aspect of our church covenant, asking God to show us how to lean more deeply into that part of our commitment to one another, and thanking God for the ways we have done so in the past. This year, Pentecost Sunday and the anniversary of Village Baptist Church’s incorporation fall on the same day, May 23. So, I am going to commit to stopping and praying for Village Baptist Church each week at 5:23 p.m., and I invite you to join me. Look out for prayer topics announced each week in worship, the weekly newsletter, and on facebook!
I’m excited for us to be able to engage in conversation, Bible study, and worship that will guide us as we step into life post-pandemic and recommit to our shared vision of being a true Beloved Community. I believe Village Baptist Church is one of the most beautiful faith communities I have ever been a part of, and I hope this work we do together will allow us to be a beacon for others as well.