It is a time of year when it is easy to get discouraged, short dark days, cold weather, gray skies. The sweet story of the baby born in the manger is followed by the horrific story of babies killed and mothers crying. That story echoes in our world today, where too many Afghan, Iraqi and American families cry over lives lost in wars and violence. And yet, at this time of the turning of the year, do you also feel a time of hope? I hope and yearn for changes—that in the new year we can pursue the things that make for peace; we can heal wounded bodies and souls; we can pass laws that help the workers instead of the corporations; we can feed the hungry and clothe the naked; we can listen to the visions of our old women & men and hear the dreams of the young folks. Do you yearn for these things, too? Our work with the Alliance is part of this hope, part of this yearning.

This last week I joined the officers and the Leadership Team of the Alliance of Baptists as we looked back at 2010 and made plans for 2011. As with most Alliance meetings, it was filled with raucous laughter as well as quieter moments of worship and meditation. We were encouraged by your support of the Alliance in 2010. Although the books for 2010 were not closed as we met, we knew the Alliance of Baptists was close to ending the year without a deficit.     

Thanks to generous support from Alliance friends and congregations, we offered Summer Communities of Service for the first time in 2010. This program, a successful partnership with the United Churches of Christ, placed college-age young people in six settings—three of which were with Alliance churches—where they worked in a variety of social justice programs. Summer Communities of Service in 2010 was successful both for the students and the communities in which they served!    

In 2011, we have more dreams than dollars! Can you join me in giving to the Alliance to help make these dreams come true in 2011?  
1. Continue to provide support to Alliance chaplains and clergy in a variety of ways and settings.
2. Plan more Alliance gatherings—both meetings for renewal and challenge as well for outreach so our      beloved organization can grow.
3. Start work on our vision of a resource where high quality progressive Baptist curriculum, hymns, litanies and other material can be gathered together in an on-line site.
4. Continue to inform our membership about all the good work happening in our Alliance churches and invite others to join us in being a clear voice for Baptist principles, freedoms and traditions.
5. Offer (again!) Summer Communities of Service as an opportunity for college-aged young people to serve in sites where they can side with those who are oppressed.
6. Support mission and ministry partners in Atlanta, Washington, Asheville, Indianapolis, Raleigh, Decatur, New York City, Little Rock, Charlotte, Waco and Chicago; and around the world in Cuba, Zimbabwe, Brazil,
Nicaragua, Mexico, El Salvador, Republic of Georgia, Bethlehem, Palestine, Morocco and Ghana.
7. Provide nurture and support to seminary students who are seeking a progressive Baptist organization that encourages servant leadership in the church and demonstrates that by equity and collegiality among our own staff.

At this time of Epiphany, as we celebrate the light of the Baby Jesus coming into the darkness of this world, let’s join together and support the light offered through the Alliance of Baptists to this world yearning for our message of peace, love, justice and righteousness. I invite you to join me in supporting all the good work of the Alliance of Baptists in 2011 with your financial gifts, with your prayers, with your own dreams and visions in the places where you are doing God’s good work in this broken and hurting world.