May 18^th is Baptist Heritage Sunday, a day which offers a chance to look back and reflect on our collective Baptist history.  From Roger Williams and his urging to keep church and state separate in early America, to Martin Luther King, Jr. and his dream of an America where individuals are judged on their abilities rather than their color, American Baptists have sought to positively influence their communities and their nation.

The American Baptist Historical Society has carried the flame of our legacy for over one hundred and fifty years and it gives me great pleasure to share with you a letter from Dr. Deborah Van Broekhoven, the Historical Society’s executive director.  I hope that her reflections will resonate with you as you think back on some aspect of our American Baptist heritage that finds importance in your own life.