VALLEY FORGE, PA (ABNS 7/8/16)—A Call to Prayer has been issued to American Baptists by the ABC National Executive Council, including: Susan Gillies, interim general secretary of American Baptist Churches USA, Jeffrey Haggray, executive director of American Baptist Home Mission Societies, Virginia Holmstrom, executive director of American Baptist Women’s Ministries, Reid Trulson, executive director of International Ministries, and Louis Barbarin, chief executive officer of MMBB Financial Services.

In this painful summer, we call American Baptists to a season of prayer for those who have been affected by senseless acts of violence in cities here and across the world, as well as impacted by natural disasters. While we grieve the loss of life and livelihood for those directly affected, all brothers and sisters in Christ share the burden of helping, healing, and finding hope.

We encourage American Baptists to set aside time to pray for God’s mercy to prevail and for each of us to have courage to respond as we are able.

American Baptist Churches USA is one of the most diverse Christian denominations today, with over 5,200 local congregations comprised of 1.3 million members, across the United States and Puerto Rico, all engaged in God’s mission around the world.