Mae La Fire: Word has come through the Baptist Peace Fellowship as well as International Ministries of a devastating fire in the Mae La Refugee Camp in Thailand near the Thai-Myanmar (Burma) border which completely destroyed the well-known Kawthoolei Karen Baptist Bible School and College, a church and other buildings. The Bible School and College, which had been founded in 1983 in the Karen state within Myanmar (Burma), was moved to the refugee camp across the border into Thailand when the long-standing civil war between the Karen people and the Burmese government escalated in the area in 1990, and it has been operating in the refugee camp for the past 22 years. The buildings in this camp which is meant to be "temporary" are constructed almost entirely of bamboo, wood and thatch (actually similar to village construction in much of village Myanmar), and so the fire spread quickly and consumed nearly everything in its path. Actual video of the fire and of people forming bucket brigades to throw water and people stripping the thatch roofing from adjacent buildings to prevent the spread of the fire can be seen on Facebook. Dan Buttry, who has participated in meetings at the Bible School and taught there, has appealed to concerned people around the world for prayer and for financial assistance for those affected. At the Forum on Sunday, May 6, Julie Warner, while speaking about her experience leading a peace tour group in Myanmar and Thailand on behalf of the Baptist Peace Fellowship, mentioned having visited this refugee camp, staying overnight at the school, and meeting with the leaders and students there. Her slides included photos of the school buildings. We would request that the Karen refugees in the camp and the faculty and students of the Karen Baptist Bible School and College be remembered and upheld in prayer. To make a donation, please make your check out to UBC, memo line "Mae La Refugee Camp fire, One Great Hour of Sharing", or go to http://www.abc-oghs.org/.
For more information: http://karennews.org/2012/04/breaking-news-fire-at-mae-la-refugee-camp.html/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6fo4wOMDEDQ

Lu and Bob Carman 

This month is designated as Peace Month on our UBC calendar of special mission offerings. Your offerings will support two organizations: The Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America (BFPNA) and Woman Against Military Madness (WAMM) and also support the Peace and Reconciliation Ministry of Dan Buttry through American Baptist International Ministries.

The BFPNA equips and mobilizes Baptists to build a culture of peace rooted in justice. Two projects are the quarterly journal Peacemaker and the annual Summer Peace Conference. In a recent Peacemaker,  there are articles about peacemaking in Chiapas, Mexico and Chocolate companies and child labor. This year the Summer Conference will be here in Minnesota at St. Olaf College, Northfield MN. The theme is One Heart, One Soul, Building Communities That Work. This conference gives you an opportunity to meet fellow peacemakers, attend biblical study and hear special conference leaders.

Women Against Military Madness is a nonviolent, feminist organization that works with others to empower and educate women through a system of social equality, self-determination and justice. WAMM’S purpose is to dismantle systems of militarism, economic exploitation and global oppression. WAMM originated here in Minnesota. For more information, visit their website: wamm.org.

Dan Buttry fulfills one of the goals of American Baptist International Ministries (IM) to help people to pursue peace, justice, and reconciliation through ministries of education and conflict transformation as well as by standing with and serving the victims of conflicts. Dan is an IM global consultant working with IM missionaries, national church partners and other leaders in conflict situations. In a recent letter he wrote: “Greetings again from the beautiful mountainous country of Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia.  I was here in February of last year.  This year I was invited back to both build on what we did last time and do a special workshop for people coming from various Central Asian countries.” He said there are three major conflicts: political, ethnic, and persecution of Protestant minority by the Muslin majority.

Please support the peace work of Dan Buttry, The Baptist Peace Fellowship and WAMM. Use the envelopes provided in the pew racks.                    
- Vicki Wilson