Baptist Briefs: Relief bound for Cuba

Baptist relief bound for Cuba. Southern Baptists are sending two containers of relief supplies to Cuba to help victims of Hurricanes Gustav and Ike rebuild their homes and lives. An agreement negotiated with the U.S. and Cuban governments allows a container of building supplies and food to be sent to both of Cuba’s Baptist conventions—eastern and western. Assessment teams of representatives of the Southern Baptist International Mission Board, Florida Baptist Convention and Baptist Global Response toured opposite ends of Cuba, evaluating needs and discussing possible responses with Cuban government officials. Hurricane Gustav wreaked havoc on western Cuba; Hurricane Ike ravaged the eastern end of the island. Estimates of the damage range as high as $5 billion.

History archives reunited at Mercer. Scholars and history buffs who want to learn more about Baptist history now can do so in one place. The American Baptist Historical Society dedicated the Samuel Colgate Historical Library and Archives on Mercer University’s Atlanta campus recently, bringing its vast collections previously housed at Valley Forge, Pa., and Rochester, N.Y., under one roof. The building also is the new home for the Baptist History and Heritage Society, successor to the former Southern Baptist Historical Commission. In addition, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship has announced plans to move into the building, formerly home to the Georgia Baptist Convention offices.

Allen rejoins ABP as senior writer. Veteran Baptist journalist Bob Allen has returned to Associated Baptist Press to fill a newly created senior writer position. It will be Allen’s second stint with the independent news agency, which he served for a decade as news editor. Since 2003, he has been managing editor of EthicsDaily.com, the news-and-opinion outlet of the Nashville-based Baptist Center for Ethics. Allen, a native of Marion, Ill., holds a journalism degree from the University of Southern Illinois and a master of divinity degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He will work out of a home office in suburban Nashville, Tenn. Allen and his wife, Vicki, have two adult children—Patrick, 22; and Amy, 19. He is a member of First Baptist Church of Murfreesboro, Tenn.

Goats graze on seminary grounds. Four hundred goats descended recently on the 120-acre campus of Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary in Mill Valley, Calif., grazing on 50 acres of steep, grassy hillsides. The school saved about $5,000 in labor and materials by contracting with Goats-R-Us, said Robert Dvorak, the seminary’s facilities management director. That does not include the medical treatment and loss of work time staff could have incurred after using mowers and line trimmers on steep terrain where poison oak grows.

CBF partners observe 9/11 with community service. Twenty Cooperative Baptist Fellowship partner congregations and organizations participated in this year’s 11-on-11 day of service, held on and around Sept. 11. Facilitated by Current, CBF’s young-leaders’ network, the mission projects offered a constructive way for CBF supporters to make a difference in their communities and honor the memory of lives lost as a result of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center towers in New York and on the Pentagon.