The Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America announced April 7 its Summer Conference will be going virtual in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The annual event was to be held July 6-10 in San Diego, California.
But the spread of the deadly disease necessitated the change of plans.
“We’re concentrating our energy into transforming this gathering, taking advantage of the available technology,” BPFNA explained. “So stay tuned, we’ll be back with more details soon.”
The announcement echoed recent news that the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship plans to move its June 24-26 General Assembly online. It was to be held in downtown Atlanta, Georgia.
These actions are among many by religious groups to cancel, reschedule or re-imagine major get-togethers.
The Baptist World Alliance announced March 27 its decision to push back its World Congress – held every five years – by one year. It will still be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2021.
The Alliance of Baptists and the Southern Baptist Convention were among those to cancel scheduled annual meetings.
BPFNA-Bautistas por la Paz, as the organization is also known, said going online was a difficult-but-necessary decision to prevent its members from gathering in person.
“As you know, we began preparing for this year’s Summer Conference a few months ago, very eagerly because we know it symbolizes the core of our organization,” the organization said in its announcement. “It’s a space where we share, connect and reconnect, plan, learn, embrace, renew and bless each other.”
But the emphasis must be on coming together “without jeopardizing our health.”
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