More than a quarter million pledged for BJC's Center for Religious Liberty

October 6, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON, D.C. — To mark its 70th anniversary, the Baptist Joint Committee has launched a campaign to raise $5 million to fund a Center for Religious Liberty on Capitol Hill.

At the Oct. 3 Capitol Hill dinner launching the campaign, Jeffrey Haggray, executive director/minister of the DC Baptist Convention and chair of the Baptist Joint Committee board, announced that the BJC board had pledged nearly $250,000 with an additional $50,000 from other sources. The campaign also boasts 100 percent BJC staff participation.

The campaign theme, "Our Challenge — Their Future: Securing Religious Liberty for Our Children and Grandchildren," highlights the importance of instilling an appreciation of that historic Baptist principle in the next generation.

Plans call for the Center to be located near the U.S. Capitol and Supreme Court and to serve as the nerve center for the BJC's activities in Washington. The Center will provide meeting space for BJC coalition partners and serve as a state-of-the-art training center for youth, seminary students and pastors to prepare them to better advocate for religious liberty.

Reginald McDonough, former executive director of the Baptist General Association of Virginia and chair of the campaign steering committee, said the Center will play a vital role in the protection of the first freedom for generations to come.

"If we really are serious about the idea of moving to a new level of education and communication, we need to have a spot where we can say, 'This is the Baptist Center for Religious Liberty.'"

Brent Walker, executive director of the BJC, expressed confidence in the ability to raise funds and stressed the importance of the campaign for the future of the BJC and its mission.

"The cause is just. The plan is good. The timing is right, and the preservation of religious liberty is too important to do anything less."

The yearlong campaign is slated to culminate with the BJC's 70th anniversary celebration in October 2006.

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