Who We Are

Adopted April 10, 2021

We are a people of faith formed by a long tradition of dissent and historic Baptist freedoms. Celebrating this heritage, we seek to cultivate beloved community, claiming our identity within the body of Christ in the world and our solidarity with all creation. We welcome and affirm all persons with full respect to gender, sexual, racial, and ethnic identities. We hold space for all persons with varying abilities, social standing, or economic status.
 
We lament that over time many of us have contributed to systems of racial, social, economic, and environmental injustice, privileging some while excluding others. As Baptists we confess that we have cherished independence from one another more than responsibility to one another and have allowed systemic injustices to flourish under the banner of individual freedom. We repent and seek transformation.
 
Embraced in baptismal waters, we freely gather to follow the radical way of Jesus. As disciples we pledge to wrestle with scripture in community, practice shared leadership, preserve local church freedom, and promote religious liberty.
 
Guided by the Spirit, we commit ourselves to:
 
Make the worship of God central in our life together;
         Hold the earth sacred, practice creation justice, and
                     Pursue God’s peace and love;
Nurture spiritual formation and support theological education,
         Develop ministry, ecumenical, and interfaith partnerships, and
                     Cultivate relationships of mutual respect and accountability;
Act to dismantle systems of white supremacy, patriarchy, and abusive power,
         Raise prophetic voices for liberation and justice, and
                     Work to eradicate poverty in all forms;
Establish spaces of refuge and renewal with those who are wounded,
         Listen to and follow voices that have been silenced, and
                     Break down barriers that divide us from each other and creation.
 
We seek to live in joy, humility, and gratitude, welcoming the realm of God.

In 2018, work began to re-envision the covenant that guides the Alliance and this new covenant was adopted at the business meeting on April 10, 2021.  To read the founding covenant, click here. To read the current covenant in Spanish and Portuguese, click here.