Welcome to the Canadian Association for Baptist Freedoms!
We seek to be a safe and welcoming environment in which Baptists can share all concerns and points of view without fear of being marginalised.
The CABF is a Canada-wide fellowship composed of both individuals and Churches. Currently, we have 17 member Churches located in Nova Scotia, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. We have individual members from Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. We are open to receiving new members from any province or territory - click here for details.
Our Vision: Baptists freely seeking, living, sharing and celebrating justice, peace and love under the lordship of Christ.
Our Mission: We encourage and support churches, pastors, and other individuals to understand and affirm Baptist freedoms as they express their faith.
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The 2024 CABF Cross Canada Conference
UNDERWAY!
Click on the the image below to learn more
The second annual CABF Cross Canada Conference will be held on October 28 - 31, 2024 in Nova Scotia at First Baptist Church Halifax. Theme: Chaos and Christ. There will be worship, speakers, discussion and, of course, rich fellowship.
Details and Registration Form are available here.
Information for attendees, including a detailed Agenda is available here.
For a copy of a poster with information on speakers, topics and schedule, please click here. Please note Update on Speakers, below.
Update on Speakers
Due to a sudden health issue, the Rev. Canon Dr. Jody Clark has had to find a substitute speaker.
Dr. David Deane holds a BA, MA, and PhD from Trinity College, University of Dublin. In Ireland, he taught at Trinity and was a fellow of the Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences. He left Ireland to take up a position as theologian-in-residence at Colorado State University, where he won a Teacher of the Year award in 2006. Since 2008, he has been teaching at the Atlantic School of Theology in Halifax. He has written for the Times of London and the Irish Times, and his books include Nietzsche and Theology (London: Routledge, 2006) and the recently published Resisting the Tyranny of the Banal: On the Renewal of Catholic Moral Theology (Lexington, Fortress Academic, 2023). He lives in Dartmouth, where he and Jennifer are proud parents to Sophia, Chora, and Áine.
In his presentation, David Deane will begin by offering an account of the nature of chaos in the 21st Century, showing what is in common with other periods of history and what is unique to now. From here, he will argue that many of the mechanisms that drive this chaos are explored by Paul in his letter to the Romans. Re-reading 21st-century issues (such as social fragmentation, savage capitalism, and the technological manipulation of desire) through the lens of Romans 7, 8, and 9, David will show how Christ remains the answer to seemingly very recent problems.
Two LGBTQ British Baptist Ministers Ordained in Canada
(Originally published in Baptist News Global October 28, 2024)
A Canadian Baptist church and association ordained two ministers from the United Kingdom Oct. 27 because they could not be ordained in the Baptist Union of Great Britain.
First Baptist Church of Halifax, Nova Scotia, and the Canadian Association for Baptist Freedoms ordained Andrea King and Luke Dowding as ministers. The ordination was witnessed by family and friends and faith leaders from across North America and Europe.
King, a graduate of Regents College, Oxford, serves as director of safeguarding and strategy for OneBodyOneFaith. Dowding, a graduate of Spurgeon’s College, London, and King’s College London, serves as CEO of OneBodyOneFaith.
Luke Dowding and Andrea King
“Andrea and Luke, due to their sexuality and public position on LGBTQ relationships and LGBTQ safeguarding in the church, are unable to be ordained and accredited in the Baptist Union of Great Britain. This landmark expression of God’s expansive love and inclusive call is the result of years of partnership and building relationships between the Canadian Association for Baptist Freedoms, OneBodyOneFaith, and a global partnership for progressive Baptists,” said a news release from the church.
Rusty Edwards is chair of the ordination credentialing committee and senior minister at First Baptist Church of Halifax.
“In 1830, First Baptist Church Halifax sent two qualified clergy to Providence, R.I., in the United States for ordination by the First Baptist Church in America,” he said. “One hundred ninety-four years later, we are living into our story to receive Andrea and Luke, celebrate and affirm the Spirit’s work in their lives, and send them forward to keep living out the justice-love of Jesus. This ordination is part of a larger movement within the global Baptist family to live more fully into our heritage of liberty under the guidance of Jesus Christ.”
Canadian Association for Baptist Freedoms is a Canada-wide fellowship composed of both individuals and churches. They describe themselves as “Baptists freely seeking, living, sharing and celebrating justice, peace and love under the lordship of Christ.”
OneBodyOneFaith is an ecumenical Christian charity based in the UK working to enable LGBTQ Christians to thrive, not just survive.
Clara Rushbrook, co-principal of Northern Baptist College in Manchester, England, participated in both ordination councils and delivered the address during the ordination service.
“I am deeply honored to have been able to share in this historic ordination service today,” she said. “Andrea and Luke are clearly and graciously living out their God-given calling as ministers of the gospel, despite the numerous barriers that have been put in their way. Their integrity, their commitment to justice and their heart for all who are marginalized, are testimony to their deep love of God and faith in Christ and a rich blessing to our global Baptist family and the wider kin-dom of God.”
Historic Ordinations
October 27, 2024: Congratulations to Luke Dowding and Andrea King who were ordained at First Baptist Church Halifax this afternoon.
On September 15, 2024 the First Baptist Church Halifax congregation voted unanimously to ordain Luke Dowding and Andrea King--two Baptist Ministers from the United Kingdom who can not be ordained under the British Baptist Union.
They both have theological education from respected Baptist theological schools and have completed the baptist ministry formation process of the British Baptist Union of Great Britain but cannot be ordained because they are gay (an openly gay person can be ordained by the British Baptist Union only if they commit to celibacy). This was an existing regulation that was reaffirmed in April by the majority of churches and accredited ministers within the British Baptist Union of Great Britain.
Both Luke and Andrea have been serving the larger church in phenomenal ways, within their churches and through their leadership of OneBodyOneFaith.
Recent discussions identified the possibility of First Baptist Church Halifax ordaining Luke and Andrea and FBCH asked the CABF to establish an Ordination Examination Council to discern their sense of ministerial calling and readiness for ordination. The Ordination Council recommended both candidates to FBCH, with the resulting congregational decision on September 15th. The opening and closing statements to the Ordination Council by the Rev. Dr. Rusty Edwards, Senior Minister at FBCH are available at https://fbchalifax.ca/blog/statement-from-rusty/.
A copy of the Ordination Service Program (with photos) is available at https://fbchalifax.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Andrea-and-Luke-Ordination.pdf
A video of the Ordination Service is available at Ordination of Andrea King and Luke Dowding.