VALLEY FORGE, PA (09/16/2025)—“El 80 % de los casos de violencia sexual son cometidos por alguien que conocemos”, afirma Irina Sorrels, directora de Tu Refugio Seguro, una organización con sede en Indiana que presta apoyo a los latinos y latinas que han sobrevivido a la violencia doméstica y sexual, así como de la trata de personas. “Por lo general, las víctimas conocen a los agresores: pueden ser nuestros padres, hermanos, hermanas, primos, tíos... normalmente se trata de alguien que forma parte de la familia o es muy cercano a ella”.

VALLEY FORGE, PA (09/11/2025)—When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans on August 29, 2005, 80 percent of the city was flooded, leading to the devastating loss of 1400 lives (some sources suggest the higher number of 1833 lives). The Black residents of New Orleans suffered the most; many lived in low-cost housing below the sea level that was not sufficiently protected from flooding by the faulty levees. There also weren’t any evacuation plans for the poor residents of the city, many of whom did not have their own transportation or any place to escape to.

VALLEY FORGE, PA (08/27/2025)—Asian American Christian leaders convened in the San Francisco Bay Area on August 1 for two days of activities combining pilgrimage, storytelling, and dialogue across cultures and spanning generations. Titled “The Exchange: Stories of Rooted Faith,” the event sprang from a collaboration of American Baptist Home Mission Societies (ABHMS), the Arc Initiative at Berkeley School of Theology, and the Asian American Christian History Institute at Fuller Seminary’s Asian American Center under ABHMS’ The Exchange initiative.

VALLEY FORGE, PA (08/25/2025)—American Baptist Home Mission Societies (ABHMS) invites the public to the next edition of its Justice Dialogues series, set for Wednesday, September 3, at 12 p.m. EDT. Titled “Embracing a Prophetic Imagination: The Role of the Church in This Present Age,” this virtual event will feature Bishop Dwayne D. Royster, executive director of Faith in Action, the nation’s largest global faith-based organizing movement for racial and economic justice.

VALLEY FORGE, PA (08/22/2025)—American Baptist Home Mission Societies (ABHMS) welcomed nine energetic young adults to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, from August 1–3 for a weekend of orientation, spiritual reflection, and vocational exploration. The gathering marked the official launch of the 2025–26 Emerging Leaders Cohort and Summer Passionary Institute (ELC/SPI).

VALLEY FORGE, PA (08/11/2025)—“Currently, 26 percent of Puerto Rico churches are without pastors,” noted Rev. Abigail Medina Betancourt, national coordinator of Intercultural Engagement at American Baptist Home Mission Societies (ABHMS) and associate program director of Creciendo Juntos, an ABHMS program that seeks to build capacity for Latino ministries. Building Bridges, a three-year collaborative program developed by ABHMS, Iglesias Bautistas de Puerto Rico (IBPR, Baptist Churches of Puerto Rico), and Unión de Jóvenes Bautistas de Puerto Rico (UJBPR, Union of the Baptist Youth of Puerto Rico) addresses the problem of a lack of intergenerational leadership development opportunities that would appeal to emerging leaders. In recent years, it has become painfully clear that the need for training intergenerational clergy in Puerto Rico is pressing.