c. 2006 Religion News Service
GREENSBORO, N.C. _ Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice addressed the Southern Baptists at their annual meeting Wednesday (June 14), issuing a call for increased religious freedom and describing her personal faith.
“If America does not rally support for people everywhere who desire to worship in peace and freedom, then I ask you, who will?” she said, bringing the audience to its feet.
“America’s message cannot be clearer: Government simply has no right to stand between the individual and the Almighty.”
Rice, a Presbyterian, addressed the Baptists on the second day of their two-day meeting, drawing on some of the same themes they had addressed in resolutions, including the need for religious liberty in China and peace for the people of Sudan.
Southern Baptists rose to their feet again when she condemned sexual trafficking and mentioned the June 7 death of Iraqi insurgent leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi after a U.S. military strike.
“Nearly five years after the tragedy of Sept. 11, the United States is leading a great coalition of countries in a global war on terrorism,” she told the crowd at the Greensboro Coliseum. “When possible, we are bringing terrorists to justice and when necessary, we are bringing justice to the terrorists.”
But the secretary of state opened and closed her remarks with comments about personal faith, describing herself as the descendant of Presbyterian ministers and stating that she could feel the prayers of Southern Baptists and others who have prayed for her.
“When I say I grew up in the church, I’m not speaking metaphorically,” said Rice, a native of Birmingham, Ala. “Because for the first three years of my life, we literally lived in the back of the church. … Faith has been a journey for me as I’m sure it has been for each and every one of you. I do pray every day and in times of tragedy and heartbreak … I have found solace and strength in the power of prayer.”
Outgoing Southern Baptist Convention President Bobby Welch said, while he appreciated Rice’s presence as a representative of the Bush administration, he was particularly thrilled to have her visit the meeting as a person of faith.
“She is definitely a woman of faith and not ashamed to testify to that,” said Welch, a pastor in Daytona Beach, Fla.
Before Rice’s speech, Southern Baptists passed two resolutions related to international affairs. In one statement, they pledged “solidarity with the citizens of North Korea, and especially the North Korean refugees who are persecuted for conscience sake” in China.
Addressing the conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan, they commended President Bush and the U.S. government for “steadfastly pursuing a resolution to this humanitarian crisis” and urging the international community to provide aid to the people of the region.
A resolution on “the crisis of illegal immigration” passed with no discussion. It called for the enforcement of immigration laws and the securing of national borders. The statement also encouraged Christian churches “to start English classes on a massive scale” and urged Southern Baptists to evangelize immigrants “to the end that these individuals might become both legal residents of the United States and loyal citizens of the Kingdom of God.”
Delegates, called messengers, also passed resolutions expressing “grave disappointment” with senators who failed to vote for a constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage, and thanking God for “judges and justices who promise to respect our constitutionally established government of three branches.”
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Editors: See related story, RNS-BAPTISTS-ALCOHOL, transmitted June 14, 2006.
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