Dear Rainbow Circle,
Every movement for justice, belonging, and love is built by people who show up consistently.
That is exactly what you do as a member of AWAB’s Rainbow Circle.
Most recently, I found myself reflecting deeply on this while crafting the script for the final episode of Season One of Voice of the Turtle. In this closing conversation, I have the privilege of interviewing the Rev. Dr. Brandon Crowley, Senior Pastor of the historic Myrtle Baptist Church in Newton, Massachusetts.
As part of the episode’s introduction, I found myself revisiting some of AWAB’s earliest history. In particular, I reflected on how the Rev. Louise Rose was appointed in 1973 as the first President of American Baptists Concerned, the organization which eventually helped pave the way for AWAB to come into existence twenty years later.
Rev. Rose was an out African American lesbian serving on the pastoral staff of an American Baptist congregation just outside Philadelphia during a time when such courage carried tremendous personal and professional risk. Today, more than a half century later, she lives in the Pacific Northwest and continues sharing her gifts as a musician and artist.
Recently, I listened to a performance she gave at a well-known jazz venue in British Columbia. Sitting at the piano, she sang these words:
“There are no reasons we can’t live in harmony,
as just one people, in just one world, you and me.”
Her music — and those lyrics — moved me deeply.
I also recognize these are difficult words to live into practically and collectively. Yet they speak so profoundly to the vision and calling that continues to shape the work of the Association of Welcoming & Affirming Baptists.
And I want each of you to know this: as Rainbow Circle monthly donors, through your generosity at every level, you provide courage and encouragement to AWAB. You help us keep doing what we do. You help sustain our witness and keep us inspired to live out AWAB’s mission: to create and support a community of churches, organizations, and individuals committed to the inclusion of LGBTQ+ persons in the full life and mission of Baptist churches.
As we reach the midpoint of 2026, as we remember the protest roots of Pride festivals, and as we celebrate the ongoing growth and vitality of AWAB, please know that much of what we are able to do happens because of faithful supporters like you.
Quite simply, you help make this ministry possible.
So, thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
With gratitude,
Brian Henderson
Executive Director