Road to Roe 50, Hawkins Retires, & a Just End to War in Ukraine

While the Supreme Court could rule on a case this summer with major implications on Roe vs. Wade, there’s a huge milestone just ahead for the decision that made abortion legal in the U.S. In 2023, it will be 50 years since the initial ruling in 1973.

The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission is marking the anniversary with their Road to Roe 50 initiative. It’s an effort to make abortion unnecessary and unthinkable through creating resources for local churches to help people walk through unplanned pregnancies. In addition, they’re working with pregnancy support centers through their Psalm 139 project to place 50 ultrasound machines in centers across the country.

At a kickoff event near Atlanta last week, Kevin Smith, teaching pastor at Family Church in West Palm Beach, Florida, said the effort to abolish abortion is a call to love one’s neighbor.

Love of neighbor “is a significant part of our public witness,” he said. Christians “working to end the legal, political and cultural affirmations of abortion in our society” are “more than mere political strategists or cultural warriors,” he told the audience.

O.S. Hawkins was celebrated in Dallas last week as he wraps up 25 years of leading GuideStone, the arm of the Southern Baptist Convention that helps pastors with insurance and retirement. Among many accomplishments, Hawkins was recognized for his faithful leadership of Mission:Dignity.

Through Mission:Dignity, GuideStone helps more than 2,400 retirement-aged Southern Baptist ministers, workers and their widows, with extra money needed for housing, food and vital medications.
2021 was the record year experienced by Mission:Dignity, which included the largest fundraising year ever as they received $11 million through 10,000 donations given to Mission:Dignity.

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What would a just end to the war between Russia and the Ukraine look like? Paul Miller offers an idea in an article at Baptist Press.

Miller’s primary idea is that for a just end to the war, Vladimir Putin must not remain as the leader of Russia. While Miller does not call for a violent removal of Putin, he does advocate for Putin to either leave or be removed from office.

Miller calls on world leaders to be prepare for the opportunity to reshape Russia, should Putin be toppled.

“If Putin loses power — as Soviet leaders did in the aftermath of their defeat in Afghanistan — then the world has both greater opportunity and responsibility. The last time Russia went through a regime change, the world squandered the opportunity to help Russia transition to a more just, transparent, accountable regime that respects human rights and human dignity.”

Find more stories at BaptistPress.com.