On Oct. 1, members of the First 16 gathered to dedicate the Baugh-Walker Conference Suite, named for BJC supporter Babs Baugh and BJC Executive Director J. Brent Walker. The First 16, named for the first 16 words of the First Amendment, is a group of current and former board members who have made a long-term commitment to support the BJC’s operating budget through personal gifts and fundraising. The ceremony inside the suite in the Center for Religious Liberty included a responsive reading and communion to dedicate the space, which doubles the BJC’s meeting capacity.
For more photos from the event, visit the BJC’s Flickr page.
From the October 2012 Report from the Capital. Click here for the next article.
BJC Board Chair Mitch Randall welcomes the attendees to the dedication. Randall presided over the service and led the responsive reading portion of the program.
Jeffrey Haggray, pastor of First Baptist Church of Washington, D.C., offers words of dedication for the suite. Haggray was the chair of the BJC Board when the capital campaign began. In his remarks, he said, “Religious freedom is so foundational and central to the Christian faith that in every generation we must rededicate ourselves to its preservation and propagation.”
Former BJC Executive Director James M. Dunn leads a prayer of consecration for the suite.
Immediate past BJC Chair Pam Durso offers the benediction at the dedication ceremony.
