It is good for us to be together again.  We gather as an Association in the long tradition of Baptists.  In 1848, David Benedict wrote “A General History of the Baptist Denomination.”  Of the Philadelphia Association, formally organized in 1707, he wrote:

 “The formation of the oldest body of the kind in this country was an important era among the American Baptists, The few ministers who promoted the measure were among the most talented in the denomination at that time, the churches were well founded, and soon the infant confederacy became the rallying point to the few isolated churches in all directions.  Their advice was sought in all matters of difficulty, and their doings served as a model for all succeeding institutions of the kind.”

We come together again, for our tenth annual Spring Conference.  Once again we reaffirm the ties that bind us to one another as Baptists: a commitment to the soul freedom of each of us as believers and to the autonomy of the local church along with the recognition of our need of one another under the Lordship of Christ and the leading of the Holy Spirit.  Once again we reaffirm a commitment to the freedom of interpretation of Scripture, and to the separation of church and state.  And, as I like to say, we are an association of Baptist congregations that affirms the integrity of each other's vision in mission and ministry.   We affirm this freedom not only for ourselves, but also for one another.  That means that we are willing to rejoice in a diversity of faith and practice in which we encourage an inclusiveness that brings together people and congregations who know that they can share with and learn from one another.

Much of our strength comes from the relationships we have with one another, as churches, as individuals, as pastors.  Time together like we share today helps affirm our life as an association.  About half of our churches have a supportive and vibrant relationship with their American Baptist Region (the Evergreen Association).  The other half has satisfactory and distant individual relationships with their Regions in other parts of the denomination.  Together, in PCBA, we continue to enjoy the mutual support that strengthens us.

It is beginning to appear that some more of our churches will consider relating to the Evergreen Association in the next year or so.  It is possible that might mean that we also may wish to talk about a more formal or informal understanding of our relationship with Evergreen.  And we want to keep open the opportunity for closer ties to other more local congregations who share a need or interest for more common life.

Maintaining and creating connections is central to our life.  Local churches belong to a variety of interfaith and community organizations.  Our pastors are part of  the local Ministers Council and a number of local clergy gatherings.  Various of our churches belong to the Alliance of Baptists, the Baptist Peace Fellowship, the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists (the Fairview church in Costa Mesa joined AWAB this spring).  Ken Pennings of AWAB was instrumental in helping the New Community of Faith and Wes Shipp connect with one another.  Some of our number attended the Baptist Convocation in Atlanta earlier this year.  The list goes on. 

We have had a good year together since we met at Grace Baptist in San Jose a year ago.

• We distributed copies of the Letters to the Churches that our various groupings wrote last year.
• We have met nearly monthly for our Baptists Lunching Together gatherings.  We continue to be grateful to Joan Thatcher for coordinating these events.  We have had a year of highlights: Daniel Chetti, ABC missionary in Lebanon, Kate Harvey and Sumner Grant, Dale and Alice Edmondson on their China trip, and the Christmas gathering at Shell Ridge with Cathy Tharalson sharing her inspiring story.
• We continue to be active in our own mission efforts.  We have sent another shipment of over 800 books to the School of Theology at Central Philippine University (bringing our total to over 6,000).  The recognition plaque they presented to us has recently been on display at the Shell Ridge Church.  Dale Edmondson has guided the collection and shipment of these books.  In recognition of his leadership Greg Ledbetter will pass the plaque to a representative of Dale’s church, Lakeshore Avenue to be displayed there.  We have developed some guidelines for future mission support.  We continue our support of the American Baptist Seminary of the West with an annual contribution.
• We have published four NewsBriefs and I have visited in ten of our churches for a variety of activities or programs.

In our churches during the past year, Bruce Bramlett concluded his interim ministry at First Baptist in Berkeley and Michael-Ray Mathews concluded a nearly eight year ministry at Grace Baptist in San Jose to join the national staff of PICO, a group of faith-based community organizations.

We welcome Wally Bryen as the Interim Minister at Grace Baptist, although he is already well known to us.  And we welcome the Rev. J. Wesley Shipp as the Interim Minister at the New Community of Faith in San Jose— Wes recently served as the Interim Minister at First Baptist in Philadelphia and comes to us from Atlanta. 

I want to express my appreciation to Emma Davis, Sharon Burch, and Darby Lockett who are concluding their service on our Board.  Each has shared unique gifts during their time with us.

We all need to express our appreciation to the San Leandro Community Church for hosting us today, and to their pastor, the Rev. LeAnn Blackert and the planning committee that included Jody Tooley, Sandy Mitchell, and Sue Williams, and Dayle Scott.  Thank you.

A special word of thank is due to all our donors – the churches that share their mission support funds with us and the many individuals who write some small and some large checks to help underwrite our work.  Our Annual Financial report for last year shows that we were operating on a deficit budget for 2007.  It also shows that both individual and church contributions were more than anticipated, making our deficit significantly smaller than anticipated.

And we express our appreciation to Mary Hulst.  Mary is at least the fourth President of ABCUSA to address our Spring Conference.  We are grateful for your presence with us today.

Once again let me say how grateful I am for the honor of working with you.