P r a g u e – A solidarity move within the European Baptist Federation (EBF) on behalf of the International Baptist Theological Seminary (IBTS) in Prague met with mixed responses. The theological education center moved from Rüschlikon, Switzerland, to the “Little Jeneralka Castle” on the edge of the Czech capital in 1997. Since 2009, it has been in serious financial difficulty, as the foundation supporting IBTS has been in deficit and the costs of maintaining the historical building continue to rise. In order to establish a sign of solidarity, the delegates to the EBF Council in 2011 in Nazareth, Israel, decided that each of the 58 EBF member unions should donate at least 10 Euros. As a result, 19 member unions donated a total of 30,010 Euros. Two additional donations are expected for this year. IBTS Rector Keith Jones (Prague) was impressed that even small, economically poorer member Unions with small membership, such as Armenia or Lithuania, participated and had contributed up to 100 Euros. Not a single union gave only the expected 10 Euros, according to Jones. The lowest donation was 50 Euros. The missions and aid agency BMS World Mission (Didcot) actually contributed 14,521 Euros. Jones was troubled, however, that the majority of all Baptist unions in Europe and the Middle East have not so far participated, including some of the larger East European Baptist unions who regularly send students to Prague to study. In September of this year, the EBF Council in Elstal (near Berlin) will make decisions about the future of the Seminary. So far more than 250 students have completed additional academic studies in Prague. Over 100 have graduated with Magister in Theology, Master of Theology or Doctor of Philosophy degrees. The EBF includes 58 member unions with 740,000 members in more than 13,000 churches in Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia.