August 2022 News from BWIM

BWIM MENTORING COHORT 2022

Large Group Retreat Summer 2022

BWIM hosted our third Mentoring Cohort thanks to the generous funding we receive from the Lily Endowment, Inc. 25 women from across the USA met at the St. Francis Springs Prayer Center in Stoneville, North Carolina. These women will continue to meet monthly on Zoom for a two-year period and plan their small group retreat in 2023. Each group is led by a seasoned Baptist women in ministry. The mentors for this cohort are Leah Grundset Davis, Stephanie Parker, Jessica Asbell Oravec, Chalice Overy, and Danita Perkins. To learn more about our Mentoring Program visit our website by clicking this link: Mentoring Program.

New Leadership Team Members

We are excited to welcome four new members to the BWIM Leadership Team!

Top left: Lynn Holmes, Associate in Ministry at First Baptist Church, Wilmington Street, in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Visiting Professor of the Practice at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy (3-year term)

Top right: Molly Shoulta Tucker, Pastor, Ridgewood Baptist Church, Louisville, KY (3-year term)

Bottom left: Natasha Nedrick, Minister of Discipleship, Central Baptist Church, St. Louis, MO (3-year term)

Bottom right: Jon Singletary, Dean of the Diana Garland School of Social Work, Baylor University, Waco, TX (1-year term)

BWIM Book Club for Fall Coming Soon!

The next BWIM Book Club will be reading A Brown Girl's Epiphany: Reclaim Your Intuition and Step Into Your Power by Rev. Aurelia Pratt. Aurelia is a Baptist pastor who serves as Lead Pastor of Peace of Christ Church in Round Rock, TX. She was also named as one of the 10 Women Shaping the Church in 2022 by Sojourner's magazine. The official release date of the book is September 13, but can be preordered before then most places where books are sold. The book club will meet by Zoom in October 2022, with exact dates and times TBA. Stay tuned for more details and register for the book club by clicking below!

Read and Respond to

The State of Women in Baptist Life Report!

Follow the link to read the full report and learn more about the numbers of women in ministry and their experiences.

You/your organization can order print copies of the report by following the link below.

Read the Report

Order a Print Copy

Are you a supporter of women in ministry?

Your can respond to the report by reading the "Discussion Guide," which will help you contextualize the report's findings within your own community and will invite you to find new ways to help women in your community thrive.

Are you a woman in ministry?

The "Reading Guide" is for women in ministry to use alongside the report. The guide will invite you to reflect on your own experiences in light of the report's findings and will encourage you to remember that you are a part of a community of women.

Download the Discussion Guide

Download the Reading Guide

BWIM has partnered with Baptist News Global (BNG) to celebrate and promote the strong writing voices of women! BWIM is advocating for women's equal representation in Baptist media by uplifting women's writing and encouraging women's increased participation in shaping Baptist life, culture, and theology.

Recently, bereavement program coordinator, Sara Robb wrote about attending to the grief of women in ministry. Spiritual director, Emily Phillips Davis wrote about the hope of spiritual direction for the future of the church. And recent seminary graduate, Geneece Goertzen-Morrison wrote about her experiences with domestic violence and suggested a way forward for Christians.

To read these articles and others and to find out more about BWIM's partnership, click here. If you are interested in becoming a potential writer for BNG, email Laura Ellis for more information at lauraellis@bwim.info

Learn More Here

MINISTRY TRANSITIONS

Taylor Crumley, associate pastor for youth, children and their families, Forest Hills Baptist Church, Raleigh, NC.

Ronda Ferreira, director of finance and administration, American Baptist Churches of Massachusetts.

Carrie Harris, director of Fellowship experiences, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Decatur, GA.

Anita Laffoon, pastor, Ginter Park Baptist Church, Richmond, VA.

Sarah Mears, associate pastor of children and families and communication, Hayes Barton Baptist Church, Raleigh, NC.

Jenna Sullivan, lead pastor of life, Life in Deep Ellum, Dallas, TX.

Jacqueline Thompson, second vice president, Progressive National Baptist Convention, Washington, DC.

Adriene Thorne, senior minister, The Riverside Church, New York, NY.

Alena Vaughn, pastoral resident, Second Baptist Church, Liberty, MO.

Elizabeth Maye, minister with children and their families, Providence Baptist Church, Charlotte, NC.

Marie Onwubuariri, director of intercultural ministries, American Baptist Churches of WI.

Kelly Rose, executive pastor, Central Bearden Church, Knoxville, TN.

ORDINATIONS

We Want To Celebrate Your Ordination!

If you know a Baptist woman who has been ordained or will be ordained, please email names and pictures (if possible) to lynnbrinkley@bwim.info. BWIM wants to share in celebrating congregational affirmation of all women in ministry, and it helps us to keep records of all of the women in Baptist life who are ordained.

RECENT ORDINATIONS:

Maddie Rarick was ordained by First Baptist Church, Waco, Texas, on Aug. 14. She is pastor of Meadow Oaks Baptist Church, Temple, Texas.

OPEN POSITIONS

For over a decade, BWIM has curated a list of open ministry positions that we included in our monthly newsletter. Since the way churches and organizations publicize open ministry positions changes, we have changed the way we connect women with job postings as well.

We are now posting full information online for any church/organization who contacts us directly with information about their open position so that candidates can have access to the information as soon as we have it.

Find positions posted with BWIM HERE!

The remaining positions that we have traditionally included on our list have been gathered from job boards of denominational groups, theological schools, and Baptist press. On the page linked above, we also have a list of all of these websites.

We would encourage any Baptist woman in ministry looking for a position to check these job boards regularly as not all churches and organizations contact BWIM directly. But we would also encourage women to do research and be discerning about which positions are truly open to women candidates. Candidates are welcome to contact BWIM about any position posted on our website, but also about any position found on another ministry job board. If we do not have additional information to provide, we will do our best to connect you with someone who might be able to help in your discernment as to whether or not a position is an opportunity where a woman can thrive.