February 2023 News from BWIM

March 2023

Your chance to take the next step in affirming, valuing, and elevating women in ministry among Baptists is a few days away!

Congregations, we are asking you to invite a woman to preach and engage in one of our suggested forms of advocacy listed on the website.

Learn More

Individuals, we hope you will choose one or more ways to advocate from our suggestions, or use the calendar below to guide your advocacy.

Download Calendar

SEND US YOUR PICTURES!

And as in the past, we want to know about your participation in Month of Advocacy so our community can celebrate with you and learn from you. Both churches and individuals can register their participation by filling out this form!

Tell us about your participation

For the past several years, BWIM designated the month of February to celebrate women preachers. In 2020, our leadership team unanimously agreed to move our annual Month of Preaching event to March, so we could join other organizations, churches, and individuals in celebrating Black History Month.

Each week, we celebrated the achievements of Black women in ministry-how they shaped our history and paved the way for women ministers today. BWIM recognizes that African American history is more than a month-long celebration. Throughout the year, we will continue the celebration through our racial equity work, our advocacy for women of color, and by telling the ongoing stories of African American women (like Jarena Lee pictured left) that avail us all.

Learn about Jarena Lee

The next BWIM Book Club will be reading When God Whispered My Name: Stories of Journey Told by Baptist Women. Books can be ordered most places where books are sold. Join us and some of the writers of this book as we also celebrate BWIM's Month of Advocacy! The Book Club will meet at 12:30 PM ET/11:30 CT for 1 hr. on Zoom March, 7, 14, 21.

BWIM is celebrating our 40th anniversary in 2023!

We are planning two special events as a part of our celebration. First, instead of hosting our annual gathering prior to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship's General Assembly, we will have a banquet at the Hyatt Regency, Downtown Atlanta on Thursday evening, June 29, 2023 during CBF General Assembly.

Then, on October 2-4, 2023 we will return to where it all began in 1983, Louisville, Kentucky! We will remember and honor our first 40 years while also looking forward to how our history might inform our ongoing work toward women thriving as they minister and lead within Baptist communities.

Stay connected to receive more details about these two events in the days ahead. We hope to see you there!

We need your help to honor excellent mentors of women and churches who have taken bold actions to support women in ministry!

We are receiving nominations for the 2023 Frankie Huff Granger Distinguished Mentor Award and the BWIM Church of Excellence awards through April 6. Please visit the pages linked below to find more information including award criteria, previous nominees, and nomination forms.

Distinguished Mentor Award

Church of Excellence Award

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.

To find out more about BWIM's partnership and to read articles written as the result of the partnership, click below. 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

Verlyn Bergen, interim preacher, First Baptist Church, Jefferson City, MO.

Rhonda Byrd, pastor of congregational care and assistant to the senior pastor, Johns Creek Baptist Church, Alpharetta, GA.

Leigh Curl-Dove, minister with students, Emerywood Baptist Church, High Point, NC.

Heather Deal, director of development, Baptist Women in Ministry, Waco, TX.

Jennifer Ebell, associate pastor of children’s ministry, University Baptist Church, Houston, TX.

Dana Gatewood, Southeast area minister, West Virginia Baptist Convention.

Anna Goetz, student pastor, Church on the Drive, Orlando, FL.

Melissa Hatfield, lead pastor, First Baptist Church, Jefferson City, MO.

Kim Hamilton, as music minister, First Baptist Church, Smithfield, N.C.

Beth Howe, minister of students & discipleship, Woodmont Baptist Church, Nashville, TN.

Sarah Reed Jay, pastor, Community Church, Providence, RI.

Christine Keddy, pastor, First Baptist Church, West Acton, MA.

Marcy Mynatt, associate pastor, Providence Baptist Church, Hendersonville, NC.

Mary Richerson, interim pastor, Bruington Baptist Church, Bruington, VA.

Karen East Robinson, pastor, First Baptist Church, Pawtucket, RI.

Rachel Sherron, associate pastor for children and youth, Buechel Park Baptist Church, Louisville, KY.

Brandeis Tullos, associate pastor of people, purpose, and practices, First Baptist Church Lincoln Gardens, Somerset, NJ.

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:

Taylor Claire Allen was ordained by St. Charles Baptist Church, New Orleans, LA, December 11.

Courtney Jones, (pictured) was ordained by Circle of Faith, St Petersburg, FL, February 18.

Janet Hilliard Pace was ordained by Broadmoor Baptist Church, Baton Rouge, LA, Feb. 5, 2023.

Shayna Wible, was ordained by Augusta Heights Baptist Church, Greenville, S.C., January 29.

Vickie Yoell, was ordained by Providence Baptist Church, Charleston, SC, January 8.

OPEN POSITIONS

BWIM posts information online for any church/organization who contacts us directly to advertise their open position so that candidates can have access to a current list of open positions.

Find positions posted with BWIM HERE!

New positions posted online since the last newsletter include:

Associate Minister to Students, Trinity Baptist Church, Seneca, SC
Senior Pastor, The Madison Baptist Church, Madison, NH
Associate Minister for Children and Youth, Oakland Baptist Church, Rock Hill, SC
Senior Pastor, Broadus Memorial Baptist Church, Charlottesville, VA
Associate Pastor for Families, First Baptist Church, Martinsville, VA
Senior Pastor, Millbrook Baptist Church, Raleigh, NC