LYNCHBURG, Va. — Nothing symbolizes Ann Brown’s four years as top elected officer of Woman’s Missionary Union of Virginia like bracelets — in a wild variety of colors, shapes and materials.
Brown, whose tenure as WMUV president ended Nov. 3, was given the wrist ornaments during her treks across Virginia and around the world on the organization’s behalf. She told participants in her departing comments at WMUV’s annual meeting that the bracelets are tangible reminders of the blessings, connections, diversity and even complicated questions which characterize the global fellowship of Baptist women — as well as the “marvelous journey” of her presidency which she began uncertain if she was up to the task.
Ann Brown was joined at her last WMUV meeting as president by her husband, Kent (second from left), and sons Robert (right) and William.
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“So here I am with a whole collection of bracelets,” she said. “I don’t usually wear bracelets. How did this happen? It’s beyond me.
“Four years ago when I said ‘yes’ to this job I thought I would never be able to do it, but it has been a marvelous journey,” said Brown. “When someone asks you to do something you don’t think you can do, try it anyway. And if someone offers you a bracelet — wear it.”
In an interview, Brown said all her experiences as president were highlights, but if one stood out, it was WMUV’s participation in launching Woman’s Missionary Union of India in 2010. At the time, Indian Baptist leader Divya Asish called the new organization “the first stepping stone to where we will wipe off the existing social evils, injustice, poverty, unemployment, exploitations, and disease among the women’s community of this nation.”
“That was a big thing,” said Brown. “And then we went back to do a conference on women’s leadership in a place where women typically do not lead. As part of that conference we asked different women to speak about the problems in their areas. They were so grateful at being allowed to speak and letting their views be heard.”
Wide involvement
Brown, a member of First Baptist Church in Gretna, Va., brought to the WMUV presidency wide personal and family involvement in Baptist life. She and her husband, Kent, were officers in a family-owned telephone company in Southside Virginia. Since selling the company the family has engaged in philanthropy and mission activities around the world.
She is a trustee of the Virginia Baptist Foundation and also serves on the Virginia Baptist Mission Board’s governing board. Kent is on the boards of both Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond and the Virginia Baptist Historical Society. The couple has participated in dozens of mission trips in the United States and overseas, and has actively supported a children’s home and seminary in Kerala, India, which partners with the Baptist General Association of Virginia.
The Browns are part of an extended family with a long record of service in Virginia Baptist life. Ann’s grandmother helped organize local WMU chapters in Virginia’s Staunton River Baptist Association. Her father and mother, Ed and Emily Fitzgerald of Gretna, and her grandfather all once served on the Virginia Baptist Mission Board. Her father also was a trustee of Virginia Baptist Homes, her mother served on WMUV's governing board and her aunt, Sue Fitzgerald, was a founding trustee of BTSR.
Kent’s father, Allen Brown, was head of the Virginia Baptist Mission Board’s church music department for more than 30 years, until his retirement in 1994.
The Browns’ sons have continued the tradition — Robert is pastor of Blackstone (Va.) Baptist Church and William, who served a stint as a Virginia Baptist Venturer in Israel, is currently in the clinical pastoral education program at the University of Virginia Health System.
Finding clarity
Those involvements gave Brown a broad perspective as she helped WMUV clarify its missions and “to get a clear view of who we are.”
“The focus is women, missions and leaders,” she said. “That gives us a clear emphasis. It helps us, as we consider new initiatives, to see if they actually fit our mission.”
Her four-year tenure also coincided with growing financial strains as the BGAV — like nearly all ministry organizations — grappled with declining revenues. The BGAV funds all of WMUV’s operations, while other revenue streams, such as the Alma Hunt Offering for Virginia Missions, support its ministry projects.
The BGAV’s proposed budget for 2013 leaves the WMUV allocation at close to the 2012 level, but other agencies and institutions affiliated with the state association were initially cut. Some of those allocations were later increased and to ease the process, WMUV accepted a reduction in its own funding.
“The [BGAV] budget committee gave WMUV the opportunity to help our partners by agreeing to give up a small amount of the funds that they had allocated to WMUV,” Brown told participants at the annual meeting. “We gladly accepted. We are concerned about our budget, but we are also concerned for the other members of our Baptist family. Our mission as Virginia Baptists is enormous, and we need to work together. We have different agencies and institutions that have well-defined roles, and all are important.”
But the most vital component in the Virginia Baptist community is the local church, she added.
“That’s where it all starts,” she said. “I hope each of you will encourage your church to be an active part of the family by supporting cooperative missions and the Alma Hunt Offering, and I hope you will attend the BGAV meeting later this month.”
For Brown herself, what her future involvements will be aren’t yet certain, she said. Although she will continue to play an active role in WMUV, her official duties are behind her, and she will rotate off the Virginia Baptist Foundation’s board of trustees in December.
“I’m not sure what’s next,” she said. But she’s confident it will include more bracelets — or at least the experiences they represent.
Robert Dilday ([email protected]) is managing editor of the Religious Herald.
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