WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (ABP) — After news that the Woman's Missionary Union of North Carolina is loosening ties with the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, the state's Cooperative Baptist Fellowship has announced a special offering to help the mission-focused organization.
On Aug. 21, Ruby Fulbright, the executive director of North Carolina's WMU, announced that the group's executive board had voted overwhelmingly to move offices out of the state convention's headquarters bulding in Cary, N.C. In addition to finding their own office space, she said, North Carolina WMU will begin shouldering expenses traditionally funded by the state convention, such as employee benefits and automobiles.
The change appears to some to be a preventative measure to avoid so-called conservative takeovers similar to those of several other Southern Baptist Convention-related agencies in the last 20 years.
In 2006, North Carolina WMU members voted to change the organization's governing documents to define it as a “cooperative partner” rather than an “auxiliary” to the state convention. The same year, WMU-NC leaders sought to clarify that the organization has sole responsibility for employing its staff.
But Milton Hollifield, executive director of the state convention, argued that since WMU employees require his approval in order to receive benefits, they are employees of the state group.
The current primary source of funding for North Carolina's WMU is an annual statewide missions offering. WMU-NC promotes it, and the offering also supports North Carolina Baptist Men and other mission-related projects.
But after the group announced plans to move, CBF of North Carolina — which already provides some financial support to WMU — established an emergency fund and called for churches to assist WMU-NC in the transition.
“WMU of North Carolina has been the missions backbone for Baptists in North Carolina for over 120 years,” said Larry Hovis, CBF of North Carolina's coordinator. “CBF of North Carolina wants to help ensure their legacy of missions leadership and empowerment will continue in the future and stand with them in a special way during this critical time of transition.”
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