A Baptist News Global internship program named for the late Ardelle and Hardy Clemons will become a graduate-level fellowship this summer.
Laura Ellis and Rick Pidcock have been named BNG’s first Clemons Fellows and will serve 10 weeks this summer in a structured program of writing, dialogue and reflection. They will learn in weekly seminars with other notable writers in the religion market while also researching and writing in a variety of styles for BNG.
Laura Ellis
Ellis is a spring graduate of Boston University School of Theology, where she has been a writing fellow in the Educational Resource Center while working on a master of divinity degree. She previously served as a writer in Bali, Indonesia, through the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s Global Missions program.
She is a graduate of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton, Texas, with a degree in Christian studies and a minor in writing. She grew up in Abilene, Texas, where her father, Bob Ellis, has been dean of Logsdon School of Theology.
Rick Pidcock
Pidcock is a spring graduate of Northern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he has completed a master of arts degree in Christian worship. He is a musician, worship leader and regular contributor to BNG. He also is a stay-at-home dad with five children.
He is a graduate of Bob Jones University with a degree in Bible and public speaking. He has written previously for BNG about his journey from Christian fundamentalism to a more progressive form of Christian faith. He lives with his wife and children in Greenville, S.C.
“We are thrilled to have such qualified candidates for our Clemons Fellowship this year and for the opportunity to elevate our internship to a graduate-level fellowship,” said Mark Wingfield, BNG Executive Director and Publisher. “We are adapting the study-do-reflect model that has been successfully used in pastoral residency programs and applying it to writing. Our hope is to encourage the next generation of Chrstian writers.
“I am personally one of the last products of an old system of recruiting and nurturing writers within a Baptist journalism ecosystem that no longer exists,” he added. “Our BNG board and staff are committed to finding new ways to make sure the stories of faith and culture get told in the future.”
Ardelle Clemons was a founding board member for Associated Baptist Press, precursor to BNG. Her husband, Hardy, was a beloved Baptist pastor. Together, they created the Clemons Endowment that now makes possible this fellowship.
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