By Bob Allen
The family of deceased Baptist leader Carolyn Weatherford Crumpler is asking that rather than paying their respects by sending flowers, friends honor her memory by supporting causes that were dear to her heart.
Crumpler, 84, died Jan. 2 in Cincinnati after a long illness. A memorial service is planned Jan. 23 in Cincinnati at Mount Carmel Baptist Church, the congregation where her husband, Joe Crumpler, was pastor when she traded her life as head of the Southern Baptist Convention Woman’s Missionary Union to marry and serve as a pastor’s wife in 1989.
In lieu of flowers her family asks that memorial gifts go to any of the following: Carolyn Crumpler Memorial Fund, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Foundation, 160 Clairemont Avenue, Suite 500, Decatur, GA 30030; Baptist Women in Ministry, P.O. Box 941294, Atlanta, GA 31141-1294; or Global Women, P.O. Box 1535, Pelham, AL 35124.
After retiring from WMU, Crumpler was a key leader in the early years of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Her advocacy for involving women in direct ministry was a catalyst for the formation of Baptist Women in Ministry in 1983. She was a founder of Global Women, a missions organization formed in 2001 to improve the lives of vulnerable women around the world.
In addition to serving as CBF moderator in 1995-1996, Crumpler was regional secretary of the North American Baptist Fellowship of the Baptist World Alliance in (1990-1992) and served on various boards addressing missions, women and ethical concerns. She received numerous honorary degrees and awards, including the 2010 annual Courage Award from the William H. Whitsitt Baptist Heritage Society.
In accepting the Whitsitt award, Crumpler said she suspects fundraising for CBF missions was hampered by not having a counterpart to the WMU, a women’s auxiliary that over the course of 125 years has helped raise more than $3 billion for the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. The offering supports missionaries for the SBC International Mission Board, she said, but because of tradition is still commonly promoted in churches whose primary denominational identify is CBF.
Previous stories:
Former WMU leader receives courage award
Carolyn Weatherford Crumpler remembered as hero in Baptist life