RICHMOND — The 25th anniversary of Virginia Baptist Women in Ministry was a highlight of the fifth annual “Feast” gathering, as about 80 members, both men and women, gathered at Grace Baptist Church in Richmond for a day of retreat.
Worship was led by women from all walks of ministry who guided the group as they focused on Scripture and meditated on the company of women named and unnamed who preceded them in the Bible, in Christian history and in Baptist life during the quarter century since the group’s founding.
Speakers included Pam Durso, executive director of the national Baptist Women in Ministry; Judith Bledsoe Bailey, a retired Baptist campus minister and pastor; Betty Pugh Mills, recently called as pastor of Hampton (Va.) Baptist Church; and Mandy England Cole, pastor of Ginter Park Baptist Church in Richmond.
Thousands of women, names unknown, have built the foundation on which today’s women ministers serve, said Pam Durso, executive director of Baptist Women in Ministry. (Photo by Linda Moore)
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Durso, a former associate director of the Baptist History & Heritage Society, cited two Baptist women in Virginia’s Westmoreland County who prevailed on minister Henry Tolar to begin a church in 1786. Within 20 years, it had become the largest in Virginia.
“In the history books, Toler’s work has been described in detail,” said Durso. “His contributions to the cause of Christ in Westmoreland County have been noted and appreciated. But the names of the two women — their names are nowhere to be found.”
Durso referred to thousands of women — most whose names are unknown — who make up the foundation on which women ministers today stand and offer their own gifts to the Christian community. These women, she said, taught Sunday school, gave sacrificially, prayed, raised money for church buildings and then cleaned them, prepared meals for the grieving, visited the sick, gathered resources for those in need and preached the gospel.
“All these women are our sisters in Christ,” Durso said. “Today we remember them.”
In their sermon in dialogue, Cole and Mills reflected on some of the difficulties they encountered in the pastorate.
“I’ve been at this long enough to have hopes disappointed,” Mills confessed. Cole, a recent graduate of Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, responded, “I’ve been at this just long enough to have hopes. Hearing the vulnerable truth of where you are, alongside the truth of where I am, underscores to me just how much we desperately need the strength of sisterhood.”
A highlight of the VBWIM Feast each year is an art gallery. By displaying their creations, the women honor the gifts God has given them and join with the Creator in allowing their gifts to teach, touch and inspire those around them, say organizers.
Throughout the event, the imagery of the table of Christ was prominent. As the event drew to a close, participants circled the room and passed a plate of bread and a cup of juice from one to another. “You are the body of Christ.” each said to the next. “Share God’s salvation!”
Next year’s Feast is set for May 2-3, at Westover Baptist Church in Richmond.
Anna Miller ([email protected]) is pastor of Westhunt Baptist Church in Richmond. Jim White ([email protected]) is executive editor of the Religious Herald.