The following open letter is in response to a recent column, Decades of Marginalizing and Silencing Women Have Left Evangelicals Morally Compromised, in the Dallas News written by Peggy Wehmeyer.
At Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond (BTSR), we too know the pain of being devalued and diminished by members of our faith family. That’s just one of the reasons that BTSR was founded over 26 years ago. From our earliest days, we have been affirming women’s equality in society and church.
Our current Vice president and Acting Dean of Academic Affairs, Professor of Preaching, Dr. Tracy Hartman shares her experience: “I spent two years at a seminary that restricted the role of women in ministry. Then my husband and I discovered Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond. BTSR affirmed my call to ministry, taught me to preach, and later hired me to be their preaching professor. I’m grateful for how BTSR empowered me, and now I’m grateful for the opportunity to help the next generation of women and men find and use their own unique voices in the pulpit and beyond.”
We extend an invitation to both women and men to join the seminary community that is BTSR—a community where faculty, staff and students honor one another and celebrate and affirm the gifts of women in ministry. Join our 336 alumnae who have found the freedom and affirmation to live fully into their vocational callings as pastors, preachers, teachers, and developed leaders, leaning in to lead in both the church and the world.
#WeToo symbolizes our solidarity with women who have experienced the dismissive nature and the shackles of ecclesiastical bonds within the walls of the Southern Baptist Convention. This hashtag represents the resolve we have to stand with you. We too will stand firmly with women and men who value, as Christ did, all of God’s creation equally.
In the love of Christ,
The President, Faculty and Staff of BTSR
