In 2013, Reid Trulson was researching the history of missions in the American Baptist Churches USA when he stumbled across the name of a Charlotte H. White, a previously unremembered 19th century missionary. Then serving as executive director of ABCUSA’s…
Challenges for Baptist women in ministry today
I first saw a clergywoman in 2007 visiting a small, rural Church of England church in Yorkshire, UK. Brought up in mostly Catholic Poland, with limited religious literacy, I only had a vague idea that this was possible in other…
Annual report on Baptist women in ministry finds some gains but serious losses due to COVID
Women in ministry continue to feel blocked in their callings and ignored in their ministry settings because they are female, according to an annual report released June 21 by Baptist Women in Ministry. “The State of Women in Baptist Life,”…
Pennsylvania Baptist church licenses transgender man for ministry
A recent lay ministry licensing ceremony capped a multi-year ordeal for Joel Dugan, a 63-year-old transgender man who overcame the rejection of a Baptist association to live into his calling to serve his church and the LGBTQ community. The feeling…
Baptist peacemaker says people of faith can make a difference in Ukraine
People of faith could play an important role in resolving the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, a Baptist author and peacemaker said. “I have seen that mediation can be stimulated by non-governmental actors, including religious people. I have seen…
CBF, ABCUSA, Lott Carey and others assessing needs for long-term tornado relief work
State and national Cooperative Baptist Fellowship organizations are raising funds and planning long-term recovery operations in response to the tornadoes that rampaged across the Midwest and South over the weekend, killing nearly 90 people, including at least 74 in Kentucky….
COVID has dramatically changed the experience of global missionaries
American missionaries serving in far-away places continue to endure significant challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including limits on travel and in-person ministry, a scarcity of international volunteers and in some cases feelings of guilt for being vaccinated in communities…
More advocates needed to counter Christian nationalism, BJC leader urges
Increased faith-based advocacy is needed to counter Christian nationalism and other anti-democratic forces that sparked the Jan. 6 insurrection and that seek a theocratic future for the nation, according to Amanda Tyler, executive director of Baptist Joint Committee for Religious…
Women and men called to advocacy for women as ministers and leaders in ABCUSA
Lay and ordained women have made solid gains in leadership within the American Baptist Churches in the USA, but far too many continue to face obstacles within the denomination and in its churches, Patricia Hernandez told a virtual gathering of…