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THE 2019 DISTINGUISHEDMENTOR AWARDJAY KIEVE2019 Frankie Huff GrangerDistinguished MentorAward6Baptist Women inMinistry recognizes andhonors Jay Kieve as therecipient of the 2019Frankie Huff GrangerDistinguished MentorAward.Since March2013, Jay has servedas coordinator ofCooperative BaptistFellowship of SouthCarolina, a positionfrom which he hasfiercely encouraged andadvocated for womenministers. During histenure, seven womenhave been called as pastors bychurches affiliated with CBFof South Carolina, and severalof those women credit Jay withhelping open doors into theirchurches and then encouragingand supporting them in their roleas pastor.Merianna Neely Harrelson,now pastor of Garden ofGrace Church in Columbia,South Carolina, offers thesewords about Jay’s role in herown ministerial journey: “Asa third-year seminary studentwho had been told again andagain that there just weren’tcongregations who were readyto call a woman to be theirsenior pastor, I was losing hope. . . Then I met Jay Kieve. Hebelieved that there were churchesin South Carolina who wouldcall a woman and who wouldcall me. He helped make theconnection to Emmanuel BaptistFellowship, the community offaith that would call me to myfirst pastorate. He was eager tohelp me to succeed by providingencouragement and guidance. Hecelebrated my call by sharing itin the state newsletter and withthe greater BWIM community,urging other churches to see whata minister looks like.”Jennifer McClung Rygg,pastor of First Baptist Churchof Pendleton, echoes thisaffirmation: “Jay has been veryintentional about fostering acommunity of collegiality acrossgender lines, and his leadershipis a great support for womenin ministry. He has encouragedcommittees to consider womenas candidates and is helping usmove toward that becoming ‘thenorm.’ Jay is a great resourceand source of encouragement forwomen ministers.”Others in the state havealso been the recipients of Jay’smentoring. Carrie Nettles, anordained Baptist minister anda victim services specialist atthe Julie Valentine Center inGreenville, writes, “I cannotimagine where my own call andpath would be if not for hissupport, allyship, and leadership.Jay’s leadership is ego-less, justicefocused, and quite Jesusy in thatevery bit of power given to himhe gives away to others.”Prior to his role at CBF ofSouth Carolina, Jay was pastorand associate pastor of severalchurches in Alabama, NorthCarolina, and South Carolina.Dixie Ford, who served on staffwith Jay at Crosscreek BaptistChurch in Pelham, Alabama,writes, “He encouraged me to usemy gifts, challenged me to takerisks, and continues to supportmy call to ministry even thoughwe no longer work together. Iam grateful that my three youngdaughters and my son were ableto see their pastor completelyaffirm and encourage women inministry.”Jay currently serves onthe Clergy Sexual MisconductTask Force, a joint partnershipof Baptist Women in Ministryand the Cooperative BaptistFellowship. Stephen Reeves,co-chair of the task forceand associate coordinator ofpartnerships and advocacy forCooperative Baptist Fellowship,affirms, “Jay has been one of themost dedicated members of thetask force and has contributedsignificantly to the resourcescreated for churches. He ispassionate, knowledgeable, anddedicated to prevention in ourchurches.”Jay’s colleague and friend,Terri Byrd, coordinator ofAlabama Cooperative BaptistFellowship, writes, “Jay is anadvocate for women in the mostpractical sense of the word . . .advocating for equal pay, equaltime on the agenda, equal voiceson the platform, and equalresumes that are handed over forpotential job hires. He listenswith open ears and heart andbelieves the stories that are told. Ihave seen him embrace workplaceflexibility for ALL so that no onewas singled out. He mentors withenthusiasm, honesty, and grace allof those who seek his guidance.”For his intentional efforts tomentor and advocate for womenministers, we give thanks to Godfor Jay Kieve.

2019 CHURCH OFEXCELLENCEOver the years, many churcheshave supported Baptist Womenin Ministry with prayers andcontributions and have nurturedthe faith of girls and women,affirmed women’s callings andgiftedness, blessed and ordainedwomen as ministers, calledwomen to serve in their midst,and sent women out to serve inthe world. The Church of Excellence recognition is BWIM’s wayof saying thank you each year toone church, a church that hasgone above and beyond in itsencouragement and support.This year, with much gratitude, Baptist Women in Ministryhonors Baptist Church of theCovenant (BCOC), Birmingham,Alabama, as the 2019 Churchof Excellence. Founded in1970, BCOC was birthed duringBirmingham’s fight for desegregation. That year a young AfricanAmerican girl, Twila Fortune,and her mother, Winifred Bryant,asked to become members of theall-white First Baptist Church ofBirmingham. The third time thatthe church refused them membership almost 300 membersalong with the pastor, J. HerbertGilmore, walked out.With nowhere to go, the“Company of the Committed,”as they called themselves, werewelcomed by a nearby reformJewish congregation, TempleEmmanu-el, to worship in theirsanctuary on Sundays at 9 a.m.The “company” soon foundedBaptist Church of the Covenant, which was constituted onDecember 20, 1970. Three yearslater, the congregation boughtland on Birmingham’s southsideand has remained there, committed to serving in an urban area.While worshiping at theTemple, members of the newchurch created a list of congregational commitments that continue to be read each time a newmember is presented, including:“Anyone who desires to worshipJesus Christ is welcome.” Sincetheir founding, BCOC has livedout this call to radical hospitality. They host a weekly community meal that draws thosewho are homeless, hold a Sundaymorning class for children withdevelopmental disabilities, andoffer a van ministry to help theelderly and disabled living in afederally subsidized apartmentbuilding buy groceries.A supporter of women inleadership since its founding,BCOC voted in 1974 for theinclusion of women in their deacon body, and the congregationordained its first women deaconsin 1975: Nadine Gordon, Marian Norris, and Virginia Ogle. In1978, BCOC ordained chartermember and deacon, AlineFuselier, to the gospel ministry.During the 1980s-90s, as oneof the few churches in the areathat affirmed the ministry giftsof women, the congregation welcomed women into the pulpitand ordained a good number ofwomen as ministers.In 2002, the church calledSarah Jackson Shelton as pastor.While the church’s embrace ofSarah was overwhelmingly affirmative, her calling was criticizedpublicly as Sarah was one of thefirst women called to pastor anAlabama Baptist church. During her tenure, she mentorednumerous Samford Universitystudents as well as the womenministers who have served onthe BCOC’s staff, many ofwhom are pastors and leadersthroughout the world. In 2018,Sarah was as a mentor for fournew pastors for Baptist Womenin Ministry’s Mentoring Program. On April 28, 2019, afternearly seventeen years of faithfully pastoring BCOC, Sarahretired from church ministry. Inthis transitional season, RodneyFranklin is the interim pastor,and Valerie Burton, associatepastor for Christian formationand a staff minister since 2008,continues to offer congregationalleadership.Baptist Women in Ministrycelebrates Baptist Church of theCovenant’s commitment to thework of the gospel, its generous and faithful support of ourorganization, and its affirmationand support of women ministers.Today with much excitement werecognize Baptist Church of theCovenant as the 2019 Church ofExcellence!BAPTIST CHURCHOF THE COVENANT,BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA2019Baptist Women in MinistryChurch of ExcellenceSarah Jackson Shelton7

CONGRATULATIONSTO THE 2019ADDIE DAVISNOMINEESTHE 2019 ADDIE DAVISAWARDSOUTSTANDINGLEADERSHIP IN PASTORALMINISTRYLynn HolmesDuke UniversityDivinity SchoolMuriel LasaterCampbell UniversityDivinity SchoolSara McClainBaptist Seminaryof KentuckyDarlene Turner-HarperCentral BaptistTheological SeminaryEXCELLENCE INPREACHINGDevin Harris-DavisBaptist Seminaryof KentuckyAllison Henderson-BrooksEmory University’sCandler Schoolof TheologyCamille LoomisDuke UniversityDivinity SchoolElizabeth PerkinsBaylor University’sGeorge W. TruettTheological SeminaryMiriam PhillipsCampbell UniversityDivinity School8Julianna MarraccinoSince 1998, Baptist Women in Ministryhas recognized exceptional Baptist womenseminarians through the presentation of theAddie Davis Award for Outstanding Leadershipin Pastoral Ministry and the Addie Davis Awardfor Excellence in Preaching. The awards are anaffirmation of all the women nominated as well asrecognition of the award recipients.The 2019 recipient of the Addie Davis Awardfor Outstanding Leadership in Pastoral Ministry isJulianna Marraccino. Originally from California,Julianna first experienced God’s call to ministrywhile on a mission trip to Kenya during herfreshman year of high school. Desiring to studyreligion, Julianna attended Baylor University forher undergraduate degree and remained at Baylorfor graduate work in theology and social work.She currently has completed three years of a fouryear program pursing a Master of Divinity degreefrom George W. Truett Theological Seminaryand a Master of Social Work degree from theDiana R. Garland School of Social Work. “Inbringing together these two fields,” she says, “Isee the scriptural truths and callings lived out inAndrea Huffmancaring for others and the community in a waythat considers the whole of a person, the systemswithin communities, and the values of seeingevery individual as one who is made in the imageof God.”In addition to a rigorous course load, Juliannahas served as resident chaplain for the largestresident hall on campus, ministering to 600freshman women by holding one-on-one meetingswith students and staff members, leading Biblestudies and other events, and providing pastoralcare for those experiencing health, academic,relational and spiritual crises.In between semesters, Julianna has engagedin cross-cultural internships and classes in Kenyaand Zambia. She hopes to use her experiences andeducation to engage churches and communitiesthrough cross-cultural engagement, buildingmeaningful partnerships, and glorifying Godthrough service and witness with others.For the past seven years, Julianna hasbeen an active youth ministry volunteer atHighland Baptist Church in Waco, developingand teaching lessons, leading small groups, and

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Christian Latina Leadership Institute, and coordinator of Texas Baptist Women in Ministry. Anrya serves on Baptist Women in . Jay Kieve is coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of South Carolina, Anderson, South Carolina. . Seminary and the Diana R. Gar