My favorite day of the year is quickly approaching: the day that Baptist Women in Ministry hosts its Annual Gathering! In one week, on Wednesday, June 28, we will gather for worship and celebration at Smoke Rise Baptist Church in Stone Mountain. Worship begins at 10:00 a.m. and will be followed by a lunch.
Our worship theme this year is “Crossroads: Discovering the Sacred in Every Journey.” Themes for our worship services always seem be based on a newly discovered favorite quote, and this year is no different. The quote is from Phil Cousineau’s The Art of Pilgrimage: The Seeker’s Guide to Making Travel Sacred: “If we truly want to know the secret of soulful travel, we need to believe that there is something sacred waiting to be discovered in virtually every journey.” Cousineau also references a scripture text that has become interwoven with our theme. “The LORD said to the people: ‘You are standing at the crossroads. So consider your path. Ask where the old, reliable paths are. Ask where the path is that leads to blessing and you will find rest for your souls.” (Jeremiah 6:16)
Soulful travel, sacred journey, crossroads, reliable paths, rest for your soul — I imagine that, like me, you stand every day at a crossroad, seeking guidance, dreaming of soulful travel, desiring to find the sacred as you make the journey. I hope you have made plans to join us for worship as together we listen to the spirit and discern the paths we are called to follow.
Our guides on this worship journey are Kasey Jones, pastor of National Baptist Memorial Church, Washington, D.C., who is our preacher, and Ossie McKinney, minister of music at Faith Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia, who will lead our worship.
Our service will also include testimonies by two Baptist leaders: Linda McKinnish Bridges, the new president of Baptist Theological Seminary in Richmond, and Amanda Tyler, the new executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty.
As is true of all BWIM worship services, we will celebrate communion together. My friend, Nora Lozano, professor of theological studies and director of the Latina Leadership Institute at Baptist University of the Americas, and I will lead communion together. I have to admit that I am most excited about this opportunity to lead worship with Nora. Her friendship has been a special gift to me this year.
We will also recognize and honor recipients of our Addie Davis awards, our Frankie Huff Granger Distinguished Mentor Award, and our Church of Excellence. It will be a beautiful celebration!
If you have never been part of a BWIM worship service, you need to come. If you have come before, you already know how special the day will be. Just today I got an email from a minister friend who wrote, “We will be there. My husband says that the BWIM service is his favorite experience this time of year.” Lunch tickets are available until Thursday, June 23, so get yours today! You can purchase tickets on the BWIM website.
Come join me for my favorite day of the year!
Pam Durso is executive director, Baptist Women in Ministry, Atlanta, Georgia.