Facing page, left: Vi Mundy, chief of the Ucluelet First Nations in Canada, shared fi rst hand stories about First Nations’ women and violence at the Baptist parallel meeting

Facing page, far left: Lauran Bethell, BWA human rights award recipient in 2005, was facilitator at the UN parallel event sponsored by the BWA Women’s Department

Right: Members of the panel at the parallel event sponsored by the BWA Women’s Department during the 57th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women

The BWA is Continuously Trying to Advance Women C

arolyn Fossen broke new ground. She is the fi rst female treasurer of the Baptist World Alliance®.

Fossen was elected BWA treasurer in 2010 and chairs

the Budget and Finance Committee. But to her, these are not remarkable achievements. She said the BWA has always given opportunities of leadership and participation to women, and not only through the BWA Women’s Department. Women have held other senior positions in the international organization, including as vice presidents and chairs of committees and commissions. Baptist groups around the world have had women leaders,

including president/moderator and general secretary/executive coordinator of conventions and unions, and many of these women have played meaningful roles in the life of the BWA. Raquel Contreras, the current president of the BWA Women’s Department, previously served as a vice president of the BWA, president of the Union of Baptists in Latin America – one of six regional fellowships of the BWA – and president of the Union of Evangelical Baptist Churches of Chile. Regina Claas, daughter of former general secretary Gerhard

Claas, is a vice president of the BWA and is general secretary of the Union of Evangelical Free Churches (Baptists) in Germany. She chaired the BWA Commission on Freedom and Justice, which preceded the Division of Freedom and Justice, created in 2008. Anna Maffei was, for a number of years, president of the Christian Evangelical Baptist Union of Italy and is vice chair of the BWA Commission on Doctrine and Christian Unity. Karin Wiborn, former general secretary of the Baptist Union of Sweden, served on commissions and workgroups of the BWA. She is currently general secretary of the Christian Council of Sweden. Other women Baptist denominational leaders include Sonia

Paynter, president of the Bermuda Baptist Fellowship, Isabel Gianella, president of the Baptist Conve ntion of Bolivia, Brenda Halk, president of Canadian Baptist Ministries and Suzii Paynter, who took up offi ce as executive coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) on March 1 this year. Both the CBF and American Baptist Churches USA have had women serving as moderator (CBF) and president (ABC USA). A number of female theologians and college and seminary

professors have served, and are serving, the BWA and have made presentations of signifi cant theological papers at BWA gatherings. “The BWA continues to strive to include women and are

overjoyed at their involvement,” Fossen stated. “While the role of women is being debated among many theologians, the BWA is continuously trying to advance women.”

Fossen’s involvement in the BWA began in 1977, shortly after

graduating from college. Jane Denny, wife of then BWA General Secretary Robert Denny, invited her to join her (Jane Denny’s) Sunday School class at Memorial Baptist Church in Arlington, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, DC. “The class took a tour to the Philippines and attended the Baptist Youth World Conference in 1978,” Fossen said. “The experience was transformational. When I got to go the Philippines, I was so excited to see the world represented there that I wanted to be a part of it. It has expanded my Christian understanding.” She has given unbroken service to the BWA since then. “I

joined the BWA Budget and Finance Committee before I was 21,” she explained. “I have now been supporting the BWA for 36 years.” A native Virginian, Fossen loves the diversity represented

within the BWA. Referring to the recent BWA Executive Committee meetings in March, she said “it was so interesting to hear accents from Africa, from Europe, from South America. The whole world was represented there. I love the BWA because it helps me see beyond [my local] community.” The BWA, more than any other entity, makes a unique

contribution to Baptist unity. “The BWA is tremendously unique. Baptists tend to split, especially in North America. The BWA allows everyone to get together and have a chance to fulfi ll Christ’s command to be unifi ed. The BWA provides an umbrella for all to stand together, where we can fi nd out together how much bigger the Baptist world is.” While the BWA is now doing a

lot, Fossen would like the support base to grow stronger so that it can do even more. “I would like to see us develop our support so that we can expand on the operations we already offer. It would be great to do what we already do on a grander scale, provide more training, more conferences.” This, she said, depends on the level of support that Baptists around the world are willing to give to the organization. “By giving to the BWA, you are giving to the worldwide church. The BWA serves known and unknown regions all over the globe.”

BWA Treasurer Carolyn Fossen

APRIL/JUNE 2013 27