Baptist Women in Ministry of North Carolina
SYMPOSIUM 2025
Adjusting to Change
Changing Bodies | Changing Careers | Changing World
Hayes Barton Baptist Church
September 11, 2025
9:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Thank you for your support and for joining us today. And we invite you to give TODAY to support with work and mininstry of BWIM NC.
Welcome Friends and Travelers on the Journey!
How good it is to be with you and to share this time with you as we gather to celebrate the work, ministry, and contributions of women who are called to serve God, using the gifts and talents God gave especially to each of us!
Our theme this year is Adjusting to Change: Changing Bodies, Changing Careers, Changing World. “Change” seemed the exact right word for us to focus on this year. BWIM NC has certainly seen some changes since last September. And those changes offer us a chance to celebrate. And so …
n We celebrate the work of our first Executive Director, Rev. Dr. Ka’thy Gore Chappell, who retired in April 2025 after seven years of serving in this role. We are grateful for the many years of good and faithful service of Ka’thy to ministry and especially for her work with BWIM NC. Thank you, Ka’thy! Best wishes and Godspeed.
n We celebrate the diligent work of the Search Committee and the Board of Directors who worked tirelessly for months to find the person to step into this space, offering dedication, vision, and passion for the work of encouraging and supporting women called to ministry. Thank you for your incredible work!
n We celebrate Rev. Lynnette Sills, called to serve as the Interim Director of BWIM NC for the past four months. We truly appreciate Lynnette’s willingness to step in and lead the board through our leadership transition. Thank you, Lynnette!
n We celebrate Rev. Leslie Park, who has been called to serve as the next executive director for Baptist Women in Ministry of North Carolina. You will meet Leslie today and celebrate with her as we install her into this ministry during worship. Welcome, Leslie!
Change isn’t always our favorite thing. But with change comes opportunity and gratitude for the ways we can see that what has been done now paves the way for us to go forward. And so …
n We celebrate the work of the Building Community Committee and the work they have done to make this day and this symposium a reality. Many thanks to this team and to their good work.
n We celebrate our new scholars for the 2025-2026 academic year. We are excited to offer support to them as they continue their studies with our partner divinity schools in the state. God’s blessings to you in your work this year!
n We celebrate 30 years of providing scholarships to women who have answered the call to ministry and pursued a seminary education.
n We celebrate the many churches, individuals, and partnering organizations who support BWIM NC in the work we do with their financial gifts. God bless you all!
n We celebrate the women in our state who have been ordained into vocational ministry in the past year. And we celebrate the churches who endorsed and affirmed that call. May God grant you peace and courage.
n We celebrate women who have answered the call to serve as lay leaders in our churches and organizations. May God richly bless you and your work.
We celebrate each of you! For all that you have done and will do; for all that you are and might be; for all that God gives and offers to you—WE CELEBRATE YOU!
Welcome to Symposium 2025!
Welcome from Hayes Barton Baptist Church
The members of Hayes Barton Baptist Church are honored to open our doors to the 2025 BWIM NC Symposium.
Through the years we have partnered with you in promoting and providing a place for women in ministry. We congratulate you for the significant impact you have made since your beginning in 1983. We pray God’s blessings upon you in your meeting today, and also in your work in the years to come.
David Hailey, Pastor
Sponsors
Thumb Pottery
Symposium Schedule
TIME EVENT LOCATION
9:30 a.m. Registration Fellowship Hall
n Pick up Name Tags and Gift Bags
n Light Breakfast Served
n Exhibits
9:45 a.m. Gathering for Worship Begins Fellowship Hall
10:00 a.m. Worship Fellowship Hall
See p.____for Order of Worship
11:30 a.m. Workshops
See p.____for more info on Workshops
#1. Changing Careers. Lou Ann Gilliam. Room ______
#2. Changing World. Rev. D’Najah Pendergrass Thomas Room ______
#3. Changing Bodies. Dr. Jamie Gallagher Room ______
12:30 - 2:00 p.m. Lunch/Fellowship/Exhibits Fellowship Hall
Celebration of 30 Years of Scholarships
See p.____ for more about Scholarships and Past Recipients
Introduction of 2025-2026 Scholars
See p.____ for more about our 2025-2026 Scholarship Recipients
Recognition of Out-going Board Members
BWIMNC Awards
See p.____ for more about 2025 Award Recipients
2:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. Communion and Benediction Fellowship Hall
Symposium Workshop and Worship Leaders
Workshop #1: Changing Careers
Contemplating the idea of changing how or where you are serving in ministry? This workshop is designed to give guidance that could help you take next steps in serving God and neighbor.
Presented by Lou Ann Gilliam.
Lou Ann Gilliam serves as the Ministerial Equipping director for the cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina. She serves on the staff team that coordinates CBFNC’s ministries to equip and support clergy. She also works with ministers and churches in transition and helps direct continuing education and professional development opportunities for pastors and staff ministers.
Workshop #2: Changing Your World
“I am free. I am being set free. I will be free.” Living fully into the notion of vocation as capacious, dynamic, fluid, and elastic, this workshop will explore ideas of how we continue to serve God and neighbor in the ever-changing work of ministry. What transformational change might look like and mean for you will be the focus of this workshop.
Presented by Rev. D’Najah Pendergrass Thomas
Dr. Thomas was born and educated in Charlotte, NC. She is a graduate of Appalachian State University with a Bachelor of Science in Public Relations. She received her Master of Divinity with a certificate in Baptist Studies from Duke University Divinity School and a Master of Science in Sports Management from Florida State University.
Work Shop #3: Changing Bodies
In this workshop, we’ll talk openly about perimenopause and menopause—what’s actually happening in our bodies, how it affects our health and longevity, and why it’s so often misunderstood. We’ll also go over evidence-based treatment options and how to confidently advocate for yourself to get the care you need.
Presented by Dr. Jamie Gallagher.
Dr. Jamie Gallagher, DNP, FNP-C, MSCP, is a board-certified family nurse practitioner and Menopause Society Certified Practitioner. She is the founder and CEO of Peri & Pause, The Menopause Center PLLC, where she leads a mission to transform midlife women’s health through evidence-based, relationship-driven care.
Rev. Leslie Park, Executive Director of BWIM NC
Rev. Park has over 20 years of ministry experience, most recently serving as the pastor of Warsaw Baptist Church in Warsaw, VA. In addition, she has been the moderator of Virginia Baptist Women in Ministry since 2022, and Minister to the Latino and Immigrant Community of the Rappahannock Baptist Association. She is a graduate of Baptist Theological Seminary of Richmond and James Madison University. She is married and the mother to three adult children.
Rev. Park is widely respected for her role as a pastor to other pastors, creating strong relationships across denominational and cultural lines. One of her references said of her, “Her passion is evident in the way she cultivates mentoring relationships, facilitates meaningful conversations over coffee, and collaborates with other pastors to create environments where women in ministry can thrive.”
We are grateful that God has chosen for Leslie Park to share her gifts with Baptist women in NC. She and her family moved to Wake Forest this summer and she began her role as Executive Director on September 1st.
Worship Leaders
Rev. Shannon Stewart Hall Board Member, BWIM NC
Deborah Garrard Bee Well, Serve Well
Rev. Kristen Muse Hayes Barton Baptist Church
Rev. Leslie Park
Rev. Lynnette Sills
Executive Director, BWIM NC
Former Interim Executive Director, BWIM NC, former BWIM NC Scholar
Rev. Dr. Meredith Stone Executive Director, BWIM
Rev. Breana van Velzen Convener, BWIM NC
Afternoon Celebration Leaders
Rev. Karen Metcalf Eickhoff Board Member, BWIM NC
Rev. Rebecca Hewitt-Newson Board Member, BWIM NC, former BWIM NC Scholar
Rev. Karen Metcalf-Eickhoff Board Member, BWIM NC, Opening Doors Committee
Rev. Leslie Park Executive Director, BWIM NC
Rev. Esther Soud Parker Treasurer, BWIM NC
Rev. Will Raybon Board Member, BWIM NC
Rev. Lynnette Sills Board Member, BWIM NC
Rev. Katrina Tatum Board Member, BWIM NC, former BWIM NC Scholar
Rev. Dr. Virginia Ross Taylor Program Director, BWIM NC Compelling Preaching Initiative Grant
Kim Wilkinson BWIM NC Scholar 2024-2025 and 2025-2026
Order of Worship
Welcome BWIM NC
Welcome Hayes Barton Baptist Church
Call to Worship & Invocation
Rev. Breana van Velzen
Rev. Kristen Muse
Deborah Garrard
Installation of Rev. Leslie Park as Executive Director of Baptist Women in Ministry of North Carolina
Hymn Great is Thy Faithfulness (see insert)
Charge to Those Gathered
Rev. Shannon Steward Hall
Rev. Lynnette Sills
Leader: My sisters and siblings in Christ, I commend Reverend Leslie Park to you as the new Executive Director of Baptist Women in Ministry of North Carolina. Will you, together with her, maintain the spirit of unity in the bond of peace through the work of this organization, and seek ways to embody that unity in your common life and work?
People: Gladly we will, the Lord being our helper.
Charge to Rev. Leslie Park
Rev. Sills
Leader: On behalf of Baptist Women in Ministry of North Carolina, I affirm you in your new role, charging you to maintain your covenant relationship with us and offering you our love and care.
As an organization we recognize your ministry and will support you in prayer, seeking with you the furtherance of God’s kingdom here and everywhere. May the everlasting God shield you, east and west and wherever you go, and the blessing of God be upon you.
People: The blessing of the God of life.
Leader: The blessing of Christ be upon us,
People: The blessing of the Christ of love.
Leader: The blessing of the Spirit be upon us,
People: The blessing of the Spirit of grace.
ALL: The blessing of the Trinity be upon us now and forevermore. Amen.
Prayer of Dedication
Rev. Dr. Meredith Stone
Loving God, you have called us to ministry and mission in church and world. Now, as Leslie begins a new ministry in places she has not been before and in ways she has not experienced before, we ask you to give her your Spirit anew, bringing abundance and joy in everyday things.
As Christ ministered to those around him, however close or far away they were to your kingdom, so help Leslie to minister according to Christ’s greater pattern.
Give her courage where difficulties must be faced. Encourage her where results are not easily seen. Lead her through the cost and privilege of this ministry, and always hold before her the vision of your kingdom that cannot be shaken, where there is wholeness, healing, and new creation.
We pray for all those here who serve, that they also may know your challenging, guiding, enlivening Spirit. We pray that through your Spirit’s work all may see the vision of your kingdom and come to know the peace and love of Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.
Responsive Reading
Leader: Leslie, may your new work excite your heart, kindle in your mind a creativity
People: To journey beyond the old limits of all that has become wearisome.
Rev. Dr. Stone
Leader: May this work challenge you toward new frontiers that will emerge as you begin to approach them,
People: Calling forth from you the full force and depth of your undiscovered gifts.
Leader: May the work fit the rhythms of your soul,
People: Enabling you to draw from the invisible New ideas and a vision that will inspire.
Leader: May this new work be worthy of the energy of your heart
People: And the light of your thought.
Leader: May your work assume a proper space in your life;
People: Instead of owning or using you, may it challenge and refine you, bringing you every day further into the wonder of your heart.
Hymn Lord, I Lay My Life Before You
Scripture Reading John 4:5-42
Sermon We Are Called to Change the World
Hymn Called to Become (see insert)
Invitation to Change: How is God Calling Us to Change?
Announcements
• Workshops Begin at 11:30 a.m. (See Symposium Schedule for Worship Locations)
• Lunch Begins at 12:30 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall
• Scholarships & Awards, Communion and Benediction
Resources for Installation Service:
Gathering for Worship: Patterns and Prayers for the Community of Disciples, The Baptist Union of Great Britain 2012. John O’Donohue, To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings, Doubleday 2008.
Rev. Hall
Rev. Leslie Park
Rev. Sills
Rev. Stone
Rev. Park
Rev. Hall
Rev. Park
Rev. van Velzen
Afternoon Celebrations and Closing
12:30 - 1:15 p.m. Lunch/Fellowship/Exhibits Fellowship Hall
1:15 - 2:00 p.m. Celebration of 30 Years of Scholarships
See p.____ for more about Scholarships and Past Recipients
Rev. Dr. Virginia Ross Taylor
Rev. Rebecca Hewitt-Newson
Introduction of 2025-2026 Scholars
See p.____ for more about our 2025-2026 Scholarship Recipients
Rev. Lynnette Sills
Financial Report
BWIM NC Awards Presentation
(See p.____ for more about 2025 Award Recipients)
Rev. Esther Soud Parker
Rev. Karen Metcalf-Eickhoff
Rev. Will Raybon
The Church Award for 2025: Hominy Baptist Church, Candler, NC
The Anne Thomas Neil Award Laity: Karen Brewer
The Anne Thomas Neil Award Clergy: Sarah Boberg
Recognition of Outgoing Board Members Rev. Lynnette Sills
Karen Metcalf-Eickhoff, Will Raybon, Shannon Stewart Hall
2:00 - 2:30 p.m. Communion and Benediction LITURGY
PARTICIPANTS