ALMA HUNT WAS A MOTHER OF NABWU

Baptist women around the world remember a great and beloved lady who died in Roanoke, Virginia, on June 14 at the age of 98.

Alma Hunt was the last in a line of great Baptist women who helped found NABWU and the Baptist World Alliance Women’s Department. God used her strong faith, boundless energy and vibrant personality "to fan into flame the gift of God" found in women around the world, says former BWA-WD president Audrey Morikawa.

Miss Hunt, who had been a teacher and dean of women, was introduced as the new executive secretary of the Woman’s Missionary Union in 1948. At least one member of the “old guard” looked at her spectacular hat, stylish dress, and lipsticked smile, and prayed that the Lord would preserve the WMU. The Lord answered this prayer. Not only was the WMU preserved, it prospered during the 26 years of Miss Hunt’s leadership. Her efforts “helped to shape WMU into the premier resource for missions education and involvement” in Southern Baptist churches, said Wanda Lee, the current executive director/treasurer. Membership soared to 1.5 million. The annual Alma Hunt Offering for Virginia Missions, established in her honor in 1998, has raised nearly $10 million for Christian ministries throughout Virginia and the world.

Miss Hunt officially retired from the WMU in 1974, but she continued to spend her energies in what she called “the greatest work on earth.” In her lifetime she visited 93 countries, advocating for missions, developing women for leadership and service, and making and rekindling friendships. “She literally went out into all the world and went as someone who sincerely cared,” said her successor, Carolyn Crumpler.

This caring was perhaps Miss Hunt’s greatest gift to Baptist women well beyond the WMU. From 1950 until her death, she warmly supported the Baptist World Alliance and the Women’s Department. She served on the NABWU Executive committee from 1951 to 1974. In 1965 she stepped into the presidency after the death of her colleague Mildred McMurry. She planned and presided over the 1967 NABWU Assembly. But it was her love for her sisters around the globe, as much as her leadership achievements, that established the model by which Baptist women would encourage other across cultural, national, and linguistic barriers.

To read more about more about the life of this amazing woman, go to WMU website. Her family has requested that memorials be sent to WMU, SBC, 100 Missionary Ridge, Birmingham, Ala., 35242-5235; WMU of Virginia, P.O. Box 8435, Richmond, Va., 23226; or Baptist World Alliance, c/o General Fund, 405 North Washington Street, Falls Church, Va., 22046.

WOMEN CELEBRATE NEW BAPTIST COVENANT

NABWU was part of an unprecedented gathering in Atlanta

Up to 15,000 Baptists from across North America accepted former U.S. President Jimmy Carter’s invitation to the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia, January 30-February 1, 2008, to celebrate the New Baptist Covenant, signed a year ago by leaders of more than 30 Baptist organizations in North America. This event called Baptists to unity in Christ, following the mandate of Luke 4:18-19: unity in bringing good news to the poor, respecting diversity, seeking peace with justice, welcoming the stranger, and setting the captive free. The speakers included former Presidents Carter and Clinton, Al Gore, Tony Campolo, John Grisham, Charles G. Adams, Marian Wright Edelman, Joel Gregory, US Senator Charles Grassley, Julie Pennington-Russell, and William J. Shaw. Baptist academic and ministry leaders from the US and Canada led special interest sessions on 16 current issues.

NABWU contributed $1,000 to this event. Four of NABWU’s new officers (Martha Turner-Riddick, Samida Johnson, Judy Dozois, and Esther Barnes) were vice-chairs of the NBC Prayer Network Committee. For more stories and photos from the New Baptist Covenant Celebration, click here.