This little news item from BUS/BMS is quite exciting, not least as it means there are now two ordained Scottish Baptist women working directly for the BUS (the other being my super, splendiferous mentee).  I am obviously thrilled that there are women being appointed to these roles, but I'm afraid there has to be a but...

I am still the only woman minister in sole pastoral charge of as Baptist church within the BUS... there are a few 'associates' (under the headship (even if notional) of a man minister) and a few chaplains... but this Rubicon is evidently rather too wide for many to cross, at least as yet.

It is one of those things that continually strikes me as ridiculous, that Baptists (English, Scottish, Welsh) will cheerfully appoint women to 'translocal' posts, even to overtly 'strategic missional' posts far more readily than to local churches... Union Presidents, Regional Ministers, Mission Co-ordinators, Youth Co-ordinators, tick, tick, tick, tick... but bog-standard minister-type person, ooooh, not so sure...

But, back to the good stuff, big congratulations to Judy on her appointment, and I look forward to seeing how the new BUS-BMS collaboration works out.