In 1918, the first woman Baptist minister to be appointed in sole charge of a church in England was appointed.
Edith Gates was born in 1883 (the same year that the Boys' Brigade was founded and that some pioneering Baptists left central Glasgow to found what would become The Gathering Place).
At the age of 35, she entered her pastorate at Little Tew and Clevely in Oxfordshire. When I was 35, I was just beginning the process of candidating to train for Baptist ministry, and was appinted to my first pastorate at the age of 40.
In 2009, the first woman Baptist minister to be appointed in sole charge of a church in Scotland was appointed.
And so, I stand of the shoulders of giants, and on the days when it gets tough or isolating, I can be heard mumbling to myself "Edith Gates, Violet Hedger" as a kind of mantra.
You can read a bit more about Edith Gates here
Comments
Interesting. I knew little about Edith Gates before reading this post. You might want to change the year date in your first sentence. I assume you mean 1918 not 2018?
Thank you, Nancy. Corrected now.