VALLEY FORGE, PA (ABNS 2/1/12)—American Baptist Women’s Ministries invites women to attend the 2012 National Women’s Conference, “In the Potter’s Hands: Sculpted Vessels,” July 21-27, 2012, at the Millennium Maxwell House Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee.
The conference will include learning experiences (workshops) and multi-day seminars on a wide range of topics, hands-on mission opportunities, international guests from South Africa, and ways to engage in “Break the Chains and Stop the Pain,” AB Women’s Ministries national mission project. Bible study leader Minister Rhonda White-Warner, M.Div., associate minister of Friendship Missionary Baptist Church in Vallejo, California, will lead conferees into a deeper exploration of Jeremiah 18:6b and other Scriptures; music and worship leader Rev. Dr. Samella W. Junior Spence of Emmanuel Bible College in Nashville will inspire conferees to raise their voices in prayer and praise. Saturday and Sunday evening keynote speaker Lois Olmstead, of Livingston, Montana, is a motivational speaker, Christian author, and acclaimed humorist; she speaks and writes about the grace of God in her life as a cancer survivor.
Special guest, Rev. Becca Stevens, founder and director of the internationally-recognized Magdalene & Thistle Farms in Nashville, brings her experience with women recovering from violence, prostitution, addiction, and life on the streets to bear as she motivates and inspires conferees to greater service for God. Rev. Patricia Hernandez, national director of American Baptist Women in Ministry, looks forward to gathering together women in professional ministry service for times of conversation, support, and prayer with one another, as well as facilitating programming during the event.
AB Women’s Ministries Executive Director Virginia Holmstrom said, “The American Baptist women of First Baptist Church Capitol Hill and New Vision Baptist Church in Nashville join me in welcoming AB women from near and far to this year’s national women’s conference. Warm hospitality awaits us. The speakers, leaders, learning experiences, and seminars promise to be among the finest we’ve ever had.”
Nashville, Tennessee, is a music center of North America. Home to the Fisk Jubilee Singers from Nashville’s Fisk University, the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, the Grand Ole Opry, and the Music City Walk of Fame, Nashville offers recreation and history for the entire family.
The Millennium Maxwell House Hotel, where Maxwell House coffee was born, has spacious guest rooms with spectacular views of downtown Nashville and the rolling hills of Tennessee. A beautiful and comfortable setting for the National Women’s Conference, the Millennium Maxwell House Hotel also provides complimentary shuttle service to local attractions and the airport.
For more information, including online registration (or downloadable forms to send in by mail), and a scholarship application for first-timer conferees, visit AB Women’s Ministries website at www.abwministries.org, and click on “Events.”
American Baptist Women’s Ministries is a Christ-centered ministry with a commitment to encourage and empower women and girls to serve God. Additional ABWM-sponsored events in 2012 include a Mission Encounter to Alaska on May 18-27 (cosponsored with American Baptist Home Mission Societies) and a weekend retreat for young adult women, “C2R4” on September 28-30, 2012, at Canonicus Camp and Conference Center, Exeter, Rhode Island.
American Baptist Churches USA is one of the most diverse Christian denominations today, with 5,500 local congregations comprised of 1.3 million members, across the United States and Puerto Rico, all engaged in God’s mission around the world.