Nothing in the program guide suggested I might slip through a time portal during worship. I’m sure of it; I would have noticed.
The theme of the 34th annual convocation for Baptist Women in Ministry of North Carolina (BWIMNC), “Storied Futures: We Journey Together,” promised a creative and interactive worship experience. Even so, I did not expect to journey back and forth between the year 2017 at First Baptist Church of Hickory, N.C., and circa 1973 at Five Points Missionary Baptist Church of Wilson, N.C. But I’m telling you: that’s what happened.
The service began with formalities and introductions. Following these matters of business, we entered into a time of worship that began with a responsive reading on the convocation’s theme. The leader read a line that recalled a bit of the history of women in ministry, from the prophet Miriam to those of us in that very room; we responded with a sentence prayer for sacred remembrance and godly truth. The liturgy closed beautifully with the line, “There will be a time when all little girls will grow up knowing they can serve however God calls.”
And that’s when it happened. The portal opened and I landed in my third grade Sunday school room at Five Points where my daddy (not yet 40) was pastor. The room was full of little girls–Harriet, Kit, Anne, Toni, Lisa–all of us dressed in our finest 1970s polyester fashions. A teenager led the group, teaching a song with accompanying hand signals: “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.” Anna Daniels, the pianist at our church from age 14 on, was always quick to help out with the kids, especially when music was involved.
The sound of a less distant piano brought me back to 2017. The BWIMNC music leader (called Anna Anderson now for longer than she was known as Anna Daniels) took her place at the grand piano and invited us to sing. Anna, field personnel with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, has spent years in music ministry and was a natural choice for her role at the convocation. Seated on the front row, Anna’s daughter, Leah Anderson Reed, an ordained Baptist minister herself, sang along with the congregation following her mother’s direction.
In the sanctuary of Five Points Missionary Baptist, as teen-aged Anna took her seat at the piano, high schooler Dotty Ferrell slid onto the organ bench. Sunday after Sunday, Anna and Dotty were there, participating in worship leadership. Clearly, Mrs. Mary Belle Daniels and Mrs. Valentine Ferrell had instilled in their daughters: “Your gifts matter. You are perfectly equipped to serve in whatever way God calls.” At our church, their presence was so welcomed as to be unremarkable; it never occurred to me that women didn’t have a place in church leadership.
At First Baptist of Hickory in 2017, the veil between heaven and earth parted. Anna’s parents and her younger sister, Beth, gathered around the piano: the three of them as present as they had been every single Sunday at Five Points Missionary Baptist all those years ago. They listened to Anna play as they beamed at their beloved Leah. The choir loft (empty to the casual observer) filled with saints who had encouraged and participated in Anna’s life of ministry in years gone by.
It felt to me, at least for a moment, that God’s Kingdom had indeed come to earth.
The liturgist had said, “There will be a time when all little girls will grow up knowing they can serve however God calls.” I praise God that this little girl knew that all along — thanks to Anna and Dotty and many other gifted women whose lives taught me that my story is a part of God’s story and that I am not alone on this journey of faith.
On September 12, 2024, Anna Daniels Anderson was honored as recipient of the Anne Thomas Neil Award at the 2024 BWIMNC Symposium. Here is the letter I wrote to nominate her. Congratulations Anna!
I’d like to nominate Rev. Anna Daniels Anderson for the Anne Thomas Neil award.
I don’t remember not knowing Anna Daniels Anderson. In fact, she plays the soundtrack to many of my earliest church memories. The pianist for the church my father pastored, teen-aged Anna was a favorite of kids like me. Back then there were more than 50 teens in the youth choir alone. Yet even in that massive youth group, Anna stood out as a leader. Anna, lighthearted and quick to laugh, yet dedicated and reliable, exuded the kind of confidence that made kids (and others) want to follow her lead.
Anna helped with children’s choir, vacation Bible school, and children’s camps. I have distinct memories of her teaching me music at both Fort Caswell (preacher’s kids–we got to have all the fun) and Chowan’s Girls in Action camp. As I recall, she taught us hand signs to the songs she was simultaneously playing on the piano.
In short, Anna has been in ministry since before Baptist Women in Ministry was a thing. Just by following God in her own life, Anna taught me and so many other little girls that gender does not impact calling. I am grateful.
Anna kept in touch with my parents over the years and I would hear of her going to seminary, working in ministry, leading church music, and so on. When I began my journey through divinity school, Anna and I became CBFNC colleagues. She was delighted by my choice and so encouraging in my call to ministry.
Now, as CBF field personnel, Anna is illustrating one of the many different roles women might have in ministry. Her actions on behalf of the marginalized, her partnerships with other providers, and her commitment to compassion and excellence continues to offer women and men an example of a life lived in vocational ministry.
So thank you for considering Anna Daniels Anderson for the Anne Thomas Neil Award. And thanks for all you do for Baptist Women in Ministry in our state. It is always encouraging to have the advocacy of BWIMNC on my side!
Rev. Dr. Aileen Mitchell Lawrimore, Pastor
Ecclesia Baptist, Asheville, NC
Original Source: Teenaged girl’s ministry becomes Baptist woman’s call – Baptist News Global
