Called to Serve

Dena graduated from Acadia Divinity College in 2018 with a Bachelor of Theology. She has gone on to develop a career as an event producer, working in the creative arts and music industries. Dena speaks to the opportunities young people have to pursue unique avenues for ministry—emphasizingthat, while she has not been ordained or held typical ministry roles, God continues to place her in spaces whe...

Today we’ll be sharing a recent presentation that some of our team gave for the Canadian Baptist Historical Society in Toronto. Dr. Melody Maxwell and MA student Joetta Fernando shared their paper, “Answering the Call: Baptist Women in Second-Career Ministry," describing their research on the dynamics of Baptist women who pursue ministry later in life as a second career. Called to Serve, the...

Amy Golberg was ordained in 2025 at Rusagonis Baptist Church in New Brunswick. She now serves as Senior Pastorfor The Bridge Church in Fredericton. Amy shares about her journey to faith as an adult coming from a more secular background. She describes the strong support she has received along the way, whether from her husband who is a chaplain, from female role models in ministry, or from a small g...

Called to Serve , the BOOK, is now available for purchase through our website, as well as on Amazon and other stores! Find your copy at calledtoserve.ca/the-book and leave your honest review on Amazon or Goodreads! Sharon MacKenzie has been serving as worship director and now worship pastor since 2006 at Charlottetown First Baptist Church on Prince Edward Island. She describes the significant infl...

Erica Corbin was ordained with the CBAC in 2023 at Faith Baptist Church in Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia. She has since moved her denominational affiliation to the Canadian Association for Baptist Freedoms. In this episode, Erica describes her ministry as a chaplain for the Canadian Armed Forces, emphasizing the ability chaplaincy gives her to walk alongside people and challenge the stereotypes the...

Debbie Simmonds was ordained in 2021 at East Preston United Baptist Church in Nova Scotia, where she’s served in many capacities for over forty years. She works as the food hub coordinator for the Preston Area Food Network and has a passion for outreach ministry. Debbie shares her powerful experience of connecting with God while she was in hospital, and describes the ongoing work she does in the c...

Pam Schut is Pastor of Children’s and Family Ministries at First Baptist Charlottetown on Prince Edward Island. In this episode, Pam describes the effect it had on her ministry when she gained the title of pastor. She also shares her experience of being present at the 1987 vote on whether the CBAC should continue ordaining women, and she explains the importance of sharing even our negative stories...

Carol Ann McGibbon was ordained in 1984 at Germain Street Baptist Church in Saint John, NB. She pioneered urban ministry programs in both Nova Scotia and Chicago, enjoying a long career with SCUPE, the Seminary Consortium for Urban Pastoral Education. In this episode, Carol Ann describes her deep commitment to urban ministry and social justice, and shares an incredible story about a movement of th...

Maxine Gough was ordained in 2005 and continues ministering today in her eighties. She describes growing up in a segregated Black community in Nova Scotia and her experiences ministering in churches of the African United Baptist Association. She also describes the joys and challenges of attending seminary in her sixties as a blind student, believing that God has called her to serve him in her blin...

Virginia DeAdder was ordained in 2007 at Hantsport Baptist Church in Nova Scotia. After retiring from a long career in telecommunications, she went on to pastor several rural Baptist churches and continues to provide pulpit supply today. Virginia describes wrestling with a call to ministry because of her gender. Although her faith began with an emphasis on fear, she shares how God has walked with...

Joetta Fernando is one of our research associates at Called to Serve. She joined the team in April of 2024 and has been working on data analysis, conducting interviews, and writing material for our upcoming book. Get to know her in this special behind-the-scenes conversation. Want to win a free copy of our upcoming book? Email ⁠ calledtoserve@acadiau.ca ⁠ by March 31st 2026, with the subject line...

Andrea Anderson was ordained in 2019. She has served as Deputy Minister over the Public Service Commission in Nova Scotia, and is currently senior pastor at East Preston United Baptist Church. Andrea talks about her ability to minister in the workplace, and describes experiencing racism in both seminary and the public service.   Want to win a free copy of our upcoming book? Email ⁠ calledtoserve@a...

We are re-sharing an interview in honour of Canadian Baptist missionary Muriel Bent, who recently passed away at the age of 95. Muriel served with Canadian Baptist Ministries for over 35 years, working as a missionary in the field of public health. She was a nurse, midwife, hospital administrator, and community health advocate who completed a Master’s in Tropical Community Health and toured nearly...

Jennifer Varner was ordained by the CBAC in 2004 but now pastors a charismatic ministry called Wellspring Christian Community Outreach in New Germany, Nova Scotia. Jennifer reflects on a challenging church departure and describes what she gained from her years as a Baptist, before making the difficult decision to pastor in another denomination. Want to win a free copy of our upcoming book? Email ⁠...

Pamela Estey was ordained in 2005 in Canning, Nova Scotia. She is now the intentional interim pastor for St. Margaret’s Bay Baptist Church. Pamela describes her experience with music ministry, pastoral leadership, camp directing, and chaplaincy. She explains her current interest in addressing trauma in church settings, and muses on why she finds men and women tend to fall into different pastoral r...

Want to win a free copy of our upcoming book? Email ⁠ calledtoserve@acadiau.ca ⁠ by March 31st 2026, with the subject line FREE BOOK. Everyone who emails in will receive notification when the book comes out and be entered into the draw. Ruth Tonn was ordained in 2019 following a twenty-year career as a semi-truck driver. She most recently served as Pastor of Families and Community Outreach at Wolf...

Tammy Giffen was ordained in 2020. She is the church planter and lead pastor of Groundswell Church in Truro, Nova Scotia. Tammy talks about the challenges she has faced navigating her denomination, in which leaders hold divergent views on women in ministry. She emphasizes the importance of mentoring upcoming female leaders, as well as of not placing too much emphasis on one’s pastoral identity. Ca...

LeQuita Porter is a trained lawyer who pastored at EastPreston United Baptist Church from 2010 through 2019. She was the first female senior pastor in that church’s 168-year-history. LeQuita talks about her journey toordination and her experience with empowering women who have experienced abuse. She also describes the lessons she learned while balancing ministry and motherhood. Called to Serve is...

Sheila was ordained in 2024, after many decades of ministry service. She currently serves as Lay Pastor at Perth-Andover Baptist Church. Sheila talks about ministering in the community, where she is known as the “arena pastor”, and about the encouragement she received from numerous women who ministered though unordained.  Called to Serve is a Canadian podcast featuring the stories of women ordaine...

Lois was ordained in 2007 and has served several local churches in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. She stresses the importance of prayer ministry throughout her life, as well as the role of community when there are dark times. She also describes the blessing she felt, ministering to people and families as they face death. Called to Serve is a Canadian podcast featuring the stories ofwomen ordained...

Sarah Cogswell was ordained in 2024 and serves as the Pastor of Spiritual Formation and Care at The Journey Church in Moncton, New Brunswick. She describes how she wrestled through being called to ministry as a woman and how she has learned to embrace her limitations in order to avoid burnout and remain healthy in ministry. Called to Serve is a Canadian podcast featuring the stories ofwomen ordain...

Rev. Dr. Joyce Ross was ordained in 2014 at the age of 75. She describes her lifetime experience in prison ministry and early childhood education, vital community work for which she was awarded the Order of Canada in 2002. Called to Serve is a Canadian podcast featuring the stories ofwomen ordained by churches within the Canadian Baptists of Atlantic Canada . Between 1954 and 2024, over one hundre...

Patty Beals was ordained in 2012. For ten years, she pastored the rural Lawrencetown Baptist Church, a church  that had plateaued but under her leadership started new community ministries. Called to Serve is a Canadian podcast featuring the stories of women ordained by churches within the Canadian Baptists ofAtlantic Canada . Between 1954 and 2024, over one hundred women were ordained to ministry ...

Diane Juckes was ordained in 2003. She has pastored at Lower Derby Baptist Church, and served as a chaplain in both hospital and correctional institutions. Diane shares stories of prison ministry in a maximum security setting, and the challenges and opportunities of navigating a multifaith ministry context.   Called to Serve is a Canadian podcast featuring the stories of women ordained by churches...

“Called to Learn" is a research paper given by Dr. Melody Maxwell that focuses on the educational experiences of Atlantic Baptist women training for ministry. Dr. Maxwell gave this presentation at the 10th International Conference on Baptist Studies. Using many of the interviews we have completed so far for Called to Serve, Dr. Maxwell discusses what she found women experienced in academic se...