Women in Leadership

Women in the Church

St. Charles Avenue Baptist Church has long affirmed and welcomed women into all levels of leadership roles within the life of our congregation. This core practice is shared with our denominational partners, the Alliance of Baptists, the American Baptist Church, and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.

Over the last several years, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) made headlines for reaffirming their position of not allowing women to serve in certain high-ranking leadership positions within the life of the church. St. Charles Avenue Baptist Church is not affiliated with the SBC, as we do not hold this belief in common.

Ordination of Women

St. Charles has ordained women into ministry and continues to do so. We believe that God can call any and all persons to be pastors and deacons, and our congregation is open to affirming these gifts and callings. Most recently, we celebrated the ordination of the Rev. Taylor Allen in Dec. 2022. Both Rev. Allen and her wife, Mary Kathryn Allen, share their gifts of preaching with us regularly on Sunday mornings.

Women as Deacons and Decision-Makers

St. Charles has a majority of women serving on its diaconate and on our governing board. We do not exclude women from any rank of leadership within our congregation, and we know that our congregation is better for their willingness to lead in these capacities.

Women as Pastors

For decades, our congregation has called women to serve in the positions of associate pastor and senior pastor. In 2013, we were the first Baptist church in the state of Louisiana to call a woman (the Rev. Elizabeth Lott) to serve in a senior pastor position with a Baptist congregation. After a wonderful 10 year tenure, we celebrated, in 2023, Rev. Lott’s many valuable contributions both to the life of our congregation and to the city of New Orleans. Following Rev. Lott’s tenure, we continue to celebrate the gifts of women in ministry by regularly welcoming women into the pulpit, including the Rev. Deanne Aime, Rev. Taylor Allen, and Mary Kathryn Allen.

Female pastor Women pastors Women leaders St. Charles Avenue Baptist Church New Orleans Louisiana Garden District Uptown Progressive Religious Community Southern Baptist

Women Chairing Major Projects

Around 2020, our congregation embarked on an ambitious capital campaign to raise over $800,000 to secure the physical integrity of our nearly 100 year old, historic sanctuary. Three women in our congregation successfully co-chaired the project and guided our larger steering committee over this three year long process.

St. Charles Avenue Baptist Church capital campaign sacred space for all partners for sacred places historic preservation women leadership

Trans Women and Gender Non-Conforming Persons

St. Charles works to be a safe space for individuals in the trans community and for our gender non-conforming friends. We strive to be a place where people can express their gender-identity in ways that are true for them and that are in keeping with the way they believe God has wonderfully made them. As all people are made in the image of God, we celebrate a diversity of ways that people can live into their sacred identities.

Not that Kind of Baptist

To our knowledge, St. Charles Avenue Baptist Church is unlike any other Baptist congregation in the city of New Orleans. We are aware of only a few other Baptist congregations in the state of Louisiana that share the same ideals and values regarding the full inclusion of women and the LGBTQ+ community. So, yes, we are a Baptist church, but we are not that kind of Baptist church.