About

I felt the urgency of capturing women’s stories while the women were still with us and had this vision of letting the women’s voices be heard.
Dr. Melody Maxwell

Called to Serve is an oral history project featuring women who were ordained by Baptist churches in Atlantic Canada between 1954 and 2024. More than 100 women were ordained during this time. Our project seeks to interview as many of these women as possible in order to share their stories. We hope that hearing about these women’s ministries, joys, and struggles will encourage and challenge others. We also hope that analyzing these women’s experiences will contribute to scholarly understanding of North American women in ministry.

Called to Serve is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Acadia Centre for Baptist and Anabaptist Studies, and First Baptist Church Amherst. Project research will continue into 2026, led by Rev. Dr. Melody Maxwell of Acadia Divinity College. Taylor Adams, Hannah Roberts, and Joetta Fernando serve as research associates for the project. You may contact us at calledtoserve@acadiau.ca or 902-585-2223.