Documentary about women’s movement in Southern Baptist Convention will air Monday in Louisville

“Midwives of the Movement,” a documentary about the women’s movement in the Southern Baptist Convention, will premiere Monday in Louisville.

“The women who started our movement were bold and tenacious visionaries,” said Meredith Stone, executive director of Baptist Women in Ministry. “While they found a way forward, the patriarchal forces they fought are still at work.”

In a news release, Stone said the documentary’s “heartfelt stories, painful anecdotes, profound insights and lighthearted remembrances … will inspire the next generation to continue confronting patriarchy in religious spaces.”

The release says the production team began work in late 2022 and planned to interview leaders of the movement in June 2023. “Little did they know that the documentary’s subject — challenging Southern Baptist patriarchy— would find headlines again that same month.” That’s when Southern Baptist “messengers voted to uphold decisions to disfellowship Saddleback Church and Fern Creek Baptist Church for having female pastors, and approved the first reading of a constitutional amendment to disfellowship all other churches served by women with the title of pastor.”

The premiere event will include a screening of the film, followed by a panel discussion with the film’s production team. 

It will begin at 6:30 p.m. at Broadway Baptist Church, 4000 Brownsboro Rd., in Louisville. 

To RSVP or for more information about “Midwives of a Movement,” email Meredith Stone at [email protected].

Founded in 1983, Baptist Women in Ministry, sponsor of the documentary, advocates for “the full affirmation of women in ministry and leadership in Baptist life.”