BWIM NC Awards
The Church Award
The Church Award is given to congregations who are exemplary in supporting and encouraging the cause of women in ministry.
The Anne Thomas Neil Award
The Anne Thomas Neil award is given to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the cause of women in ministry.
The Anne Thomas Neil Award
Annie Lee Thomas Neil, age 94, died peacefully on Sunday, June 8, 2014, at Transitions LifeCare, in Raleigh, N.C. Anne Neil spent her formative years in Fairfax, S.C, one of eight children. At an early age, she discerned her life's calling to be a missionary. She received degrees in music, nursing, and seminary studies before being appointed in 1952 with her husband, Lloyd (deceased), as a Southern Baptist missionary, serving in Nigeria and Ghana for twenty-seven years. Along the way, Anne pursued further studies in counseling and guidance and spiritual formation. In West Africa, she served as nursing instructor, writer of religious literature, teacher, out-reach nurse, house parent for missionary children, leader within the mission, spiritual adviser to university students, and seminary instructor. Her career was characterized by her remarkable capacity to draw forth other people's gifts. Retiring with her husband to Wake Forest in 1981, Anne began a second career of advocacy for women in ministry, studying for a year at Garrett Theological Seminary in Chicago. Neil's passion for gender parity in ordination was a driving force in her role as a founder of Baptist Women in Ministry, the Alliance of Baptists, Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, and the Baptist House of Studies at Duke Divinity School. At eighty years of age, she was ordained to the ministry. Her life was dedicated to justice for disenfranchised people within every community she entered, whether in Nigeria, Ghana, or the American South. A passionate and reasoned voice for human liberation, she spoke truth to power as she lived our her faith by visiting women in prison, feeding the poor, bringing wholeness to the sick, writing and speaking for justice, inspiring the voiceless, and loving the outcast.
2026 Anne Thomas Neil Award Winner for Clergy
PEGGY HAYMES
Peggy Haymes is a member of Knollwood Baptist Church in Winston-
Salem. Her life is a beautiful collage of experiences and ministries that have shaped who she is and how she moves in the world.
She is a long-time minister (and former convener of BWIM NC) who has served as a staff member in the local church, interim pastor, as a hospital chaplain, a writer, speaker and for over twenty years, a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor. Invited to train with the staff of Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, she had the opportunity to work with them in grief workshops for several years. After their retirements she spent roughly a decade continuing that work.
These days Peggy considers herself a free-range minister. She enjoys leading retreats, workshops, and seminars. Preaching has always been her first love, and she enjoys filling in during a pastoral vacation, sabbatical or interim.
In her nomination, Mary Beck-Henderson states, “Peggy was instrumental in helping me affirm my call to ministry. Not only did she encourage me to follow through with Divinity School, she mentored me when I was trying to discern whether or not chaplaincy was for me. I’m proud to say that was and is. I honestly don’t think I would be in ministry if it were not for the conversations I had with Peggy. Peggy is a fierce and humble Baptist minister who advocates strongly for those who society casts out.”
The BWIM NC Board of Directors celebrates the ministry and service of Peggy Haymes and joyfully congratulates her on being the recipient of this award.
2026 Anne Thomas Neil Award Winner for Laity
ELAINE DAWSON
Elaine Dawson serves as Administrative Assistant for Academic Affairs at Campbell University Divinity School and has served the university for over 20 years. In this capacity she has encouraged, affirmed, and counseled countless women exploring their call to ministry: students, graduates, as well as colleagues. Women know that when they enter her office, they are in a sacred space and will encounter a listening ear as well as words and actions of affirmation. Elaine supports women in their preaching, job placement, and as they seek ordination.
According to Rev. Dr. Sarah Boberg in her nomination of Elaine, stated, “Elaine has the gifts of listening, compassion, and service. She embodies these gifts EVERYDAY within the halls of Campbell University Divinity School – helping students, helping faculty and staff, overseeing events, making phone calls, sending emails, holding space for sacred moments, creating space for laughter and joy, and inviting the presence of Christ into every moment big or small.”
Rev. Bradley Boberg states, “Elaine Dawson is the epitome of what this award stands for.”
The Board of Directors of Baptist Women in Ministry of North Carolina celebrates the ministry and service of Elaine Dawson and joyfully congratulates her on being the recipient of this award.
The Church Award
The "Cloud of Witnesses" Quilt was created in 2008, in celebration of the 25th anniversary of BWIM NC and serves as a reminder of interdependence with one another. Before the quilt was created, an invitation to fund the Kay Simpson Endowment was extended. The recipient of our annual Church Award has the honor of keeping and displaying the quilt for a full year.
2026 Winner of the Church Award
HAYES BARTON BAPTIST CHURCH, Raleigh
Hayes Barton Baptist Church celebrates 100 years of faithfulness grounded in the Baptist principles of the authority of the Holy Scriptures, the priesthood of the believer, the competency of the soul in matters of religion, the autonomy of the local church, believer’s baptism, religious liberty and the separation of church and state.
Hayes Barton Baptist Church has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to supporting and advancing women in ministry. The congregation has a longstanding history of calling, hiring, and encouraging women clergy, recognizing their gifts and leadership as essential to the life of the church. Rather than simply affirming women in ministry in principle, Hayes Barton has consistently put that commitment into practice.
Hayes Barton has also been a faithful partner to BWIM NC by generously opening its facilities for symposiums, convocations, and other gatherings over many years. Their hospitality has provided space for learning, worship, encouragement, and collaboration among women in ministry and those who support them.
The church actively invests in its clergy by encouraging female ministers to pursue continuing education, develop their leadership, and serve in denominational and ecumenical roles. This ongoing support reflects a deep commitment to nurturing vocational growth and expanding opportunities for women to lead both within the congregation and across the wider Baptist community.
Hayes Barton Baptist Church has been a consistent champion for women in leadership, creating a culture where women are empowered to answer God’s call, exercise their gifts, and flourish in ministry. Their faithful witness has influenced not only their own congregation but also the broader Baptist family in North Carolina. Their sustained commitment, generous partnership, and steadfast advocacy for women in ministry, make Hayes Barton Baptist Church the recipient of the 2026 BWIM, NC Church Award.
The Board of Directors of Baptist Women in Ministry of North Carolina celebrates the ministry and service of Hayes Barton Baptist Church and joyfully congratulates them on being the recipient of this award.
Find a complete list of Past Award Recipients