Carol Richardson @carolfaithinmemphis ?
Carol serves as associate pastor of the First Baptist Church, Memphis, becoming the first female to be ordained into the gospel ministry by her church. She was also among the first women in her church to be ordained as a deacon. She was enrolled in the cradle roll depart of First Baptist when she was only weeks old. Carol received her B.A. degree from Baylor University, a M.S. degree from Vanderbilt University and a Masters of Divinity degree from Beeson Divinity School, where she helped found the Women’s Theological Fellowship. In 2001 she was selected by the faculty as the Distinguished Student in recognition of outstanding achievement in scholarship, Christian spirituality and ministry involvement. She received her Doctor of Ministry degree from Memphis Theological Seminary, where her special focus was healing prayer and its renewal in the twenty-first century church. She continues to be involved in the holistic healing and health ministry of her church and is presently involved in inter-faith dialogue in her community in an effort to promote greater understanding among the faith traditions. Carol has served and has been an active member of the Memphis Ministers Association, where she served in various places of leadership. She has served for many years on the board of Baptist Center of Ethics, a non-profit which provides proactive, positive and practical ethic resources to churches, as well as on the Arkwings Foundation Board, an organization for the holistic development of urban youth. She is a member of Leadership Memphis, class of 88 and has served as President of Tennessee Woman’s Missionary Union, serving mission and ministry causes across Tennessee. Carol has recently served on the boards of the national Woman’s Missionary Union Foundation as well as the Samaritan Counseling Center, serving the poor in the Memphis area. Carol is the wife of Greer Richardson, a retired orthopedic surgeon. Together they teach a class of young adults. They have three young adult children, all in the healthcare profession, and are grandparents to three, Edens, Lockard and Annie Caroline. A fourth grandchild will be added in August of 2011. Carol is intensely interested in spiritual formation, visits a monastery as often as she is able, is an avid reader of Christian mystics and suffers with her husband through every baseball season of the Chicago Cubs.Latest Status Update
-
Carol Richardson wrote a new blog post: Mindful of both religious freedom and health care needs 3 months ago · View
Our Baptist Joint Commission for Religious Liberty in our nation’s capital has issued some very fine statements on Obama’s new, broadened policy which expands the religious accommodation and requires insurance companies to offer contraceptive services free of charge directly to employees at religious institutions that object to providing them. As a woman of faith, I [...]
-
Carol Richardson wrote a new blog post: Grief should not be excluded from disorders 3 months, 2 weeks ago · View
Should grieving be considered a psychiatric disorder? How do you define grief? How do you counsel or minister to those who are grieving? Can/should grief be medicated? As a Christian minister, in consultation with my two adult children who are psychiatrists, I would respond to this important life issue and present debate in this way. Grief [...]
-
Carol Richardson wrote a new blog post: Love God and love neighbor as ourselves 3 months, 4 weeks ago · View
President Obama will deliver the State of the Union Address one week on Jan. 24. If you could address the nation next week, how would you describe the Spiritual State of the Union? What a challenging question you have posed as we anticipate our President’s State of the Union Address. As I review the state of [...]
-
Carol Richardson wrote a new blog post: Peace and Goodwill for the new year 4 months, 2 weeks ago · View
If an entire community could make a New Year’s Resolution, what should ours be for 2012?
Perhaps, the angelic chorus in Luke’s gospel has given us the words to sing all together in harmony as we resolutely begin a new year: a collective striving for “peace on earth, goodwill toward all persons.”
-
Carol Richardson wrote a new blog post: Putting the last first and the first last 6 months, 3 weeks ago · View
In recent weeks, the Occupy Wall Street protests have drawn attention to the issue of economic disparities in America. Those facts seem particularly significant here in the poorest big city in America. Do too few have too much money and power? What values are at issue here and how should we process these protests? When too [...]
-
Carol Richardson wrote a new blog post: Sign of hope and possibility 7 months ago · View
What was (or is) your reaction to this photo? What are your hopes (or prayers) for the new board? Seeing the unified school board standing hand in hand with heads bowed, a position of humility with the realization that the task before us is larger than one person and even one body, was a sign of [...]
-
Carol Richardson wrote a new blog post: Holistic approach to addressing community problems 7 months, 3 weeks ago · View
Serious offenses by juveniles are down nearly 10 percent this year in Shelby County. Some numbers are even more encouraging. This year, FOUR minors have been charged with murder; 15 years ago the number was 50. How do we explain this? Why do you think we’re experiencing such a dramatic decline in youth violence? Obviously, a [...]
-
Carol Richardson wrote a new blog post: No longer complacent about understanding the ‘other’ 8 months, 1 week ago · View
Sunday marks the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. How has America changed since then? How did 9/11 change faith in America? What impact did 9/11 have on the soul of America? What happened on 9/11 was horrifying and heart wrenching. A disbelieving America stood in shocked silence, the very fabric of our complacent society torn [...]
-
Carol Richardson wrote a new blog post: Another way to ‘love thy neighbor’ 11 months ago · View
Should the public school systems in Shelby County allow students who are home-schooled to participate in their sports programs? The goal is consolidation in every facet of our community — unity to strengthen our community, all of us together working for the common good. Allowing home-schooled children to participate in the sports program of the public [...]
-
Carol Richardson wrote a new blog post: ‘We can reach the moon’ 1 year ago · View
President Obama came to Memphis this week and spoke to the 2011 Class of Booker T. Washington High School about the value of education and dedication. What message do you have for this year’s graduates at BTW and other schools across the community? The President’s visit to Memphis was an encouragement to us all and we [...]
-
Carol Richardson wrote a new blog post: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers’ 1 year ago · View
How should people of faith respond to the death of Osama bin Laden?
Yes, we are relieved when evil is overcome and extremely grateful for those who risk their lives in the pursuit of peace. As people of faith this should always be our highest goal. “Blessed are the peacemakers.”
-
Carol Richardson wrote a new blog post: Evidence of a greater understanding 1 year ago · View
What gives you hope? I am filled with hope during this season of the year because I see much evidence, in all faith traditions in Memphis, of seeking a greater understanding of one another through meaningful dialogue, through shared space and friendship as we work together toward building a more peaceful world. Faith In Memphis, published [...]
-
Carol Richardson wrote a new blog post: Promote critical thinking in the classroom 1 year, 1 month ago · View
Should religious objections to fundamental principles of biology be discussed in public school science classes? Which religious creation stories should be taught in public schools? Can one believe in God and accept evolution? It is a most curious thing for such a bill to be introduced into our legislature and causes me to question, “Who is [...]
-
Carol Richardson wrote a new blog post: Caring for the poor among us 1 year, 1 month ago · View
The Memphis City Council is expected to consider funding for the ambitious Mayors’ Action Plan to End Homelessness in Memphis and Shelby County. What do you think of the plan? What can and should our faith community — congregations, clergy and people of faith in the pews — do about homelessness in our community. Homelessness is [...]
-
Carol Richardson wrote a new blog post: ‘The more we understand, the less we fear’ 1 year, 2 months ago · View
What concerns you about Islam in America? What concerns you about legislative efforts to question or restrict Islamic practices? What are the dangers of politicizing a particular faith or demonizing adherents of a particular faith? Most of us know so little about “sacred Islamic law,” but to restrict or “criminalize” any religious doctrine which does not [...]
