Project Violet was a three-year participatory research project that examined the place of women in Baptist ministry, co-led by Dr Helen Cameron and The Revd Jane Day. Project Violet was undertaken by the Centre for Baptist Studies and funded by the Mission Forum of Baptists Together and Baptist Trustees.
Project Violet is named after Violet Hedger, the first woman to be trained for ordination at Regent’s Park College.
Project Violet investigated women’s experiences in ministry whilst developing women ministers. The project has helped us more fully understand the theological, missional, and structural obstacles women ministers face in the Baptist community in Great Britain and identify ways forward.
Participants have been engaged in research and supported in asking questions and seeking answers. They have been accompanied through the project so that their own voice as an advocate for change has developed.
The theological and practical findings of the project are now available here. You can follow the Project on Twitter (X) or Facebook.
Project Outputs
A Project Violet International Symposium was held online in January 2025.
A webinar was held on 23 November 2023 to discuss how to respond to the findings of Project Violet. The PowerPoint slides are here Project Violet November 2023.
The 15-minute film, ‘A name to live up to’, has been released with an accompanying study guide. The film features an interview with Helen Pankhurst, a prominent advocate for women and Professor at Manchester Metropolitan University.
Series 1-3 of the Project Violet Podcast are available now.
The CBS has published a book about the early woman Baptist pioneer, Edith Gates, available to purchase online: Voke, C., ‘A Woman Shall Do It’: Edith Gates, Neglected Pioneer, (2023).
Project Violet has researched women’s experiences of Baptist ministry. It has uncovered sorrows as well as joys, unjust treatment as well as flourishing. The process of publishing and considering the findings may give rise to strong opinions and disagreements. Where these are expressed charitably, they are welcomed. But where they undermine the identity and ministry of an individual, they are not. Jane Day and Helen Cameron, as Project Violet Co-leaders, welcome scrutiny of their behaviour.