The Junia Network was originally formed in 2003, under the name AWESOME*, to provide a place where ordained evangelical women could meet and find fellowship and support. At that time, a few years after women were first admitted to the presbyterate, evangelical women who discerned and pursued a call to ordained ministry often found themselves ‘cold-shouldered’ by their fellow evangelicals. It was not uncommon for them to struggle to find jobs in evangelical churches, for example.

We rejoice that it is now much more straightforward for many women to discern and pursue a call to ordained ministry and to find ministry roles within churches and networks where they can flourish. At the same, we regularly interact with women whose journeys into ordained ministry are not straightforward. The Junia Network exists for all these women, however bumpy or smooth their journey so far has been.

Over the years since its formation, AWESOME/Junia has played a part in providing encouragement and mentoring for our members, and in rebuilding relationships back into the evangelical constituency. Our work has included in the past:

- becoming a recognised group representing women within the wider church, giving us places on the now closed Transformations Steering Group, which started in 2010 and worked to address issues particularly affecting ordained women (including work on young vocations, leadership of larger churches, and better maternity/paternity policies)

- helping to shape diocesan Vocations events for young women

- holding theological and biblical discussions with Reform (see outcomes here) as part of the debate on women bishops

- publishing books: AWESOME Voices (telling the stories of ordained evangelical women), and The Gender Agenda (a conversation between Clare Hendry and Lis Goddard exploring their different view on what the Bible says about women in leadership).

*The name AWESOME was intended both as an acronym of who we are (Anglican Women Evangelicals: Supporting our Ordained Ministry), and an expression of God’s strength and glory, which those first pioneering members knew they needed to be encouraged by constantly in order to be able to move forward, as they felt their own weakness strongly.

In 2020, we changed our name to ‘The Junia Network’ as we felt that the term ‘awesome’ had become outdated in general speech. We wanted a name that would have positive connotations for the women we were seeking to serve and represent. We chose the name of a woman in the New Testament who was active in the early church., because we believed that all women across the evangelical spectrum would be able to relate to her calling: sent to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ.