June 9, 2025.  June is National Camping Month and we have discovered at least seven camps and/or camping facilities that were named for Ann and/or Adoniram Judson in the twentieth century.  We affirm their continuing ministry to youth in our churches and our society.

• 1921-2022. Judson Lodge, Camp Tippecanoe, North Webster, Indiana.
• 1925-present. Camp Judson, Keystone, South Dakota.
• 1947-present. Judson Cabin, Camp Bentley, Drake, North Dakota.
• 1949-present. Camp Judson, North Springfield, Pennsylvania.
• 1957-2005. Judson Hills Camp, Loudonville, Ohio.
• 1979-2022. Judson Baptist Retreat Center, St. Francisville, Louisiana.
• 1997-2023. Judson Lodge, Cross Wind Camp, Hesston, Kansas.

June 8, 2021. America’s largest protestant denomination, Southern Baptist Convention, will meet in Dallas, TX, June 8-11, this month.  They may be gaveled into session by the Adoniram Judson gavel, a tradition begun in 2021 by J. D. Greear.  As convention president, Greear broke with previous patterns and did not use the Broadus gavel which was given to the assembly by John A. Broadus, a founding faculty member of Southern Seminary who was also an enslaver and a believer in white superiority.  Greear wanted to refocus the convention’s energy toward missions and even began using the moniker Great Commission Baptists rather than Southern Baptists.  The Adoniram Judson gavel was made from the bed frame of Judson’s deathbed in Moulmein, Burma.  (See: 2021 to Present, Adoniram Judson Gavel, Southern Baptist Convention, Nashville, TN.}

May 28, 1825.  Two hundred years ago, Ann Judson saves the prison community.

Two hundred years ago, after a brutal forced march to his second prison, Adoniram Judson was recuperating when smallpox hit the local community.  While previously in the States on medical leave (1821-23) Ann Judson was part of an experimental project, involving Adoniram’s brother, Dr. Elnathan Judson, to inoculate people from the scourge of smallpox, the deadliest disease then known.  During the epidemic around Aungbinle prison, Ann developed a few smallpox pustules herself but experienced no fever or other systems.  She inoculated the jailer’s children from her pustules and the children survived well. Ann wrote in a letter:

In consequence of the inoculations, my fame was spread all over the village, and every child, young and old, was brought for inoculation. And although I knew nothing about the disorder, or the mode of treating it, I inoculated them all with a needle, and told them to take care of their diet—all the instructions I could give them. Mr. Judson’s health was gradually restored, and he found himself much more comfortably situated than when in the city prison. (Edward Judson, p. 251.)

May 21, 2025.  With only 5 candidate church members, a board from neighboring congregations blessed the founding of Judson Baptist Church on 21 May 1859.  For 164 years the heritage of these 5 congregants has continued to minister on the west side of Kokomo, Indiana.  The church preceded both the community and the road that runs by the church, but both now share the name Judson with the Baptist congregation. Judson Baptist Church completed its first building in 1869 after the Civil War and is currently a member of the American Baptist Churches of Indiana.  Chuck DeRolf and his wife, Judy, both graduates of Judson University in the 1960s, pastored the Judson Baptist Church before going to Japan as missionaries where they served for over 40 years.  Happy 164^th birthday to the congregation and its Judson neighborhood.

May 11, 2025.  For most of you, this is Mother’s Day. For me, it is Mother’s Day plus the 104^th anniversary of my mother’s birth on 11 May 1921 (Katie Hoyt Scarborough Cain). But for all of us, today begins National Skilled Nursing Care Week.  Five health and/or residential centers that employ such skilled nurses, have been named for the Judsons and 4 are still in operation.

• 1906-Present. Judson Manor, Cleveland, OH. Senior Living.
• 1924-Present. Judson Center, Royal Oaks, MI. Children and Families.
• 1946-2024.       Judson Village Retirement Community, Cincinnati, OH.
• 1970-Present.  Judson Terrace Homes, San Luis Obispo, CA.  Senior Living.
• 1982-Present.  Judson Park. Des Moines, WA. Senior Living.

We acknowledge the nursing program at Judson University that trains students to serve in such communities.  Check out this good program at: https://www.judsonu.edu/tag/nursing/

May 4, 1825.  Adoniram Judson had been imprisoned by Burmese authorities since June 8, 1824, charged with being a spy for the British armies advancing through Burma.  On May 4, 1825, he was suddenly moved from the Death Prison, where he had miraculously escaped death, to Aungbinle Prison, some eight miles away.  Stripped of his western shoes and encumbered with three sets of shackles, Judson’s feet were shredded on the rocks and thorns in transit.  He would have died in this forced march had it not been for a Burmese servant who took off his headdress and wrapped Judson’s feet in its cloth. (Edward Judson, p. 249)

April 22, 1923.  The Adoniram Judson window in the First Baptist Church of Oak Park, IL, was dedicated 102 years ago this week, April 22, 1923. The Great West Windows in the sanctuary feature vocations of the Christian ministry. One of those examples is Adoniram Judson, first American Baptist foreign missionary, and forerunner of the whole modern missionary movement. The radiant book toward which he gazes symbolizes the Bible; and the barred background suggests his two-year imprisonment during which he worked on his translation of the Bible into Burmese. (See entry: 1921-Present, First Baptist Church, Oak Park, Illinois.

April 12, 1850. Though we are 10 days early, it is time to recall the passing of Adoniram Judson, Jr., 175 years ago on 12 April 1850.  He was aboard the French vessel Aristide Marie hoping that salty sea air would renew his strength.

During the forenoon of Friday, the 12^th, his countenance was that of a dying man… At three o’clock he said, in Burman, to Panapah, a native servant, “It is done: I am going.”  And at fifteen minutes past four o’clock he breathed his last. “His death,“ says Mr. Ranney, “was like falling asleep. Not the movement of a muscle was perceptible, and the moment of the going out of life was indicated only by his ceasing to breath.”

A strong plank coffin was soon constructed; several buckets of sand were poured in to make it sink; and at eight o’clock in  the evening the crew assembled, the larboard port was opened, and in perfect silence, broken only by the voice of the captain, all that was mortal of Dr. Judson was committed to the deep, in latitude thirteen degrees north, longitude ninety-three degrees east…” (Edward Judson, The Life of Adoniram Judson (New York: Anson D. F. Randolph & Company, 1883) p. 546.)

The Episcopal Church in America has set aside April 12 as Adoniram Judson Feast Day.  You may review their litany at: TheJudsonLegacyProject.com—Entries—1900-Present—An Interlude: Adoniram Judson Feast Day.

March 23, 1911. Happy Birthday to Judson Memorial Baptist Church, Nashville, TN, formed 114 years ago as a new church start in a new housing addition called Waverly Place. Rather than name the congregation for the street upon which the church building was located, Deacon Henry D. Jamison suggested “Judson Memorial” Baptist Church and the name was accepted unanimously. Read more at entry 1911-Present Judson Baptist Church, Nashville, Tennessee.

March 19, 1961.  Judson Baptist Church, KCKS, founded.  Sixty-four years ago this week, 19 March 1961, the Judson Baptist Church of Kansas City, Kansas, held their first service in their newly constructed building with 73 in Sunday School and 101 in worship. Happy Anniversary!! Four pastors have served at Judson over the past 64 years with the longest tenure belonging to Rev. John Clark who assumed this role in 1975. Fifty years!!! Congratulations to John for a long a fruitful ministry and to his wife, Ruth, who served as president of American Baptist Churches 2012-2013. See entry 1961-Present, Judson Baptist Church, Kansas City, Kansas, KS.

March 5. 1825. Two hundred years ago this week, in early March 1825, Adoniram Judson was in prison and facing execution.  The six white people in the jail were put through the final preparations for death by the Burmans who needed to appease the gods and win a battle over the invading British army. Judson’s captors added two more fetters to the three he already had on his legs to prevent him from escaping. His belongings were divided up between the guards.  Knives were sharpened for the traditional 3AM execution schedule.  “Three o’clock came and went. The prisoners remained alive. Dawn came…. They were still alive.” (Anderson, p. 334.)  No one knows why the executions were not carried out that first week of March in 1825 but Judson would live to minister for another 25 years and Judson University would be created to honor his name.

February 27, 2025. A Supreme Desire to Please Him: The Spirituality of Adoniram Judson by Evan D. Burns (Eugene, Oregon: Pickwick Publications, 2016). I finished reading this book on the spirituality of Adoniram Judson and found it to be an excellent work. I thoroughly enjoyed this study and added this publication to my personal list of Top Ten Books on Ann and/or Adoniram Judson.

From the organization of the book, it is obvious this is a well-written doctoral dissertation by E. D. Burns. The simple and straightforward outline is refreshing and told the reader what to expect next.  It was thrilling to read footnotes that were sometimes longer than the topic they referenced.  Dr. Burns fleshed out Judson’s “disinterested benevolence” in a worthy fashion without making AJ into a second century martyr or a twentieth-century Mother Theresa. 

I had been curious about the influence of Madame Guyon on AJ but had not taken the time to do the research on my own.  Burns helped fill that gap and I now hope to find her book that Burns recommend, “A Short and Easy Method of Prayer.”  Burns does not demean or belittle AJ’s interest in Catholic spirituality or even devotional Buddhism which I find helpful in my ecumenical and international life. I highly recommend this book researched and written by a missionary in northern Thailand. Thank you, Dr. Burns.

February 15, 1825. Adoniram meets baby Maria. When little Maria was 20 days old, she met her imprisoned father for the first time. “Nancy appeared at the prison gate with the baby in her arms….  Adoniram’s feelings were a mixture of love, frustration and sadness…. Their first baby had been buried at sea.  The second, Roger, lay beneath the battlefield at Rangoon. The prospect for little Maria looked no brighter.” (Anderson, p. 331.)  After Nancy left with the baby, Adoniram, with his feet chained at the ankles, composed a poem which began:

Sleep, darling infant, sleep,/Hushed on thy mother’s breast;

Let no rude sound of clanking chains/ Disturb thy balmy rest.

February 15-17, 2025. Fifty-two people from Kansas City took a road trip to Judson University over Presidents Weekend 2025. There were 43 students and 9 sponsors from: Peace Baptist Church, KCMO; Pleasant Green Baptist Church, KCMO; Second Baptist Church, KCMO; Bethel Neighborhood Center, KCKS; Karen Grace Baptist Church, KCMO. Thanks to Judson for hosting us so well and providing a wonderful glimpse of what college life can be for young adults. Kudos to Dr. Delano Benson for making this happen through his leadership with the Great Rivers Region of American Baptist Churches.

January 26, 1825. Birthday of Maria Elizabeth Butterworth Judson. Third Judson Child. Two hundred years ago on January 26, 1825, Ann Judson gave birth to her third child while her husband, Adoniram, was imprisoned in Aungbinle, Mandalay, Burma. (Their first baby was a stillborn boy born (June, 1813) during the voyage from India to Burma and was never given a name because he never drew a breath. The second child was named for Roger Williams and lived less than 8 months, September 11, 1815 to May 7, 1816.) Maria carried the name Butterworth in appreciation of Joseph Butterworth, an English publisher who assisted Ann during her return trip to the USA (1821-1823) and with the publication of her book, An Account of the American Baptist Mission to the Burman Empire. Check entry 1905-Present Judson Baptist Church, Aungbinle, Mandalay, Myanmar for a more complete story in the life of Ann and Adoniram Judson.

January 19, 1921. Happy 104th birthday to Judson Baptist Church in Belle, West Virginia. This was a planned church start that began after a two week revival in the winter of 1921. Congratulations to the congregation and Pastor Charlie Bolen. See entry 1921-Present.

January 11, 1931. Happy Birthday number 94 to the Judson Memorial Baptist Church, Lansing, Michigan, organized on January 11, 1931. Those were hard days of the depression but the congregation has had a life of ministry for 94 years!! Congratulations. (See Entry 1931-Present for a full report.)

February 5, 1812. Happy 213^th wedding anniversary!!  On 5 February 1812, Ann Hasseltine married Adoniram Judson, Jr.  “Ann was radiant in a new white satin scoop bonnet, and Adoniram wore his familiar black velvet suit and shoes with large silver buckles. They exchanged solemn vows and enjoyed the company of a crowd of friends and relatives.” Bless God and Take Courage, Hunt, p. 30.

November 7, 2024. Save the date: August 9th 2025. This will be the dedication date for the Judson Home in Malden, MA. A foundation made up of Burmese Christians has purchased this historic home and will open it to the public next August. The structure is now being renovated and will honor the Baptist missionary who took the Baptist faith to the Golden Shore.

October 15, 2024. We welcome the 8th institution of higher learning that has been named for Ann and/or Adoniram Judson. On October 15, 2024, the trustees of Southeastern Seminary voted to change the name of their undergraduate division to Judson College. The forerunners of this name in higher education are:

a. Judson College, Marion, Alabama. 1838-2021

b. Judson College, Mount Palatine, Illinois. 1846-1859

c. Judson College, Hendersonville, North Carolina. 1858-1899

d. Judson University, Judsonia, Arkansas. 1872-1883

e. Judson College, Rangoon, Burma. 1872-1965

f. Judson Baptist College, Portland & The Dalles, Oregon. 1956-1985

g. Judson University, Elgin, Illinois. 1963-Present

h. Judson College at Southeastern, Wake Forest, North Carolina. 2024-Welcome!!

September 22, 2024. Congratulations to Lori Brock who passed the oral exams for her PhD from Faulkner University. The degree will be awarded in June, 2025. Her dissertation is entitled, “Let us do much for Christ,” Ann Judson’s Unique Contributions to the Baptist Mission in Burma. Good job, Dr. Lori Brock!!

August 9, 2024. Today, we celebrate the 236th birthday of Adoniram Judson, Jr. We are grateful for his mother, Abigail, and his father, Adoniram, Sr., for raising this child in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

July 2, 2024. I learned recently of a residence related to the University of Oregon in the 1940s and 50s called the Ann Judson House. I cannot find it and am asking for your help. Was it a denominationally related housing project for Christian students? Sorority? Named by donor?1108jbc@gmail.com