Godfrey Noel Vose (23 December 1921 – 2 May 2016)[1] was a Western Australian Baptist minister, the founding principal of Vose Seminary (formerly the Baptist Theological College of Western Australia) and the only Australian appointed as President of the Baptist World Alliance.[2]
In 1963, Noel Vose became the Principal and sole staff member of the Baptist Theological College of Western Australia, a position that he held until 1991.
He was appointed President-General of the Baptist Union of Australia in 1975 and served until 1978.[2][3][4]
In 1985, he became the first and only Australian appointed as President of the Baptist World Alliance, a role that he served in until 1990.[2][4] Between 1989-1992, Vose led the Baptist World Alliance in theological dialogue with the Mennonite World Conference, marking a renewal of conversations between Baptists and Anabaptists that had ended amicably in approximately 1630.
In 1989, his achievements were recognised when he was made a Member of the Order of Australia.[2][4]
On 5 June 1990, his wife Heather Vose died unexpectedly during a visit to the United States.
Upon his retirement as principal in 1991 at 70 years old, Vose founded the Parkerville Baptist Church.[2][4]
In 2008, the Baptist Theological College of Western Australia was re-named Vose Seminary to honour the significant contributions of both Noel Vose, its founding principal, and his wife Heather Vose.[3]
In 2013, Vose published Mena: Daughter of Obedience,[5] a biography about Filumena Weld, based upon the extensive research of his wife, Heather Vose, who died before it could be written.[6] Heather Vose did however provide the title of the biography.[5]
Noel Vose died on 2 May 2016 in Western Australia. He was 94 years old.
Details of books written by Noel Vose:
Title | Year | ISBN | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Holy Scripture and Holy Spirit | 1983 | ISBN 0647190184 | |
Focus on faith : a glimpse of Baptist roots | 1986 | ||
If God so loved : studies in John 1 | 1987 | ISBN 0949654272 | |
"Mena: Daughter of Obedience" | 2013 | ISBN 9781742584867 | No longer in print |