The awards – the first to be given by the ACCW – were made even more significant because they came during a celebration of the 30th anniversary of the decision to ordain women in the Covenant.
The $300 Victoria Welter Book Scholarship was presented to Ileana Garcia-Soto, a second-year student at North Park Theological Seminary, by Dean of Students JoAnn Deasy. The award is named to honor Welter as the first woman graduate of North Park Theological Seminary in 1901. From an historical perspective, it is interesting to note that her classmates at that time voted against including her in the class photograph.
The $1,000 Phoebe Church Planter’s Grant was presented to Jocelyn Thornton by Jolene Bergstrom-Carlson, associate superintendent and director of church planting for the Central Conference. Thornton is pastor of Emmanuel Covenant Church, a church plant in Park Forest, Illinois. The award is named in honor of Phoebe, who is mentioned in Romans 16 as the individual sent by the Apostle Paul to deliver his letter to the church in Rome.
The $500 Evelyn M.R. Johnson Leadership Award was presented to Evelyn M.R. Johnson, superintendent of the Pacific Southwest Conference, for whom the award is named. The award, which was presented by Ruth Hill, executive minister of Women Ministries, recognizes a female minister in an Evangelical Covenant Church who has demonstrated excellence in ministry based on character, ministerial identity, contribution to the Covenant and faithfulness to call.
During the presentation, Johnson immediately endorsed the check and gave it back to Hill to be used for Women Ministries’ “Educate the Girls” project in Congo. Girls and young women in the African nation rarely receive more than a few years of basic education. This project seeks to encourage girls to continue their education and thereby raise the status of women in the culture. To learn more about the project, please see Educate the Girls.
Catherine Gilliard, ACCW president and immediate-past chair of the Covenant Executive Board, introduced the newly created ACCW awards program. “This is an historic moment in the history of ACCW as we become a granting association,” Gilliard said. “This board seeks to find new and significant ways to advocate, support, provide resources and fellowship times to assist clergy women to remain faithful to their call.”
Six award categories have been established, and three awards will be given each year. Each recipient receives a plaque, a monetary award, one year’s membership in the ACCW, and a one-year subscription to either The Covenant Companion or Covenant Home Altar.
The award selection team is comprised of ACCW board members, a member of the Commission on Biblical Gender Equality, and a member of the Covenant Ministerium board.
Copyright © 2011 The Evangelical Covenant Church.
