CHICAGO, IL (April 17, 2006) – Best-selling author Kathleen Norris spoke briefly during a North Park University reception at Hamming Hall honoring several individuals in keeping with the “Lives of Significance” campus theme for the year.
She encouraged those in attendance to continue participating in the work of God, to be people who “just show up” so that God can use them>
Those honored are:
- Christine Pokorny, who attends Edgebrook Evangelical Covenant Church and spearheads an innovative knitting ministry that supplies hand-knitted garments for more than 500 disadvantaged families each year through the North Park Friendship Center (NPFC). People from around the country supply garments. Pokorny is chair of the NPFC board and is involved in ministries of justice and compassion at Edgebrook.
- The St. Sabina’s Volunteer Cooking Team, which organizes and cooks 143 home-cooked meals 11 Saturday nights each year for residents and staff of Bonaventure House, a transitional living home for men and women suffering with HIV/AIDS. The team includes Christine Davis, Lenore Jackson, Shirley Lyke, Peggy McCoy and Janice Yokely, who are parishioners of St. Sabina, an African American Catholic Community.
- Laurel Nelson, a retired nurse. Nelson retired in 2001 as a nurse at the North Park University Health Center, where she worked for more than 10 years. She continues to be a beloved member of her church home and community.
- Jon Trott, an outspoken advocate for maintaining affordable housing for the poor. A member of the Jesus People U.S.A. community (JEPUSA), Trott has been a prolific writer for Cornerstone Magazine for 20 years.