Three prophetic women have been named recipients of the 2014 Women of Faith Award by the Presbyterian Mission Agency of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) during its board meeting here.
The recipients will be honored at the Women of Faith Breakfast on Sunday, June 15, during the 221st General Assembly in Detroit. The theme for this year’s awards is “Prophetic Women of Faith.”
Recipients of the award were announced following recommendations from the Women of Faith committee. Nominations are received from throughout the church, and honorees were selected by a committee of representatives from groups related to the Racial Ethnic & Women’s Ministries/Presbyterian Women ministry area of the mission agency.
The Women of Faith Award was established in 1986 to honor female members of the PC(USA) whose lives exemplify their Christian commitment through witness, service and leadership.
The three 2014 Women of Faith awardees are:
Ruling Elder Joanie Lukins—Danville, Ky., in the Presbytery of Transylvania and the Synod of Living Waters.
Lukins has served Living Waters for the World in almost every capacity of the organization. She is a lead instructor for the training school, Clean Water U, and created the Health, Hygiene and Spiritual teachings curriculum used in one of the workshops. She has served as the moderator of the Living Waters for the World Committee and is now serving as a board member. She is moderator of the Yucatan Network Coordinating Team and helps oversee the water systems in that area of the world. Lukins also leads the water team at her church and takes presbytery-wide teams to the Yucatan to work on water partnerships there.
Ruling Elder Helen Morrison—Grosse Ile, Mich., in the Presbytery of Detroit and the Synod of the Covenant.
Morrison has contributed to the Presbyterian Church’s ministries on aging almost since its beginnings. She has served as a ruling elder for multiple terms; as a presbytery vice moderator, moderator and staff person and as a two-term member of the General Assembly Council (now the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board). In addition, she chaired one of the General Assembly Council Divisions and served on several of its committees and task forces. Morrison also has served as a member of countless boards and agencies, including the Presbyterian Association of Homes and Services to the Aging, and as a delegate to the 1981 White House Conference on Aging.
The Rev. Joyce Shin—Chicago, in the Presbytery of Chicago and the Synod of Lincoln Trails.
Shin is the associate pastor for Congregational Life at Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago, a congregation with a long history of prophetic ministry, where she serves as the staff liaison to the Congregational Life Committee of the session. Under her leadership, the Interfaith Resource Committee at Fourth Presbyterian developed a close relationship with the local Muslim community, including the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago, as well as maintaining a strong relationship with the Chicago Sinai Congregation. She is an elected member of the Presbytery of Chicago’s Ecumenical and Interreligious Work Group, which cares for the presbytery’s relationships with other Christian denominations, other spiritual and religious communities and ecumenical and interreligious organizations and bodies.
People don’t always hear about prophetic women of faith; however, there are women who are part of the prophetic tradition in the church who are following the examples of prophets and apostles who came before them. Acts 2: 17 - 18 reads as follows: “Even upon my servants, men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.”
The 2014 Women of Faith award recipients have impacted the church through their mission and ministry to congregations and the world. Tickets for this year’s Women of Faith Breakfast will be available at www.pcusa.org/ga221.