The Presbyterian Health, Education and Welfare Association (PHEWA) will present its four 2014 ministry awards at a June 19 event during the 221st General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in Detroit.
Those being honored include:
PHEWA’s Presbyterian AIDS Network (PAN) will honor the Rev. John Schmidt and Central Presbyterian Church of Towson, Md. with The Faith in Action Award for their demonstration of God’s unconditional love for all people, in striving to break down the walls of stigma and discrimination around HIV and AIDS.
The Presbyterian Serious Mental Illness Network (PSMIN) awards its Florence Iversen Kraft Award to the Rev. Jimmy Hopper and First Presbyterian Church of Danville, Ill., celebrating their outstanding leadership in ministry with those living with serious mental illness and with their families.
The Presbyterian Association for Community Transformation (PACT) selected University Presbyterian Church of El Paso, Texas for its Community Transformation Award, in recognition of their history of living out the gospel message through authentic, creative, and effective community engagement.
First Presbyterian Church of Birmingham, Mich. (Everybody’s Church) will receive PHEWA’s first John D. Sharick Justice Award, given in honor of the memory of the Rev. John D. Sharick (1935-2014) of Youngstown, Ohio, and awarded to congregations and worshiping communities that demonstrate the same inclusiveness and spirit of justice that Sharick embodied throughout his life and service to the church.
The ministry awards will be presented during the Compassion, Peace and Justice Simple Meal and Awards Reception at Detroit’s Cobo Convention Center on Thursday, June 19 at 5:30 p.m.
Tickets may be purchased through the online G.A. Meeting Service registration process: http://oga.pcusa.org/section/ga/ga221/ or, if still available, at the G.A. Registration area onsite in Detroit.
Contact the G.A. Meeting Service (gameetingservice@pcusa.org) or (800) 728-7228, ext. 2417 to request a registration form or assistance.