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Note #8354 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

PHEWA honors model ministries
GA04062
June

PHEWA honors model ministries

New Moderator's Justice Award goes to San Francisco ministry

by Eva Stimson

RICHMOND, June 29 - Presbyterians involved in outstanding social-justice
ministries were honored Tuesday evening at an awards reception sponsored by
the Presbyterian Health, Education and Welfare Association (PHEWA).

The Rev. Susan Andrews, the moderator of the 215th General Assembly,
presented the newly created Moderator's Justice Award to San Francisco
Network Ministries, saying she chose it because it "deals not only with the
physical needs of human beings, but also with their deeply spiritual needs."

The Rev. Glenda Hope, who accepted the award on Network Ministries' behalf,
said it "began in 1972 with eight people sitting on the floor in a house
church." Since then it has developed programs to help people living in the
Tenderloin, a part of San Francisco notorious for crime, prostitution and
drug dealing. The ministries include computer training, low-income housing, a
safe house for women leaving prostitution and memorial services for poor and
homeless people whose deaths otherwise would not be acknowledged.

	Six other awards were presented:

*The Urban Network for Congregational Leadership Award: The Pilgrimage, an
outreach ministry of Church of the Pilgrims in Washington, DC, which for 30
years has enabled youth from across the country to learn about poverty and
homelessness through hands-on service projects.

*The Community Ministries and Neighborhood Organizations Award: Cristo Rey
Outreach Inc., a ministry of Sierra Blanca Presbytery in Sunland Park, NM,
that created the first day-care program and neighborhood center in the
subdivision of Anapra and offers services including after-school tutoring and
a food-buying cooperative.

*The Nancy Jennings Award, presented by Presbyterians for Disabilities
Concerns: Bebe Baldwin, a minister and educator in the Presbytery of the Twin
Cities, who has been an advocate for people with disabilities in her
presbytery and in the PC(USA). Baldwin lost most of her vision during her
first year as a pastor, but accepted the setback as a challenge to empower
others with disabilities.

*The Florence Iverson Kraft Award, presented by the Presbyterian Serious
Mental Illness Network: Hillsboro Presbyterian Church, in Nashville, TN, a
750-member suburban congregation that provides counseling and education for
people and families affected by mental illness and regularly incorporates
mental-health concerns into worship.

*Hancock Award, presented by Presbyterians for Addiction Action: Bobbi
Douglas, director of STEPS (Substance, Treatment, Education and Prevention
Services) in Wooster, OH, for "contributions in the field of addiction
prevention, intervention and recovery."  The award is named for the Rev.
David Hancock, a retired Presbyterian minister who is a recognized authority
on addiction. Douglas, a deacon at Wooster's Westminster Presbyterian Church,
has worked to involve the community in issues related to drug and alcohol
abuse.

*The John Rea Thomas Award, presented by the Presbyterian Association of
Specialized Pastoral Ministries: Louisville Presbyterian Theological
Seminary's Marriage and Family Therapy program. The award is named in honor
of the Rev. John Rea Thomas, a founding member of PHEWA, who spent a lifetime
serving in military and hospital chaplaincies and other specialized ministry
settings.  The Louisville Seminary program was recognized for its unique role
in preparing students for the practice of marriage and family therapy.

PHEWA, created by the General Assembly in 1955, is an umbrella organization
for 10 networks that provide resources and support to Presbyterians involved
in social welfare and justice ministries.

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