wfn.org | Women of Faith Award Recipients Announced

[PCUSA.NEWS@pcusa.org]

13-April-1998 
98132 
 
    Women of Faith Award Recipients Announced 
 
    by Jerry L. Van Marter 
 
LOUISVILLE, Ky.-Three Presbyterian women have been chosen to receive the 
annual Women of Faith Awards, presented by the Women's Ministries Program 
Area of the National Ministries Division here. 
 
    The three honorees are Dorothy Barnard of St. Louis, the Rev. Thelma 
Burgonio-Watson of Snohomish, Wash., and Mary Jane Patterson of Washington, 
D.C. 
 
    The awards will be presented June 14 at the Women of Faith Awards 
Breakfast during the 210th General Assembly in Charlotte, N.C. 
 
    Barnard, a Presbyterian elder, served as moderator of the 1981 General 
Assembly of the former Presbyterian Church in the United States.  She has 
served at all levels of the Presbyterian Church, with particular emphasis 
on women's and children's issues and peace and justice.  She is an active 
ecumenist, currently serving on the Presbyterian Committee on the 
Consultation on Church Union (COCU) and on the COCU Executive Committee. 
 
    Burgonio-Watson, an ordained Presbyterian minister, is on the staff of 
the Center for the Prevention of Sexual and Domestic Violence in Seattle. 
She has long been active in the Presbyterian Church, particularly in the 
areas of women's and children's rights, economic justice  and Native 
American concerns.  She served for a number of years on the staff of North 
Puget Sound Presbytery. 
 
    Patterson, a Presbyterian elder, retired in December 1989 as director 
of the Presbyterian Washington Office, a position she held for 14 years. 
She was associate director of the Washington Office for five years before 
becoming director and also has served as a Presbyterian missionary to East 
Africa and as a community organizer in Los Angeles.  Patterson is a 
nationally known advocate for racial and economic justice and community 
development. 
 
    The Woman of Faith awards, which originated in 1986, are presented to 
living Presbyterian women who in their lives exemplify faith in God and 
commitment to the mission of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and who are 
leaders in the denomination and/or in an ecumenical or international arena. 
 
    The particular focus of the awards in 1998 is on the theme "Looking 
Beyond the Ecumenical Decade 1988-1998 - Churches in Solidarity with 
Women," specifically the issues of confronting violence against women, 
combating racism and working for economic justice for women. 
 
    The Women of Faith Awards Breakfast will be held at the Adam's Mark 
Hotel in Charlotte from 7:00 to 9:00 a.m., Sunday, June 14.  Tickets are 
$12.00 each. May 8 is the deadline for ordering tickets in advance by 
calling 1-800-210-9371. 

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