wfn.org | PHEWA awards honor 6 'who made a difference'

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Note #7253 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

17-June-2002
GA02042

PHEWA awards honor 6 'who made a difference'

by Frank Buhrman

COLUMBUS, OH - An individual, a church and a community organization, all from New Jersey, were among six recipients of awards for achievement in social-justice ministries presented on June 17 by constituents of the Presbyterian Health, Education and Welfare Association (PHEWA).

The presentation ceremony took place in the Hyatt Regency Columbus during the 214th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA).

Luanne Anton of Community Presbyterian Church in Brigantine, NJ, received the Margaret A. Fuad Award from the Presbyterian Network on Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse. She was honored for her alcohol-abuse prevention work with young people in church and community. She developed a peer support group called T.O.S.S. (Teens Offering Supportive Services) to address drug and alcohol problems.

The Mideast Evangelical Church of Jersey City, NJ, received the Urban Ministry Award from the Urban Network of Congregational Leadership "in recognition of steadfast and creative ministry." The church offers helps members of its community's Middle Eastern population, one of the nation's fastest-growing, in finding housing and jobs and in learning English.

The Woodland Community Development Corporation of Camden, NJ, received the Community Ministry Award from the Community Ministries and Neighborhood Organizations network for its work to improve social and economic conditions in Camden while helping people achieve self-reliance. The organization was said to have undertaken its work "with an eye toward transformation."

The other award recipients were: 

* Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church of Alexandria, VA, which received the Florence Iverson Kraft Award for "outstanding accomplishments in ministry to mental-health consumers." Mount Vernon's Agape Reservoir ministry provides food, transportation and other services to people with emotional and mental disorders.

* Chuck Risser, an authority on alcohol addiction, a longtime leader of the Presbyterian Network on Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse and editor of its newsletter, who was honored posthumously with the David Hancock Award. Risser, an elder at House of Faith Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis, MN, and a former supply preacher at two rural churches, died just after last year's GA. His wife, Maria Bucka, accepted the award on his behalf.

* Nancy Jennings, honored posthumously by the Presbyterians for Disability Concerns Network with an award created in her memory. Her widower, David, accepted the award for Jennings, who died in 1995. He said she was "a guiding light in our church's inclusion of all persons within its life, and was involved in many service activities" in Albuquerque, NM. She also was a founder and former president of the network. 
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