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Women of Faith award given to four recipients

Recognized for passion, dedication and faithfulness
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A photo of four women

The four Women of Faith Award honorees: Elona Street-Stewart, Elizabeth (Liz) 
B. Knott, Margaret (Peggy) Howland, and Joyce Uyeda. ?Photo by Danny Bolin

> Posted at
> July 4, 2010 11:51 p.m.

> by Bethany Furkin

> Presbyterian News Service

Four women were honored Sunday morning for their passion, dedication and 
faithfulness at the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Women of Faith Awards 
breakfast at the 219th General Assembly (2010).

Elder Joyce Uyeda, the Rev. Elizabeth Knott, elder Elona Street-Stewart and the 
Rev. Margaret Howland were recognized for their years of ministry in areas 
ranging from youth ministry to working for justice for Palestinians.

Uyeda is active with Presbyterian Women of Parkview Presbyterian Church in 
Sacramento, Calif., and moderator of the Ethic Concerns Consultation. That 
group began a summer youth program at Zephyr Point Presbyterian Conference 
Center, and Uyeda said her time there was some of the best of her life.

?[The youth] have given me a lot more than I have given them,? she said. ?I 
really appreciate this
[award] and I really appreciate the work that is out there, because we can 
never get it all done.?

Knott accepted her award in honor of Palestinian women who display hope daily 
in the face of the Occupation. In 1993, she founded Pal Craftaid, an 
organization that helps Palestinians find markets for their olive wood and 
needlework crafts.

?I am the happiest and the saddest when I am in Palestine,? Knott said ? happy 
to be with friends but sad to see their lack of freedom.

Street-Stewart?s focus has long been on multicultural and cross-cultural 
issues. An advocate for racial justice, peace and equal opportunity, she has 
served in all levels of the church.

Street-Stewart was the first Native American to serve on an urban school 
district board in Minnesota, a position she still holds. She also chairs the 
American Indian Family Center.

Street-Stewart spoke of her deep respect for previous honorees and those who 
have stood with her.

?We are strengthening the circle each day together,? she said.

Howland was the 12th woman to be ordained as a minister of the Word and 
Sacrament in what is now the PC(USA). Pastor emeritus at South Presbyterian 
Church in Yonkers, N.Y., she has long been an advocate for those on the margins.

She was the only woman minister commissioner to the 1968 General Assembly in 
Minneapolis. There, she discovered Presbyterian Peace Fellowship
(PPF), with which she has since remained involved. Howland accepted her award 
on behalf of PPF and countless other influential organizations, teachers and 
mentors.