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Ethiopia Trip, Lambert Award Highlight Urban Dinner
CHICAGO, IL (July 10, 2001) - By Liz VerHage
A report on Jim Sundholm's recent trip to Ethiopia and honoring the recipients of this year's Irving C. Lambert Award were highlights of the Commission on Urban Ministries dinner that was part of activities during the 116th Annual Meeting of the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC).
Thirty people gathered for supper at the Gale Street Inn in Chicago for a time of encouragement and networking with each other.
Sundholm, associate superintendent of the Northwest Conference and chair of the commission, and the Department of Church Growth and Evangelism organized the event. "I think that if we have just a short time to reflect with each other, to share our stories and to get ideas from one another, then this time is worth our efforts each year," says Sundholm.
Sundholm shared stories from his recent trip to Ethiopia to help reactivate a health clinic. Bryan Kletzing, pastor of Ravenswood Covenant in Chicago, shared details of his church's new partnership to begin a daycare center on the city's north side. Roger Quant, pastor of First Evangelical Covenant in St. Paul, Minnesota, explained his church's emphasis on community ministry since his hiring as Pastor of Community Outreach.
Max Lopez-Cepero, director of ECC's Compassion and Justice Ministries, shared recent developments in the "Churches Planting Ministries" project that is designed to equip local churches for ministries to the poor and marginalized. Pastors and laity in attendance at the event represented churches in Berkeley, California; Chicago, Elgin and Evanston, Illinois; Boston, Massachusetts; Kalamazoo, Michigan; Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota; Kansas City, Missouri; and Rochester, New York.
Special tribute was given the recipients of this year's Irving C. Lambert Award - Rev. Jerry and Sandra Mosby - who also were honored during the Annual Meeting business sessions. Since 1982, the commission has given the award to a Covenanter whose life and practice reflect a deep commitment to urban and/or ethnic ministries. The honor is bestowed in memory of Lambert, a Covenant layperson and advocate for urban ministry locally and nationally. The Mosbys were honored for their faithful ministry at Fellowship Covenant Church in the Bronx area of New York City. The Mosbys have led Fellowship Covenant, known as "The Ship", since 1979 in numerous ministries of compassion and justice and have helped plant several other churches in the city.
In accepting the award, Mosby offered words of encouragement, calling on those involved in urban ministry to remember that "we encounter heavy winds, we come up against huge waves, but our compass is set and our course is already charted. At the end of the day if there is nothing else we can do, we can always stand on the rock."
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