Covenant News

Arnold, Marilyn Bolin Are Irving Lambert Recipients

ROSEMONT, IL (June 28, 2003) - Arnold "Arnie" and Marilyn Bolin are the 2003 recipients of the Irving Lambert Award of the Evangelical Covenant Church, an award that honors longtime contributions made in areas of urban and ethnic ministries.

The couple was honored during a Friday evening banquet and presented with a special plaque during today's business session as part of the 118th Annual Meeting of the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC).

The presentation reads:

Presented to Arnold and Marilyn Bolin in grateful recognition of your lifetime of service and commitment to the causes of Christ in urban contexts, through ministries for inner-city youth, hospitality, health-care, ecumenicity, hunger relief, hospital chaplaincy, pastoral leadership and advocacy for peace. Your deep faith and quiet confidence in God's caring love have carried you into places of need where you have lived as servants of the kingdom of Christ. The two of you have been voices of faith, compassion and justice in your congregations and communities and to the larger Covenant church. To the glory of God and in thanksgiving for these faithful servants.

THE COMMISSION OF URBAN MINISTRIES OF THE EVANGELICAL COVENANT CHURCH

June 28, 2003, Chicago, Illinois

Arnie Bolin was born in Chicago, the son of a former pastor and superintendent of the Central Conference of the ECC. After earning his undergraduate degree from what is now Northern Michigan University, he graduated from Chicago's North Park Theological Seminary in 1959 and was ordained as a Covenant pastor in 1960. A professor at North Park Academy for a time, Bolin began his church ministry serving congregations in Nauganee and Harbert, Michigan, before organizing Community Covenant Church in Minneapolis, one of the Covenant's pioneering inner city ministries.

Bolin later served 13 years as executive director of Berrien County Council of Churches in Michigan, helping many inner-city programs for the underserved. He concluded his full-time work with eight years in ministry as chaplain and public relations coordinator for Hope Rescue Mission in South Bend, Indiana, serving as pastor to street people and the homeless.

Since retiring from ministry, Bolin has served as interim pastor at eight churches. He and his wife now reside in Land O'Lakes, Wisconsin, where they are active in the Community Church of Boulder Junction, Wisconsin, a church with longtime Covenant ties to the Central Conference.

In addition to his lengthy ministry in the Covenant, Arnie Bolin served in numerous ways for various local, regional and national entities. He was a delegate to the White House Conference on Urban Policy during the Jimmy Carter administration in the late 1970s. He also was a member of the advisory committee to Michigan Congressman David Stockman, was an elected member of the Benton Harbor, Michigan, city commission for 10 years and was membership chair of the National Association of Ecumenical Staff for three years.

Marilyn Bolin, a native of New Sweden, Maine, attended North Park Junior College and graduated with an Associate of Arts degree before attending Massachusetts Memorial Hospital School of Medical Technology in Boston. She became a certified medical technologist and used her gifts in many venues before retiring in 1991. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo in 1980.

As she and Arnie raised four children, Marilyn's ministry with Arnold included serving hundreds of meals to the homeless and hungry while assisting in many projects pertaining to urban ministry. Her cooking skills have also been handy in retirement years as she and Arnie operated Blackberry Inn Bed and Breakfast in Smethport, Pennsylvania, from 1991 to 1994. She is now an elder at Community Church of Boulder Junction and enjoys cycling and quilting. She and Arnie also enjoy their relationships with 12 grandchildren.

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