Covenant News

Edmonton (AB) Covenanter Wins Writing Award

CHICAGO, IL (July 29, 2004) - Della Ruth Dennis of the Evangelical Covenant Church of Edmonton, Alberta, recently received first prize for two stories she wrote about her Covenant missionary aunts as the Women's History Commission of the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) announced the names of winners of a recent writing contest.

Women's History Commission Chair Joanne Larson said 35 articles were submitted and a total of 20 articles were published for the newest volume of Women to Remember: Volume V. The book will be introduced during Triennial XI in Portland, Oregon, an event sponsored by Covenant Women Ministries (CWM) from August 12-15.

Nine commission members, including CWM Executive Minister Ruth Hill, judged the entries. Commission member Jennifer Holmgren Cobbley of the North Park University communications department was the primary editor of the book.

Dennis was awarded $100 for her stories, which document the lives of Evangeline "Vangie" Dennis and Ruth Ericson. Vangie Dennis and her husband, Vernon, were called in 1954 for medical service in Congo, according to records in the Department of World Mission. They returned to Chicago (Vernon served in private practice at Swedish Covenant Hospital) in 1965 and moved to Canada in 1997. Vangie's hospitality was mentioned prominently in an article entitled "Gathered Together in my Name: A Gospel Hospitality."

Ericson, Vangie's sister, began her work as a missionary in Congo in 1950 and continued until 1984 as a nurse, teacher, pharmacist and treasurer, among other things. She died April 7, 1999. The title of Dennis' article on Ericson was "Serve the Lord With Gladness."

Second prize of $75 went to Anne Ahlem of Cornerstone Covenant Church in Turlock, California. She wrote about Vi Martinson, a 101-year-old layperson, in an article entitled "Wit and Wisdom." Third prize of $50 went to Ruth Kovacs of Montecito Covenant Church in Santa Barbara, California. She wrote about layperson Christine Groppe.

Honorable mention went to Gladys Fryhling Wickman of Golden Valley, Minnesota, for her story called "Ladies Day Out." The article documented a women's ministry group from First Covenant Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The group invited neighborhood women to a CWM event and provided childcare for the ladies.

"It was wonderful reading the stories – it was really rich," said Larson, who is from Northbrook Covenant Church in Northbrook, Illinois. "Our purpose is involved in discovering the women of our denominational past, gathering the materials that record their lives, telling their stories through various media and educating Covenanters about preserving history.

"There are some women whose stories we seek out and we have women willing to write stories about them," Larson continued. "We're also looking to write stories about those who were 'First Ladies of the Covenant' and those who were presidents of CWM and who are or have been missionaries. What's interesting to me is how many great people are out there that are never heard of."

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