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The Presbyterian Church in Canada (PCC) has announced that the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, the stated clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA), is the winner of its 2004 E.H. Johnson Memorial Trust Fund Award “for service on the cutting edge of mission.” The award will be presented at the PCC’s annual Mission Luncheon on June 8 during the denomination’s General Assembly in Oshawa, Ontario.
Kirkpatrick is being honored for his vocal opposition to the Iraq war and for his peacemaking efforts, and for championing the Taco Bell boycott to improve working conditions for U.S. farmworkers.
Kirkpatrick is the third member of the PC(USA) to receive the Canadian church’s award in its 22-year history. Previous winners included the Rev. Glenda Hope (1991) for work on behalf of the poor in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district, and the Rev. John Fife of Tucson for his work on behalf of Central American refugees along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The award was created to honor the work and missionary spirit of the late Rev. Edward (Ted) Johnson, who for many years was secretary for overseas missions of the Presbyterian Church in Canada.
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Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary has named Kerry E. Rice director of admissions. Rice, a Colorado native, had been serving as interim admissions director at the seminary. Before that he directed the National Young Adult Volunteers program for the PC(USA) in Louisville.
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Teresa Blythe, a writer whose interests include religion and popular culture, will be the featured speaker at the June 27 General Assembly Media Lunch in Richmond, VA. The luncheon is sponsored by the Pittsburgh-based Presbyterian Media Mission.
Blythe will be pinch hitting for actor Eric Close, a star of the hit television series “Without a Trace,” who had to cancel. Blythe interviewed Close for the May 2004 edition of Presbyterians Today magazine.
Blythe will speak on the topic “Meeting God in Virtual Reality: Using Spiritual Practices with Media.”
A 2000 graduate of San Francisco Theological Seminary, Blythe has worked as a broadcast journalist and is the author of several books about media literacy and the intersection of faith and media. She is on the staff of two Presbyterian churches in Tucson and continues to write and teach.
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The Association of Stated Clerks has awarded the second annual C. Fred Jenkins Constitutional Services Award to the Rev. James M. MacKellar.
The association chose elected Mr. MacKellar for his long service and dedication to the polity and government of the church. Six years after his 1955 ordination in the Presbytery of Morris and Orange, he began his work for governing bodies as the journal clerk of Binghamton (later Susquehanna Valley) Presbytery. He has since served as clerk in Newton Presbytery, the Synod of the Northeast and Northern New England Presbytery. Since 1991 he has served at the General Assembly level, on the Permanent Judicial Commission and the Advisory Committee on the Constitution.
The award will be presented at the Stated Clerk’s Lunch for higher governing body staff during the 216th General Assembly in Richmond.
Fred Jenkins, who died unexpectedly in 2000, served the church in many capacities during his ministry, the last 10 years as an associate stated clerk of the General Assembly. In his honor and memory, the award is given each year to an individual or a group that has given wise, prudent and vigilant support to the Constitution and polity of the Presbyterian Church (USA).
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The Rev. Judith M.H. Hockenberry has been named associate for curriculum development for children in the Congregational Ministries Publishing office of the Congregational Ministries Division in Louisville. She began her new work on May 17.
Her primary responsibility is leading the development and editing of We Believe curricula for children.
A graduate of Augustana College in Illinois and Princeton Theological Seminary, Hockenberry has been involved in Christian education throughout her 17 years of pastoral ministry. Most recently she served as co-pastor of Beulah Presbyterian Church in Louisville with her husband, Ken.
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Presbyterian elder Claire Abel, a longtime leader in the Synod of Alaska-Northwest, died unexpectedly while mowing his lawn in Centralia, WA, on May 10. He was 79.
Abel, a juvenile court administrator for 33 years prior to his retirement, served as moderator of Central Washington and Olympia presbyteries. He was instrumental in establishing Tall Timber Presbyterian Family Camp, a joint venture of North Puget Sound and Central Washington presbyteries. At the time of his death he was on the synod’s vision committee and working as a full-time volunteer administrator for his home congregation, First Presbyterian Church of Centralia.
Abel is survived by his wife of 57 years, Bernita; their four children; and six grandchildren and two great grandchildren. A memorial service was held at First church on May 15.
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