Lydia Scholarships awarded at NPWL breakfast
By Parker T. WIliamson, The Layman Online, June 25, 1999
FORT WORTH – A bowl of cereal was not exactly what Ann Hoch had in mind when she addressed the breakfast gathering of National Presbyterian Women in Leadership (NPWL) at a Fort Worth hotel on June 22. Hoch, Assistant Dean at Dubuque Theological Seminary, was thinking about fish. But it soon became obvious that her focus highlighted a fisherman/host whose love for his guests could change their lives.
Hoch reminded her audience of a post-resurrection event in which Jesus invited his disciples to breakfast on the beach. Fearing an uncertain future, they had returned to a familiar way of life. But while fishing was comfortable, they got no results for their efforts. They learned, and we must learn, that we can’t retreat to our past, said Hoch.
At breakfast, the disciples’ lives began to change. The Gospel of Jesus Christ forgives us and feeds us, Hoch said, creating disciples who are equipped to feed a hungry world. Hoch challenged Presbyterian women leaders to draw their nourishment from the only one who can satisfy, and she urged her listeners to respond to the challenge of the parish, a ministry to people who hunger for the bread of life.
NPWL was organized to support evangelical women leaders in the Presbyterian Church (USA). During its breakfast meeting, Joanne Howard, a member of the group’s steering committee, announced that NPWL’s 1999 Lydia Scholarships will be awarded to Jennifer Oraker, of First Presbyterian Church in Colorado Springs, CO, and Mindy Huffstetler, of Myers Park Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, NC. The $2,500 per year scholarship is awarded to evangelical Presbyterian women who are preparing for parish ministry.
Three previous Lydia Scholarship winners were recognized at NPWL’s breakfast, Tracie Stewart, Sue Babovec, and Kellie Thomson.