Nominations for the 2005 Ecumenical Citations are announced.

Nominees for the 2005 Ecumenical Citations have been announced by the Committee on Interchurch Relations. The citations will be awarded at the Ecumenical Luncheon on Tuesday, July 5. Four youth and young adults are nominated for peacemaking efforts. "Each in their own way have demonstrated a dedication to work at overcoming violence, and can serve as a model for others in creative challenges to the many forms of violence in our world," the committee said.

Matt Boyer of La Verne (Calif.) Church of the Brethren, is nominated for his passion for social justice issues and Fair Trade. He refused to participate in a school fundraiser of chocolate that had been produced unjustly, did extensive research and advocacy of the Fair Trade movement, and led his church youth group in becoming a retailer of Fair Trade chocolates and coffee.

Colleen Hamilton of Hope Church of the Brethren in Freeport, Mich., is nominated for multiple efforts for the environment and global concerns, including helping to begin a recycling program at her high school, bringing focus to the use and waste of styrofoam in the school cafeteria, working and worshiping ecumenically with another congregation in the area, and participating in a high school arts troupe "HEARTS: Helping Educate Abstinence, Responsible Teens." She also was nominated for a citation from the Isaac Walton League for her efforts.

Marisa de Oliveira of Campo Limpo Preaching Point in Campo Limpo, Brazil, is nominated for her deep sense of justice and her call to share God's love with others through her work for hunger and women's and children's issues. She volunteers at a local soup kitchen, has begun a children's church and after-school tutoring program, and has developed and runs children's and women's programs in a poor and dangerous neighborhood of her city. The committee reported that de Oliveira moved to the neighborhood in order to establish rapport with the inhabitants. She teaches jewelry and craft-making to help generate income and self-esteem for neighborhood women, and plans a micro-finance project to help women buy materials and market their goods.

Anna Christine Simons of Prince of Peace Church of the Brethren in South Bend, Ind., is nominated for community involvements including working at a school for disadvantaged children, volunteering with the Youth Services Bureau of South Bend, participating yearly in her community's youth conference on diversity, taking part in anti-racism efforts through community programs, and volunteering at a local food bank, soup kitchen, and rescue mission. She received the 2004 Peacemaker Award from the Clay City High School.

For more information contact the Committee on Interchurch Relations, c/o the Office of the General Secretary, Church of the Brethren General Board, 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120; 800-323-8039.

Source: 6/28/2005 Newsline