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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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