NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Young people will be recognized and honored for personal and selfless contributions to others in a program sponsored by the Commission on United Methodist Men.
Awards of $500 each will be given to five young people representing each of the denomination's five U.S. jurisdictions. A minimum of 100 nominations per jurisdiction is required to award the scholarship.
To qualify, a person must be between the ages of 12 and 19 and must have received a Good Samaritan Award.
Begun in August 2000, the United Methodist award program was created to recognize young people who represent the attributes of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). A recipient may be involved in a Boy Scout troop, Girl Scout troop, Venture crew, Camp Fire USA group or 4-H club chartered to, sponsored by or meeting in a United Methodist church. Or the recipient may be an active member of his or her local United Methodist church. To date, more than 200 boys and girls have received the award.
Young people have received Good Samaritan Awards for being involved in hunger relief efforts, service projects, programs for homeless people, work in thrift shops, construction projects for low-income families, service to senior citizens and impromptu acts of compassion.
To receive the award, the youth must be nominated by an adult not related to them. The nomination must be supported by the pastor or the president of a local church unit of United Methodist Men.
The award, together with a certificate and lapel pin, may be presented at any time during 2003 in order to be considered for a jurisdictional scholarship. If the recipient is a Boy Scout, Girl Scout or Venture Crew member, the church has the option of presenting Good Samaritan Awards on Scouting Ministry Sunday, Feb. 9.
Pastors who have been working with young people may also use that Sunday to present God and Country Awards. This program series offers various awards for different ages (God and Me, grades 1-3; God and Family, grades 4-5; God and Church, grades 6-8; and God and Life, grades 9-12).
Parents or pastors may also use the Sunday to honor adult scout leaders. Adults may receive either the Torch Award or the Cross and Flame Award.
For information on any of these awards, contact the Office of Civic Youth-Serving Agencies/Scouting, P.O. Box 340006, Nashville, TN 37203-0006; send an e-mail to mstowe@gcumm.org; or call (615) 340-7129.
By Rich Peck
