By Sharon Sheridan
More than 500 people packed St. Peter’s Episcopal Church on Sunday afternoon for an Evensong celebrating the ministry of seniors in churches in the Diocese of Newark.
Sixty-four seniors from 43 churches in northern New Jersey – including St. Peter’s and Church of the Redeemer in Morristown – were honored during the diocese’s annual presentation of the David Paul Hegg II Lifetime Achievement Awards. The awards are named in honor of the late David Hegg, who served as St. Peter’s rector from 1982 to 1996, helped revitalize the diocesan Commission on Aging and later worked for the Episcopal Church Pension Fund.
Assuming an average age of 70, the award recipients represented some 2,500 years of church ministry, Bishop Mark Beckwith estimated in his sermon. Standing in the pulpit where he once preached as priest associate at St. Peter’s, he recalled Hegg and the fun he had working with him. Beckwith then urged those attending to work toward helping empower church members toward their mission to engage the world.
Those honored from local churches included Fran Duff from Redeemer and Faith Eckler, Virginia “Ginny” Gebauer, Valarie Gilliland and Nancy Urquhart from St. Peter’s. Following are their tributes from the service program:
Fran Duff: “Fran has been an amazing presence in this church. She has been an important volunteer in our church office, a weekly participant in the acolyte ministry, a leader in our Parish profile committee, as well as doing extensive work with the AA community.”
Faith Eckler: “Faith Eckler, a long-time member of St. Peter’s, has served as a chair on outreach since 2005. She also coordinates our services at Morris View Nursing Home in Morris Township and Spring Hill Assisted Living facility right here in Morristown and is also a eucharistic visitor. Faith was the first woman to serve as warden at St. Peter’s, elected to that office in 1978.”
Virginia Gebauer: “Ginny Gebauer became a member of St. Peter’s in 1950. During her 60 years of membership and service, she has served on the Altar Guild, served on the vestry from 1982 to 1984, hosted coffee hours and was a member of the St. Peter’s Prayer Circle.”
Valarie Gilliland: “Valarie Gilliland was, until recently, the ‘grounds’ expert of our buildings and grounds team, giving our gardens and grass impeccable care, ensuring that parishioners and visitors alike are able to enjoy our campus year ’round. Valarie is also a member of the Altar Guild and a key contributor to the success of our monthly 8 a.m. service coffee hours.”
Nancy Urquhart: “Nancy Urquhart is best known for her selfless commitment to the Community Soup Kitchen, which she founded 25 years ago and which today serves lunch every day in Morristown, including anywhere from 100 to 300 guests in the St. Peter’s parish hall every Saturday. On Thursday, April 22, Nancy was recognized by the Community Soup Kitchen and honored with the Caritas Award. Also, April 22 was declared ‘Nancy Urquhart Day’ by the mayor of Morristown, Timothy Dougherty.”
