The Laity Council is soliciting nominations for the Bishop Gerald Kennedy Award which honors Lay Persons of the Year. These awards are separate and distinct from any other award(s) our current Bishop may bestow at Annual Conference. Please consider re-submitting for persons previously nominated but not receiving the award at that time.

In 1961, the Bishop Gerald Kennedy Award was established. It was to be given annually to a person or persons for distinguished service, selected by a committee appointed by the Bishop. Today that responsibility rests with the Laity Council. After 1980, it was given to an outstanding Lay Woman and Lay Man each year. In 2004, a third category was added to name an outstanding Lay Young Adult. In 2014, a fourth category was added to name an outstanding Lay Youth. The Laity Council now presents this award to each recipient at their local church. They are also acknowledged during the Annual Conference session and are recognized at the Laity Dinner.

Guidelines to consider when submitting a nomination include: (Note: A congregation may make more than one nomination.)

• Nominee must be an active member of the congregation submitting the application.
• Nominee should currently exemplify strong leadership skills within the congregation in activities such as Bible study, training programs, local participation, Sunday school, and, in general, should be an example of Christian stewardship.
• Nominee should currently be active in one or more community, evangelistic or outreach programs and/or be active on a Conference, District, Mission Area or ecumenical level through committee activity, Lay Servant Ministries, training programs and/or seminars.

Currently, Laity Council members are not eligible. If the nominee is a paid staff member, please provide a job description with the nomination form.

The form may be completed by any person in the church and needs the endorsements of at least one other lay person and the pastor. Read the form completely: detailed, easy to follow instructions are included. There is also a link included to attach additional documents. The person making the nomination should provide adequate documentation to support the nomination. Each endorser will also be given an opportunity to provide additional information, as needed, but not required. The Conference strongly prefers electronic submissions but will accept paper submissions, which can be downloaded as a Microsoft Word document by clicking here.

Please consider re-submitting for persons previously nominated but not receiving the award at that time.

The deadline to submit your nomination(s) is February 29, 2020.