The Mississippi Conference Requests Nominations for the Tobias Gibson and Francis Asbury Awards

The Tobias Gibson Award is given to individuals who have made major contribution preservation, collecting and promoting Methodist history.

The Francis Asbury Award is for Fostering Ministries in Higher Education. Bishop Francis Asbury encouraged United Methodists to build schools in locations central to our churches so that young adults and youth would have more opportunities to broaden their minds. The Francis Asbury Award recognizes an individual who has made significant contributions to higher education and campus ministry at the local, district or annual conference level of the church. The award recipient will be recognized during the 2009 Annual Conference proceedings.

The Francis Asbury Award is a non-monetary award that recognizes either clergy or lay people, employed or volunteer, who are members of The United Methodist Church and meet the following criteria:

- A United Methodist, lay or clergy
- Active in strengthening and promoting the church’s work in higher education and campus ministries (schools, colleges, campus ministries, scholarships) at the annual conference, district or local church level
- Offer outstanding leadership beyond the basic responsibilities, to help bring more awareness to the importance of the church’s ministries in higher education
- Involved in efforts that agree with the direction and goals of Mississippi Conference’s board of higher education and campus ministries as well as those of the Division of the General Board of Higher Education and Campus Ministry

All Awards will be presented during Annual Conference at the Award Banquet, Thursday, June 11, 2009.

To nominate an individual contact Rev. Fitzgerald Lovett at P. O. Box 1147, Jackson, MS 39215 or http://us.mc392.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=fitzgerald@mississippi-umc.org.

Deadline for the Tobias Gibson and Francis Asbury Award nominations is April 13, 2009.