The Serving Boldly Award, created by the Virginia Synod (ELCA) Council in October 2020, is given to lay leaders who embody and demonstrate a commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ in their congregation and/or community. Nominations were received from Virginia Synod congregations around Virginia and the Synod is pleased to recognize the 2023 recipients of the award.

Kisha Johnson, is the Executive Director of God’s Storehouse (GS) which started as a soup kitchen and has evolved into so much more. Kisha took over as Executive Director in 2016 after serving for several years as a volunteer. Kisha Johnson is not a member of our Episcopal-Lutheran Congregation, but is an active and involved member of her own church, Christ Chapel in Galax, VA. She is a leader in the community and has involved many churches, including Good Shepherd, in the ministry of God’s Storehouse. Since 2016, God’s Storehouse has served over half a million meals. A meal delivery system distributes hot meals twice a week to the elderly and disabled. GS provides monthly food boxes to economically disadvantaged people. In 2018, GS started a recovery support group whose purpose is to help people with hurts, habits, and hang-ups. Hope Dealers is a group of people in recovery committed to making their community stronger and safer. Ms. Clair’s House is a women’s recovery house located in Grayson County, Virginia, with a mission to help women regain independence. The Adult and Child Education & Literacy Program provides outreach to those families in need of parenting classes, assistance with the educational needs of children, adult literacy, GED Preparation, and other life skills. God’s Storehouse also works with persons released from jail and prison to enable them to transition effectively back into mainstream society. Good Shepherd gives thanks for Kisha’s ministry and they way she helps congregations like Good Shepherd engage in ministry in the community.

Carol has been a faithful member and servant at Christ Lutheran for many years and has been directly responsible for a number of efforts providing for the community. Carol leads the Quilting Ministry which provides warm quilts to those in need in the community and around the world through Lutheran World Relief. She is a member of the Evangelism Ministry and chairs the Outreach Ministry, whose coordinated efforts have fed first responders of both local fire and police departments, provided supply bags for the homeless, provided water to local marathoners, and also warm coats to those in need in partnership with another local ministry. Carol was instrumental in forming an English as a Second Language initiative when she saw the needed in partnership with a local non-English speaking congregation. Not to rest on that accomplishment, she was also instrumental in building the Guatemala Project locally, which provided desperately needed support and supplies to families directly impacted by volcanic destruction in Guatemala. Carol also heads the IT/Communications Ministry, ensuring the functionality of the congregation’s infrastructure to provide a recently revamped website as well as the tools needed for sustaining our digital ministry and other communication needs as well. Carol still makes time to spread joy throughout the congregation with her participation with the Bell Choir and assisting whenever and wherever a need arises, always with a smile and joyful heart. She exemplifies humility and what it is to live in service to the Lord.

Robert is a strong leader in the community.

• He is a member and President of Prince William County (PWC) Public Schools Education Foundation – known today as Supporting Partnership and Resources for Kids (SPARK).  This program brings community and business partnerships together to provide programs and initiatives for the schools as well as teacher grants.
• He is the editor of “Along the Towpath” – a quarterly publication of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Association.
• He is a member and President of the Hamburg Ruritan Club – “Fellowship, Goodwill and Community Service”.
• He is a Conicville election officer and serves as the captain of the team.
• He has served as a voting member for Zion to the Virginia Synod Assembly.

As President of Zion’s Congregation and the Hamburg Ruritan Club, he was instrumental in establishing scholarships in both organizations.  The congregation and community is most proud of the Spring Forward after-school tutoring and enrichment program, which Bob and his wife, Jane, founded in 2009. In many ways, the Spring Forward program reflects the culmination of their years of love and service in the education and support of children, and the congregation has been blessed to be the recipients of this love. Bob exemplifies “the church without walls.”

Diana Tiller-Dichtel serves as the parish nurse at St. Stephen Lutheran Church which serves the greater Williamsburg, Yorktown, and James City County area.  Many of the congregation’s members are over the age of 60. Diana provides home communion as well as home health checks for members.  Diana has even traveled out of state with members who are ill to help relocate them to senior living and hospice facilities closer to loved ones and family.  She is constantly taking parishioners to and from chemo or surgery or doctors’ appointments.  She organizes first aid and CPR training as well as blood pressure checks to members of the community.  Diana organizes the church’s ministry fair, which enables the congregation to come together to participate and sign up for social ministry projects.  She organizes the volunteers and keeps the list of home bound members who would like to receive communion at home. She is currently completing her Stephen Ministry training so that she can help and care on a deeper, more spiritual level. She has plans after becoming a Stephen Minister to continue helping and educating others in serving the Lord.

Connie spearheaded the complete transformation of St. Mark’s food pantry from a one-size-fits-all model to a client-choice model.  Connie developed a vision of a food pantry at St. Mark’s that would operate like a small market where people could come and “shop” for the food they wanted.  Space on the main floor of the church, right outside of the nave, was identified as being ideal for this new food pantry.

Connie was involved in every aspect of the renovation of the new space from demolition, to securing funding through grants and donations, to using every contact she had to get deals on everything.  Connie’s work also helped the congregation to identify strengths and assets (i.e. building, space, people, etc.) which had been overlooked and/or underutilized for far too long.  Her faith that the resurrected and living Lord would lead the congregation to see this project through to its fruition, regardless of the obstacles encountered, was compelling for everyone involved in it.  Connie recognized that a long-time, beloved congregational ministry could have a much larger, more profound impact in the community than it was having. She could see that there was more to a hungry person than an empty stomach and more to meaningful ministry than just filling it. Crucially, she helped the rest of the congregation to see that, too.