Six New Haven residents were honored by the Divinity School at a Sept. 23 ceremony in Marquand Chapel, when Dean Richard J. Wood formally designated them as Coffin-Forsberg Fellows for the 1997-98 academic year. The non-monetary fellowships are designed to honor the recipients' service to the community and to engage them in the life of the Divinity School.
The fellows, who were chosen by the Divinity School general faculty, are:
* Thomas Ficklin, chief executive officer and editor-in-chief of "Inner City," a weekly newspaper focusing on the African-American communities in New Haven, Waterbury and Bridgeport. He is a 1975 graduate of the Divinity School and is active in many organizations serving the greater New Haven area.
* The Reverend Louise Higginbotham, senior minister of the United Church on the Green. Active in issues that involve children and families, she has been instrumental in establishing the New Haven Stand for Children and the Interfaith Budget Watch. Ms. Higginbotham earned a Master of Divinity degree from Yale in 1983.
* The Reverend Kevan Hitch, pastor of the First and Summerfield United Methodist Church. He was honored for his leadership in Elm City Congregations Organizing (ECCO) and in the Interfaith Cooperative Ministries (formerly Downtown Cooperative Ministries).
* Charles Henry Jefferson, founder, pastor and coordinator of the "Sandwich Ministry," a grassroots church designed to bring education, spiritual aid and a sense of community to homeless people in New Haven. The church holds worship services for about 75 homeless men, women and children in the United Church parish house or, in summer, on the New Haven Green, followed by a communal meal. Mr. Jefferson recently extended his ministry by forming a housing program called "God's Homes."
* The Reverend Betsey Lewis, deacon at St. Luke's Episcopal Church and supervisor of the church's outreach programs for women and children. St. Luke's offers a luncheon meal program for homeless and low-income women as well as educational opportunities to strengthen parenting skills and enhance employment eligibility.
* Al Marder, director of the Amistad Project and a long-time New Haven activist, formerly with the New Haven Labor Council. Mr. Marder is best known as an ecumenical worker, bringing together persons of many faiths to focus on community needs.
The Coffin-Forsberg Fellowships in Urban and Social Ministry program were created by the Divinity School general faculty in 1995. The program is designed to increase the school's commitment to urban and social ministry and to honor those who are called to work for social justice in the parish and in the world. The program is named for William Sloane Coffin, former Yale chaplain, and for Joan Bates Forsberg, former associate dean for students at the Divinity School.