Davis Scholarship – Gift Eases Burden
Rev. Jeff Davis and his wife Jean present the first scholarship gift to Rev. Pat Sykes.
What do you give the pastor who turns 90 years old? That was the question facing the family of Jefferson W. Davis recently as the retired local pastor from the Sanford District approached his 90th birthday. Rather than a rocking chair or fancy watch, his family wanted to offer a gift that would have special meaning.
Their choice – create a scholarship through United Methodist Foundation, Inc. honoring Jeff Davis (and his wife, Jean) for their years of ministry service to the North Carolina Annual Conference. But this would be no ordinary scholarship program benefiting high school seniors moving on to college education. Instead, the scholarship program will benefit pastors who are just beginning their ministerial careers in the North Carolina Annual Conference yet are struggling to pay off student loans from divinity school on minimum salary wages.
According to Evelyn Davis Watson, his daughter, Rev. Davis began his ministry in 1956 as a second career after serving in the heating industry for many years. “With a young family to care for, Dad worked hard to achieve the academic proficiency he needed to serve the people of his charges. We struggled in those early days to maintain living expenses and family time together.”
Thus the Jeff & Jean Davis Scholarship was established by his family and friends to assist other pastors facing financial challenges while fulfilling the call God has placed upon their lives. The first recipient of the new scholarship is Rev. Pat Sykes of the Candor – Little River Charge (Sanford District). According to Pat, it was “a wonderful surprise to receive this gift from the Davis family. It was both an opportunity and a challenge to go back to school later in life. On behalf of myself and my family, I give glory to God and thank the Jeff Davis family for their care for older students”.
The Davis Scholarship will rotate among the 12 districts of the North Carolina Annual Conference in years to come, starting with the Wilmington District in 2010, and continuing alphabetically in future years. Annually the district superintendent will forward recommended applications to the scholarship committee, made up of representatives from the Foundation and the Davis family, for a final decision. For more information on this program, contact Rev. James Mentzer at United Methodist Foundation, Inc. (jmentzer@nccumc.org).
