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Honoring Women of Strength

St. Francis Center for Renewal’s Woman of Strength Award

In 2013, St. Francis Center for Renewal introduced the Woman of Strength Awards, spotlighting the faith-filled lives and accomplishments of women who exemplify specific traits — strength of character, Christian values, courage, generosity, persistence, optimism, integrity and commitment to community service.

“God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved.”
— Psalm 46

For more than a century, one of the core missions of the School Sisters of St. Francis has been to educate young women, especially through times when education was considered more important for men than women. The Woman of Strength Award honors the Sisters’ heritage and also highlights their educational influence work in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley through, among other ministries, the former St. Francis Academy. Many of the young ladies who passed through the Academy have grown into highly-successful and faith-filled women who play varied and important roles in society.

In its earliest days, the award was reserved for Academy graduates but has since grown to include women nominated by friends of the Center. As a result, a variety of people who might not otherwise have known of our ministry have been introduced to St. Francis Center for Renewal. Year after year, more and more alumnae reconnect with their SFA roots and provide both financial and hands-on support to the Center’s enduring success.

Sisters who once taught at the Academy have grown to serve the Lord in other ways. By reconnecting, alumnae witness their teachers’ faith being lived out in a new way, as these same Sisters who once taught reading, writing and arithmetic have been instrumental in the lives of the thousands who pass through the Center’s doors each year. Both the Sisters and the women they taught are wonderful examples of living the Gospel.

Do you know a Woman of Strength? Nominations for the 2021 award are being accepted now. Click below to download and/or print the nomination form with submission instructions. The submission deadline is November 30, 2020. Winners will be announced in January 2021. Have questions? Please contact Jan Gough at 610-867-8890.