President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia has received the James K. & Eunice Mathews Bridge Builder award at a dinner sponsored by the United Methodist Commission on Christian Unity and Inter-religious Concerns in Fort Worth, Texas. 

Bishop William Oden presented the award to Mrs. Sirleaf on Tuesday night at the dinner, which was also a fundraiser for the commission's Bridges of Unity Ecumenical and Interfaith Endowment Fund.  

In presenting the award, Bishop Oden said, the James K. and Eunice Mathews Bridge Builder Award is named for the longtime United Methodist bishop and his wife the daughter of renowned evangelist E. Stanley Jones, who "have been a team of bridge builders for unity during their entire ministry. 

According to the Dallas News.com of the Dallas Morning News quoting the United Methodist News Service, the award was created to honor a person "who has played a significant role in building global community and dismantling barriers that separate people. President Sirleaf is its first recipient who said she accepting the award on behalf of the millions of Liberians who have suffered so much. 

She acknowledged the many Liberians who were forced to leave their country for their own safety, youth forced into civil war, women who were the most vulnerable but still took responsibility to lead the peace, and children who lost years of childhood and education. 

President Sirleaf said, "Today, we can start anew. 

Earlier in the afternoon, the president addressed the 2008 General Conference – the denomination’s highest legislative body

 

Writes: Patrick Manjoe
Dallas, Texas