This marks the 10th year that the Jones Awards have been celebrated, and the first time since 2019. Created in 2011, the awards are named in memory of the Rev. Dr. Kenneth O. Jones, an associate minister for 33 years until his death in 1996.

We congratulate this year’s honorees and invite you to learn more about their inspiring work on behalf of our congregation.

Bob Henn

A member of Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church since 2007, Bob has been a longtime volunteer with Meals on Heels, served multiple terms as a Trustee has been a long-serving member and chair of the Property Committee. He has stepped up to a series of other leadership roles in the church, including co-chairing the 2015 Pledge Campaign, chairing the livestream task force (accomplished at the height of the pandemic), overseeing the renovation of the Weber Terrace and leading this year’s successful Kitchen Campaign, which will fund the renovation of the kitchen facilities in Bonnell Hall. His largest project was the restoration of the exterior brownstone in 2016, which he brought in on time and under budget. Treasurer Glenn Hubbard recently remarked, “This man’s diligence, attention to detail and wise approach to problem solving have saved this church millions of dollars.”
 
“In so many other ways, Bob’s leadership, intelligence and personal warmth have proven to be invaluable assets to this community,” said Senior Pastor Scott Black Johnston in presenting the 2022 Jones Award. “He has fulfilled, again and again, the vow our Trustees take ‘to be a friend in ministry.’”

Jane Hong

Jane Hong has been a member of Fifth Avenue since 2010. She immediately got involved with our young adults ministry, the community choir and outreach. She was ordained as an Elder in 2013 served multiple terms on the Session, culminating with her year as Clerk of Session in 2020-21. As Clerk, she took up former Executive Pastor Charlene Han Powell’s challenge to the congregation to address systemic racism. Her efforts led to the establishment of the Anti-Racism Response Team, which she chaired in its inaugural year. She has also served as an Adult Education coordinator, a member of the Committee on Homelessness and a member of the Immigration & Refugees Task Force. She was part of the Strategic Plan Task Force in 2014, which redefined the vision and mission of the church and paved the way for our successful Generation to Generation Capital Campaign in 2015.

Twenty years ago, at a neighboring congregation, Jane served on the Associate Pastor Nominating Committee that called the Rev. Dr. Jonah So, now Fifth Avenue’s executive pastor, to his first ordained position. “I was devastated by the news that she was transferring out of that congregation in 2010,” Jonah said in presenting the Jones Award. “Now my heart is healed to know how the fullness of her gifts and service have blessed this community.”

Josie Lawrence

Josie Lawrence started attending Fifth Avenue in 1981 and became a member three years later. Her first volunteer gig was with the Women’s Association Christmas Bazaar. She later joined the choir and still sings in the Fifth Avenue community choir. She has served on all three governing and service boards of the church—the Session, Board of Deacons and Board of Trustees—and led each of them at different periods of her tenure. Her leadership has perhaps been most remarkable in our Outreach Ministries, where she is the Meals on Heels liaison to the Outreach Committee. Together with her husband, Paul Lee, and a host of fellow volunteers, she has been integral to our Meals on Heels ministry for more than a decade. Every Saturday morning, every Thanksgiving, every Christmas and throughout the pandemic, she has faithfully commandeered the Bonnell Hall kitchen to ensure that vulnerable, homebound people were fed.
 
In presenting the Jones Award, Associate Pastor Werner Ramirez noted that Dr. Jones himself married Josie and Paul in Kirkland Chapel in 1988. “In my time here, I have found her to be not just a natural leader but a truth-teller and an authentic human being,” Werner added. “What a joy it is to have a friend with whom you can be your complete self.”

Patrick Obeng-Frimpong

Patrick Obeng-Frimpong visited Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church at the invitation of a friend in January 2006. Three months later, he became a member. He immediately jumped into serving the church—as an usher and greeter, in the Stephen Ministry, as a longtime Meals on Heels volunteer, as a member of the Outreach Committee. His service inside the church led to service outside, as a volunteer for mission partners Habitat for Humanity and the Bowery Mission, and as a van driver for the homeless advocacy group Don’t Walk By. He has served as an Elder and Deacon, and this year has been a faithful member of the launch team for Chapel Church. In an article for The Voice in 2007, Patrick shared how his Christian upbringing in Ghana shape a deep desire to serve. He said he believed Christians should strive to live as Christ did, by loving one another.

In presenting the Jones Award, Associate Pastor Sarah Speed said, “The most significant thing many of us may not know about Patrick is his dedication and loyalty to our beloved Fifth Avenue member Tom Crowfis. When Tom was sick this past year, Patrick visited him every single week. He never missed. It’s the kind of love and faithfulness that we see in Jesus, and it blesses all of us.”