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December 2004
“The thought of being honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award in Christian Education is daunting,” says Jean Novotny.
Novotny, a 20-year member of the First Church of Wellfleet, was recently honored by the Massachusetts Conference United Church of Christ for being a life-long learner and teacher.
According to the Rev. Dale Hempen, the Associate Conference Minister in the Southeast Area, “we are all benefactors of the Spirit of God evident in Jean’s life and teachings.”
Novotny learned to teach at Union Theological Seminary, where she and her late husband Dan were students. Following graduation from Union, Dan began ministry while Jean taught in junior high schools near the churches Dan served. After 35 years of parish ministry, both were called to a volunteer ministry at Andover Newton Theological School, where Dan taught theology, and Jean served for 13 years as a volunteer Associate in Field Education. In that position, Jean helped place students in churches where they fulfilled their field education requirement, and she taught on the team that trained their supervisors. According to Hempen, since ‘retirement,’ Jean has single-handedly created adult education programs for the Wellfleet Church.
For 14 summers, Novotny co-directed and then directed the North American Summer Session at Mansfield College in Oxford University, England, a program for North American clergy on study leave. She not only brought with her a unique understanding of the Still Speaking God, but returned to the United States with more global insight.
“God is still speaking to me by enfolding me in this world created for us all. It is a movable acquaintance between God and me – steady in its undertone, but on the brink of not-showing ... and then appearing brilliantly from day to day,” explains Novotny. “The Still Speaking God is an elusive companion whom I consult constantly.”
Also deserving of thanks in the Education field is Betsey Guest Natale, who was named Educator of the Year by the MACUCC. Betsey is an educator at Topsfield and is a Certified Educator of the United Church of Christ. According to Carl McDonald, Associate for Youth and Christian Education Ministries, “Betsey is an exceptional teacher and was responsible for helping to start a Christian daycare known as Make A Joyful Noise. Betsey continues to be active in the conference as a Partner in Education and co- covener of the Northeast Area Cluster for educators.”
“Religious education,” says Hempen, “makes every person a thing of beauty forever.”
Jean Novotny is presented her Lifetime Achievement Award in Christian Education by Rev. Dale Hempen, the Southeast Area Office Associate Conference Minister for the MACUCC. More than just a “minister’s wife,” as she refers to herself, Novotny has spent a lifetime sharing her generous spirit with students in the United States and abroad.