Mecklenburg Ministries, with nearly 100 member houses of worship, honored an advocate for children and a champion of interfaith exchanges at its annual awards breakfast Tuesday at Park Road Baptist Church.
Mary Nell McPherson, executive director of Seigle Avenue Partners, received the Community Leader Award for providing after-school programs and nine summertime Children Defense Fund Freedom Schools for Charlotte students living in poverty.
Rabbi Judy Schindler of Temple Beth El introduced McPherson. In her work bringing educational opportunities to poor children, Schindler said, McPherson has "helped capture the community's winds of caring ... for Charlotte's most vulnerable population."
Also lauding McPherson, on video, was Marian Wright Edelman, the S.C.-born founder and president of the Children's Defense Fund.
McPherson, a longtime elder at Covenant Presbyterian Church, told the 250 people at the breakfast that she had hope that the Charlotte community "will continue to respond to God's call."
Receiving the group's Bridge Builder Award was Sidney Sussman, 91.
Sussman was cited for his work with the interfaith Mecklenburg Ministries, where he served on the board for 10 years, and with Temple Beth El, where he's headed the Community Relations Committee and spearheaded a popular Comparative Religion series.
He has "inspired countless people with his interfaith commitment," said Maria Hanlin, executive director of Mecklenburg Ministries. She also pointed out that, in the past, he had designed the award he picked up Tuesday.
A World War II veteran who built portable bridges for U.S. Army troops during the war, Sussman said in reaching out to people of all faiths, he continues "to be a bridge tender. The only toll we charge is good will."