Aldersgate UMC member honored for local missions work
Norma Curry, missions chairperson for Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Savannah, has been named one of A Working Woman In Need’s (AWWIN) Top Ten Working Women of the Year.
Curry, a 75 year-old retired nurse and lifelong advocate for those in need, is being honored for her commitment, passion and service to the women and ministry of AWWIN. AWWIN, a Savannah-based ministry, exists to deliver a wide range of support services for the single working woman and her family through a variety of collaborative efforts and partnerships with community organizations and agencies.
“It is a great honor for AWWIN to pay tribute to such a fine and outstanding woman as Mrs. Norma Curry,” said Sarahlyn Argrow, founder and chairman of AWWIN, Inc. “To see the energy she puts into helping not only AWWIN but several other non profits in our area is a real blessing. She has come to check on AWWIN even when she was not feeling her best. Mrs. Norma is always on the phone working on getting assistance for the non profits she volunteers with. It is a true blessing to know such a person! God made a pearl when He gave us Mrs. Norma Curry!”
Humble and not one to sing her own praises, Curry works diligently behind the scenes at Aldersgate UMC.
“She began to take it and run with it; she found her niche,” said Rev. Steve Meguiar, pastor of Aldersgate UMC. “She is the type of person who can call and ask, and people give; Norma is a networker.”
Armed with her passion, personality, perseverance and phone – Curry doesn’t correspond via e-mail and doesn’t even own a computer – she works tirelessly on behalf of AWWIN and other outreach ministries – Performance Initiatives, Horsin’ Around, Wesley Community Centers of Savannah, and Old Savannah City Mission.
As part of its mission to assist single working women who have been displaced due to various reasons such as divorce, illness, domestic violence, temporary loss of employment, one of AWWIN’s foundations is a thirty-week computer and job readiness training class. The ministry operates its daytime computer class from a room on Aldersgate UMC’s campus, a room that, before Curry stepped in and got involved, wasn’t equipped to handle the power and networking needs a computer room demands.
“She was instrumental in bringing Georgia Power in to help, and an electrician who donated his time to upgrade the room so they could plug in their computers and set up the computer system. She got all that donated,” Rev. Meguiar said.
After learning about Teen Challenge in Dublin’s need for a septic system upgrade through an Aldersgate UMC parishioner, Curry and the church were motivated to help. The cost of the new septic system was approximately $150,000, but Curry was able to get almost everything donated – pipe, gravel, electricians, dump trucks, dirt, and more. In total, about $100,000 worth of materials and labor were donated to the project, which helped Teen Challenge accommodate additional men and youth.
Wesley Community Centers of Savannah, another outreach ministry supported by Aldersgate UMC and one that promotes the economic, educational, and spiritual growth of women, children and families, needed a new roof, so Curry contacted a roofer who donated the roof, his labor and upkeep and maintenance on the roof for life. And she’s always collecting gift certificates and other small items to use as ministry giveaways.
“She’s very instrumental, but she always says, ‘It’s not me; it’s God and Aldersgate.’ She doesn’t want it to be Norma’s ministry, she wants it to be God’s and the church’s ministry.”
AWWIN will honor Curry and the other nine award recipients at an awards gala and silent auction on Friday, May 14 at the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum in Pooler.
“The Lord really does everything; I pray about my missions as a whole every day. I have a passion for this,” Curry said.
--By Kara Witherow, South Georgia Advocate editor
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