Caleb Pickering receives Mary Morris award for service

Caleb Pickering received the Mary Morris Award of Exemplary Service to Society in a ceremony at Thursday morning breakout chapel in Collins Alumni Auditorium. Pickering thanked his family, his church and his mentor, Richard Goode who won the award last year, and he urged students to use their time at school wisely. “At the simplest level, service to God and to man is the sacrifice of your time so that you can give that time to others,” Pickering said. This award is given every year to a member of the “Lipscomb family” who demonstrates a high level of service to the community and to the church. “The criteria for the award is they exhibit a spirit of volunteerism, they engage in meaningful activities in the community to help spread God’s light. They demonstrate a commitment to Christian missions wherever they may be and that they are an advocate for Lipscomb University,” Phillip Camp said before he handed the award to Pickering. Pickering helps Green Street Church of Christ’s ministry to the homeless. The Nashville church’s congregation recently decided to allow homeless people to sleep on its property and sometimes even let them into the sanctuary to sleep. “Even at times when the local government and others are opposing them, they have decided to stand and fight for this,” Camp said. “They try to meet the needs of their homeless guests while also maintaining their dignity and offering them real friendship and real relationships.” Beginning in 2000, the church started partnering with a group of Lipscomb students called “Fools for Christ.” According to the Green Street website, “Every Wednesday hundreds of college students and...