Meet three of The Spirituality Network's 2020 Living Faith Award winners.

Meet three of The Spirituality Network’s 2020 Living Faith Award winners.
Rebecca “Becky” Hoffman is a beacon of
hope and compassion for the world. She
embraces each of life’s challenges as a way to
build up the people, places and projects that
require her attention.

Rebecca gave birth to twin daughters who
were diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. Renee
lived for 10 days before dying from the
disease. Her second daughter, Robyn, lives
today at age 53 even though doctors told her
she would die before age 12. From day one of
Robyn’s diagnosis, Becky adhered to the doctor’s orders and spent hours each day making sure Robyn had
the proper treatment for her lungs and digestive system. Becky inspired Robyn to live life to the fullest
and encouraged her in all that she did.

Rebecca became involved with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and raised thousands of dollars for the
disease and educated people all over the state of Ohio about this unfamiliar disease in the 1970s. She
brought together families and taught them how to provide support and love to one another.

Becky’s son Ryan needed her devotion and love as a care giver. Ryan, who was gay, was struggling with
alcoholism and Becky showed him unconditional love by helping him attend AA meetings and starting a
Community PFLAG group to help other families. When Ryan was dying from AIDS, she was his main care
giver. After his death, she became a leader in local AIDS support groups and always had an open space at
her table for anyone who needed a meal or love, especially during the holidays.

Becky shared her care giving skills with her parents, in-laws and sister as each approached the end of life.
She ensured each a peaceful transition.

Currently, Becky is caring for her husband of 56 years. Ed has lived with Parkinson’s disease for over 10
years. She provides every aspect of his daily care at their home. Like before, Becky has involved herself in
Parkinson’s support groups in a leadership role.

Becky’s unconditional love for her family inspires everyone she meets. People are touched by her unselfish
devotion and are inspired to live better lives. She has made time to share her spiritual gifts with her church
and community. The list is endless: Church Elder and Deacon, Sunday school teacher, All Women’s group,
church choir, Stephen Minister, Prison Ministry, AARP tax Aid, Personal Advocate for Individual and Family
Services, Board of Richland Newhope, and Civitan member.
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Though it all Becky has lived her life of service as stated in 1 Peter 10: “Each of you should use whatever
gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”

David Brown is the creative and artistic director of the Harmony Project, a community service choir
composed of 500 diverse members with a goal of uniting the divisions that separate, serving those who
have no voice, and sharing each individual’s unique talents to create a better community in which to
live.

David Brown is a visible representation of what is means to Live One’s Faith. David grew up in New
Orleans, Southern Baptist and gay. He first came to Columbus as part of a singing group from Louisiana
Tech and found that he was accepted here for who he was. Unfortunately, going home put him back
into hiding.

Several years later, David found himself in New York City where he directed choirs in churches that left
him “wanting to connect to the lyrics he could not understand and moved to action by their message.”
                                                        In September 2001, he was on the verge of
                                                        beginning a new choir whose concept was
                                                        simple: use music to bring together people who
                                                        believed differently, voted differently, and lived
                                                        differently to inspire audiences throughout the
                                                        city.

                                                       Still his soul was searching for more. He was
                                                       struggling to come to terms with what it meant
                                                       to “live life out loud” when 16 years later, David,
                                                       now back home in New Orleans, found himself in
                                                       a shelter with others as Hurricane Katrina raged
                                                       outside. It was here that he made the decision to
                                                       go where he could use his gifts and talents to
                                                       organize people or at least inspire them to
                                                       organize themselves for the good of the
                                                       community. Columbus, Ohio, the place he first
                                                       felt loved and accepted, inspired him to focus on
building a community he wanted to live and settle in. Thus, The Harmony Project was born.

The Harmony Project has developed over 300 service initiatives, served 62 local nonprofit agencies, and
logged over 60,000 volunteer service hours in support of its mission of creating more balance, more
openness, more acceptance, and fostering the idea that we all belong. Singing is the vehicle that brings
them together, but creating peace gardens, respecting the differently abled, transforming
neighborhoods by planting trees, supporting those incarcerated, and cooking for families in shelters are
just a few of the ways they have learned to see the world beyond the one they know.

David grew up oppressed but he never gave up hope. He exemplifies “tending to the least of these” and
“To whom much is given, much is expected.” David Brown is indeed Living his Faith.

Linda Bryant is being honored for a lifetime of service to those in the margins and, more specifically, for
her leadership and service in the Women to Women Program of the Spirituality Network.
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Linda has had first-hand experience of life in the margins and
the struggles it can bring. True to her innate moral character,
she allowed her experience to form and inform her, and has
spent a lifetime in service as a licensed social worker at
Franklin County Children Services.

All her professional training was coupled with a deep faith
orientation as she taught and volunteered at St Elizabeth
Seton Catholic Church in Pickerington and at St. Pius X School
in Reynoldsburg.

In 2013 Linda completed the Spiritual Guidance Program with
the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation and now does
one-on-one spiritual direction.

The Women to Women Program has been the beneficiary of
Linda’s integration of all of her professional life experiences
and her life of deep faith and trust. For the last 14 plus years,
Linda has brought her expertise, her compassion, her belief in the human spirit, and her deep conviction
that God shows no partiality. She has served in leadership as well as working directly with the women at
various listening sites. As a member of leadership, she helped to develop and oversee the sites and
developed and taught an orientation program to perspective companions. She has become the “go-to”
person for many the women in the margins and makes herself readily available to them for support,
transportation, and encouragement .

Linda has a strong unshakable belief in the philosophy of the Women to Women Program: That each
person has within themselves all they need to come to wholeness. Her mission is simply to listen them
into speech. Linda believes this because she’s been there.

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