The BISHOP BENJAMIN J. RAVENEL, SR. SCHOLARSHIP AND AWARDS COMMITTEE (originally named the May Festival and Awards Benefit Committee) has been in existence since  May 1985. The late Bishop O. T. Jones, Jr. commissioned our work.  The late Mother Irene A. Oakley was our founding director.  These two individuals laid a solid foundation for our growth and success over these many years.  Under the leadership of the late Bishop Benjamin J. Ravenel, Sr., the work of the committee continued to expand.  Under the leadership of our current jurisdictional prelate, Bishop Guy L. Glimp, we envision on-going growth and expansion.

Since 1985, on the first Saturday in May, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction (PCEJ) of the Church of God in Christ has celebrated the Annual Awards Benefit Dinner at a venue in eastern or central Pennsylvania.  The jurisdiction represents more than 70 Church of God in Christ congregations in Eastern and South Central Pennsylvania, from Philadelphia to Altoona, and from the Poconos to Southern Chester County.

As believers in Christ, and as citizens of our great nation, we believe that it is important for us to participate fully in the growth and health of our neighborhoods and communities; and that we contribute in a tangible way to that growth and health.  Our churches and our church leaders have direct, continuous contact and involvement with the underprivileged and hurting segments of our population, as well as with a population that is privileged and successful.  They are all members of our churches.  One of our aims is to effectively join together as “village” to rear our children, to provide models of good and productive citizenship, and to provide opportunities for their education and career development.

The annual dinner has enabled our jurisdiction to make available to many of our churches short term loans for church extensions and rehabilitation. The dinner has been the vehicle by which our jurisdictional leadership has honored those men and women who have worked among us and who have often gone unnoticed.