Distinguished Alumni for 2005

November 1, 2005

Ralph I. Epps, a 1950 Duke Divinity School graduate who has spent nearly 60 years in ministry and is now retired in Edenton, N.C., was presented with the 2005 Distinguished Alumni Award on Oct. 10.

The annual award, presented during Convocation & Pastor’s School, recognizes graduates of the divinity school for service to God, the church and the community. Established in 1973, it is the highest honor given by the school’s Alumni Association.

Epps began his ministry in 1946 with four country churches. He has served 14 appointments with 26 churches in all, continually working to help those in need: sharing family meals with the homeless; delivering clothes to the poor while praying for them and with them; ministering to incarcerated women.

His service to the North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church includes participating in the Board of Pensions, Conference Council on Ministries and Board of Education, and the Town and Country Commission.

He was honored for his distinguished service rendered to the XVIII Airborne Corps during World War II, earning the 82nd Airborne Division Commanding General’s Award for Excellence.

Epps has donated more than eight gallons of blood to the American Red Cross, and he has been publicly recognized for his service to that organization. He has long worked to address the problem of world hunger, especially through the Church World Service CROP program.

In 1979, when he was 59 years old, Epps raised nearly $3,500 by roller-skating 50 miles and taking donations for each mile to support Cambodian Food Relief and to support programs for the mentally handicapped.

“Our Distinguished Alumnus is a living testament to our school and its quest to form and educate students who will teach, inspire and lead people to Jesus Christ through a lifetime of service,” said M. Davies Kirkland D’90, chair of the Distinguished Alumni Committee. “He is certainly one who follows Jesus teaching, ‘Love God and love neighbor.’ ”