COSROW salutes Holdeman's advocacy work

On behalf of COSROW, Pam Cottrill ­honors Gary Holdeman on May 30 with the Frances Willard Award. Photo by Holly McCray

Gary Holdeman received the 2012 Frances E. Willard Award from COSROW (Commission on the Status & Role of Women), presented on May 30 at Annual Conference in Tulsa.

Rev. Holdeman is "a very vocal advocate for women in ministry," stated the nomination letter.

His contributions include teaching a class titled "What the Bible Really Says About Women in Ministry" in multiple settings, including six Local Church Leaders Workshops and a Confirmation Camp.

Under his superintendency of the Enid District, half of those churches were led by female senior pastors as of 2012. "He was quick to ask churches resistant to having a woman as their pastor because they ‘once had a female pastor that didn’t work out,’ if they ever had a male pastor that didn’t work out," stated the letter. "Then he would point out that didn’t keep them from wanting another male pastor."

Rev. Holdeman also has served on COSROW. He is senior pastor at Guymon’s Victory Memorial UMC.