Women nominated need to hold ordained ministerial standing in the UCC, exemplify the contributions that women can make through ordained ministry, have provided outstanding ministry in a parish or other church related institutions, including women in specialized ministry, and have a sensitivity concerning the challenges and possibilities of women in ministry and advocacy on behalf of all women in the church.
This award was first presented at the 10th General Synod and is named for the Reverend Antoinette Brown, (1825-1921) the first woman ordained a minister in America. A selection committee comprised of representatives from the four Covenanted Ministries, the Council of Conference Ministers, and a former Antoinette Brown recipient, consider nominees for selection. The award will be presented to the two recipients serving in ordained ministry at a luncheon held in their honor during General Synod 27.
Meet the 2009 recipents:
Candita Bauzá-Mattos 
In being nominated for the Antoinette Brown award one of Candita’s nominator’s writes, “She has faced similar challenges faced by Antoinette Brown, only in different times. Candita has been a pillar of strength, courage and integrity through difficult circumstances throughout her ministry. She boldly broke through the barriers of sexism and racism with grace and generosity, always modeling faithfulness and hope.”
Candita Bauzá-Mattos was the first woman to graduate from the Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico as well as the first Hispanic woman ordained (1972) from the Evangelical United Church of Puerto Rico.
Her ministry has provided service in many and varied settings of the United Church of Christ. She has served as a Dean of Students in a private school setting as well as a pastor to several local congregations. She as also served as Associate Conference Minister in the Southern California Nevada Conference, as a consultant to the Council of Hispanic Ministries and as Minister for Hispanic Relations in the Office of General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ.
Among her volunteer ministry accomplishments she has served as a Counselor for a Tae-Kwon Do Martial Arts school and undertaken a pilgrimage to the jungle in Putumayo, Colombia to witness the struggles and sufferings of the indigenous people following many years of war and suffering in their community.
One nomination describes Candita, as “a faithful and devoted woman of vision, breaking new ground, often the “first” in many areas of her life, taking stands for justice, and always sharing her extraordinary pastoral gifts with those around her.”
Julie Peeples 
The fourth of six children in a Catholic family, growing up in Charleston, S.C., Julie Peeples loved the ritual and regalia of the Mass. By high school, Peeples had set her sights on the priesthood. That the church did not ordain women mattered little, she believed her time would come!
In 1975 she enrolled at Furman University, a Southern Baptist school in Greenville, S.C. majoring in music and religion. With the tug of the priesthood still strong, Peeples enrolled at Andover Newton Theological School. While there she strongly identified with the UCC’s emphasis on social justice. After seminary she accepted a campus ministry position at a Catholic institution, St. Vincent College in Latrobe, PA. Later in her career Julie and her husband, Rev. Paul Davis also served on the staff of Habitat for Humanity in Americus, GA providing pastoral care for a Habitat staff of about 300.
Prior to being called as Senior Minister at Congregational UCC in Greensboro, N.C. she served the congregation from 1991-1993 as an intentional Interim and is remembered fondly for her capacity to bring about healing and reconciliation. Active in the Southern Conference she has served on the Board of Directors, its task force for dialogue on human sexuality and as a member of the national task force on UCC-Baptist Alliance relationships as well as serving as a General Synod delegate,
Active in her community, she has served on the county Mental Health Board, the city’s Family Life Council, the black and white clergy dialogue as well as a strong commitment to her area’s interfaith dialogue.
In being nominated for the award one of her nominators says this, “Julie is an outstanding minister, a woman committed to her Christian faith and ministry. Her wise guidance, her compassionate spirit, her firm grasp of the truth even in difficult situations, exemplifies the important role as model and mentor she provides to so many.”
