Death of May Sweet Lord, Former Missionary to the Philippines
It is with deep sadness that Global Ministries shares the news of the death of former missionary to the Philippines, May Sweet Lord.
May Sweet Lord, 84, a longtime Chicago resident, died February 5, 2011, at the University of Chicago Medical Center from complications associated with heart failure. May was born on August 24, 1926, in Hartshorne, Oklahoma. She graduated with a B.A. from Phillips University, Enid, Oklahoma, studied at Union Seminary in New York City, and received her M.A. from Goddard College in Vermont. She was a devoted inner-city teacher in the Chicago and Indianapolis public schools for twenty-two years. She served the people of the Philippines from 1947 through 1950 and 1989 to 1991 as a teacher and as a founding pastor and organizer for the Koinonia Congregation on the campus of Northern Christian College. She was a co-founder of the Disciples Justice Action Network (DJAN). She was the initiator of the Nuclear Weapons Free Zone movement and was one of those responsible for the city council vote in Chicago which made the nation’s second city a Nuclear Weapons Free Zone. She designed the Peace Plaque now used internationally. She will be remembered for her beauty, compassion and generous spirit, service to others, her devotion to justice, and her love for God, her family, friends, students, and church community. She will be dearly missed.
She is survived by her beloved husband of 63 years, Charles Harvey Lord; brother, Boyd Sweet of California, and sister, Christine Fullwood of Texas; her loving children Timothy, Stephen, and Marilyn (James); and four loving grandchildren, Erick, Breyten, Jordan, and Kristen; she was a devoted aunt; and great-aunt to many nieces and nephews. A celebration of her life (memorial service) will be held on March 5, 2011, at 1 p.m. at University Church, 5655 South University Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637. Following the service, cremains will be interred in the church’s memorial garden. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her name to the Mary Herrick Scholarship Fund (a fund that she helped form which provides support to deserving college students from DuSable High School). Checks should be made payable to the Mary Herrick Scholarship Fund and mailed to University Church (address above). Condolences may be sent to: Reverend Charles Harvey Lord, 1700 East 56th Street, #2909, Chicago, IL 60637-5094