Pastor J. Kenneth Edwins Endowed Scholarship

What a tremendous impact one person can make on a life. That’s what Lois Carritte learned when she befriended Pastor Kenneth Edwins.

Lois met Pastor Edwins at the Christian Counseling Center in Los Angeles, where she was doing field work to fulfill requirements for a master’s degree at Cal State Los Angeles. Although her early education had taken place in a Catholic convent and a Baptist school, Lois was at low ebb spiritually. Life had already dealt her some hard blows, and she was disenchanted with God and the church.

Through their work together at the Counseling Center and many personal conversations, Pastor Edwins rekindled Lois’ faith. She began attending worship services regularly and found that Pastor Edwins’ preaching brought sense and meaning into her life. At age30 she was baptized into the Lutheran Church.

Lois was originally from Inglewood, California. She had served five years on active duty in the Air Force and 15 years as a reservist. With her undergraduate degree from Berkeley and her master’s degree from Cal State Los Angeles, she worked as a school psychologist for several years. She later moved to Riverside County where she bought a small ranch near Hemet. She loved horses, even after one kicked her in the face, an incident that required considerable reconstructive surgery. But she was not a quitter. She maintained the ranch until she was no longer able to handle the responsibilities.

The Pastor J. Kenneth Edwins Endowed Scholarship was Lois’ way of paying tribute to the person who changed her life and helped her to see the many ways God had blessed her life. Her loyalty to the Lutheran church remained strong until her death in 1998. The only criterion for the recipient of this scholarship is that he or she desires to serve the Lutheran church in any way, whatever profession they choose to pursue.