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The John Hus Award is given posthumously to Dorothy (Dotty) Osterhout Burcaw, who passed away on November 11, 2010, after a long and generous life in ministry. She is honored for her compassionate and reconciling ministry in education, in the parish, and among seniors.
Dotty was raised in the Philadelphia area and attended Penn State University, becoming a devout Nittany Lion.
Her professional career began as a high school science teacher at Penn Ridge High School. While raising her children, she returned to teaching at Moravian Academy Middle School, in Bethlehem PA, in 1970. She was later named director and chaplain of Moravian Academy Middle School. While serving fulltime at Moravian Academy she answered her call to ministry and entered Moravian Theological Seminary in 1979 and over the course of twelve years earned the Masters of Arts in Theological Studies and Masters of Divinity degrees.
Dotty was ordained into the Moravian ministry in 1991, at age 58, and continued her 25 year association with Moravian Academy under call of the Moravian Church as chaplain and middle school director. She served as associate pastor for the Moravian congregation in Lititz, PA from 1995 to 2002, then served as Chaplain of Moravian Hall Square Retirement Community in Nazareth through the last days of her life.
A dedicated and forward looking member of numerous denominational commissions and community boards, Dotty has been instrumental in promoting human rights and modeling civil discussion on sensitive topics. In the spirit of John Hus, she has been a pioneer: for young people, for women, for men, for families, for people with disabilities, for lesbians and gays, for the elderly, for the disenfranchised, for all seeking the presence of God. Dotty recognized barriers to relationships and vitality not just as obstacles to overcome, but as opportunities to partner in ministry and service.
Dotty and her husband of 53 years, Dr. Robert T. Burcaw, raised four children and welcomed eight grandchildren.
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