By Erika Conley, Director of Communication, Memphis Theological Seminary
Memphis Theological Seminary conferred the Honorary Doctor of Divinity degree upon Boyce and Beth Wallace during the 2010 Commencement Ceremony held on Saturday, May 15, 2010. The Wallaces were honored for their 46 years of service as missionaries for the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. The President and Board of Trustees agree that Boyce and Beth Wallace meet the stated criteria of having sufficient stature and character to merit the honor, specifically as members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church who have given distinguished service to the church and/or society, and have demonstrated distinction in church leadership and religious endeavors.
“Their lives of faithful witness and service exemplify Christ-like servant ministry - the kind of ministry that all of us aspire to attain in our lives,” said Dr. Jay Earheart-Brown, president of MTS.
Boyce and Beth married in 1955, only a few days after Boyce completed a B.A. degree from Free Will Baptist Bible College in Nashville, TN. Boyce served as pastor of the Mt. Tabor and Jerusalem Cumberland Presbyterian Churches in Murfreesboro, TN. During this time, he completed his seminary degree from the Cumberland Presbyterian Theological Seminary at Bethel College in McKenzie, TN, in 1962. After a brief time as pastor of the church at Marlow, OK, Boyce and Beth’s dream was realized in 1963 when they became missionaries to Colombia.
During their years of ministry in Cali, Colombia, South America, Boyce has been charged with preaching and helping to organize and lead churches in the region. Beth has worked with children, specifically orphans, and has placed many of them with adoptive families across the world. They have also worked with Hogar Samaria, a home for poor senior citizens who have no place to live when they become too old to care for themselves, according to John Lovelace, a friend of the Wallaces for the past 47 years.
Boyce and Beth Wallace continue to make an imprint on the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and the world.
“They are pioneers, encouragers, educators, counselors, peace-makers, theologians, visionaries, philanthropists, and friends,” said Bob Watkins, Director of Global Missions for the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.
