St. John UCC recognizes Aue and Bekteshi

[September 13, 2019]   LINCOLN - Elaine Aue, owner of Culver’s in Lincoln and “Nick” Bekteshi, owner of Country Aire in Atlanta are shown reacting to the gifts given by the pastor of St. John United Church of Christ, Laurie Hill.

Mrs. Aue and Mr. Bekteshi were honored with the St. John UCC Niebuhr Award during the Labor Day Sunday worship service September 2nd, each receiving a plaque and Gift Cards from their respective restaurants –a Culver’s Card given to Nick and a Country Aire Card given to Elaine.

The Niebuhr award is in recognition of the Niebuhr’s family’s practice of putting our faith into practice for the betterment of our community. Rev. Gustav Niebuhr served the St. John Evangelical and Reformed Church (the forerunner of the United Church of Christ) from 1902 until his death in 1913.

All the Niebuhr children: Hulda, Walter, Reinhold, and H. Richard, grew up in Lincoln during their youth and later all became renowned in the field of religion. It is that practice that they exemplified that the award is granted each year. The award in 2018 was presented to Charlie Lee, owner of IGA Grocery.

[Tonita Reifsteck]