The N.C. Council of Churches will present its 2008 Distinguished Service Award to three leaders who have worked to include minority groups in church and society. The awards will be presented at a luncheon on Tuesday, at Greensboro College.

The three are:

• Vernon Tyson, a retired pastor who worked for civil rights. His ministry for racial reconciliation at Oxford United Methodist Church was chronicled in the book "Blood Done Sign My Name," written by his son, Tim. He also served as pastor at churches in Raleigh and Chapel Hill, and as chairman of the commission on social ministries for the N.C. Council of Churches.
• David Forbes, pastor of Christian Faith Baptist Church in Raleigh and a leader in the state's civil rights movement. He was the first person arrested for taking part in Raleigh's first sit-in demonstration in 1960, and was one of the founders of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. More recently, he has worked on ending homelessness. He has served on the N.C. Council's executive board representing the General Baptist State Convention.
• Jimmy Creech, an advocate for gay and lesbian people in both the religious and secular realms. He was pastor of Raleigh's Fairmont United Methodist Church and later of First United Methodist Church of Omaha, Neb. He served as program associate from 1991 to 1996 for the N.C. Council.

For more information, go to www.nccouncilofchurches.org.