Micah Ecumenical Ministries has been named a finalist for the 2025 Opus Prize, an annual faith-based humanitarian award that recognizes social entrepreneurship. The 2025 prize will be awarded at Xavier University of Louisiana on Nov. 13.
According to a news release, members of the Xavier community led the process to identify the recipient pool for this year’s prize, which will award $1 million to the Opus Prize Laureate and $100,000 to each of the other two finalists.
Finalists are selected for their work in championing faith-filled change and their efforts to solve the world’s most persistent social issues. Collectively, the Opus Prize represents one of the world’s largest faith-based humanitarian awards for social innovation.
“The Opus Prize lifts up those who are accomplishing extraordinary things for the good of humanity,” Xavier University of Louisiana President Reynold Verret said in the release. “By hosting the Opus Prize, we hope to shine a light on the finalists to inspire another generation of servant-leaders.”
In March, Verret convened a group of distinguished jurors to select the three finalists from the pool of nominations. Then, in May 2025, Xavier Ambassador Teams, composed of three Xavier students and one staff or faculty member, traveled to conduct two international and one domestic due diligence site visits.
Micah’s finalist entry reads:
“Downtown Fredericksburg church congregations have been involved with helping the community’s homeless population since the late 1980s.
“Through relationship building and strengthening ties to these neighbors experiencing homelessness, the churches learned that those with unmedicated mental illness, disabilities, criminal backgrounds, or other barriers were slipping through the cracks of the system.
“In 2005, a new vision emerged from the churches as a pathway to assist those whose needs were not being met. Doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with God (Micah 6:8) became the foundational values for forming the collaborative effort that the supporting nine churches would eventually call Micah Ecumenical Ministries.
“While this initiative began as a way for Fredericksburg churches to care for the community’s street neighbors, the work has evolved from a basic needs response to offering holistic care for unhoused neighbors as part of a coordinated group of other services. Nine downtown congregations claim part of their mission identity in Micah Ecumenical Ministries, working together to cultivate community and care for neighbors.”
Other finalists include: African Caribbean Community Initiative, Wolverhampton, England, the United Kingdom (led by Alicia Spence); and Religious Sisters of the Holy Spirit, Mazabuka, Zambia (led by Sr. Juunza Mwangani and Sr. Rosalia Sakayombo).
The 2025 awards will be announced during Opus Prize Week at Xavier, from Nov.10-13. Meghann Cotter, Executive Servant-Leader, and Peg Phillips, a long-time Micah staff member, will travel to New Orleans, La., to share about Micah’s work and to learn about the work of the other two finalists.
