Joyce Shutt wins Gettysburg Connection’s Outstanding Community Contributor Award

Gettysburg Connection is pleased to name longtime Fairfield resident Joyce Musselman Shutt as a recipient of our Outstanding Community Contributor Award. Joyce, a lifetime resident of Adams County, served for 20 years as Pastor of the Fairfield Mennonite Church (FMC). The award honors her compassion, her lifetime of supporting and protecting others through advocacy for equality and inclusion, and for inspiring countless people through her thoughtful yet provocative writing.

“Joyce was one of the first female pastors in the Mennonite Church,” said her daughter Gretchen. “She took a brunt of that misogyny. It takes somebody with her guts to take that on, and it made a huge difference for my generation. She took on the system at large.”

During her time at FMC, Joyce developed and grew the International Gift Festival, a project that supported craftspeople in underdeveloped countries. The festival is now a significant part of the Ten Thousand Villages program held annually in Gettysburg.

Joyce and her husband Earl raised two daughters and two adopted sons. “My mom’s so special in so many ways I can’t even count them,” said Gretchen. “To listen to her soul and hear how she interprets life has been a constant source of inspiration and redirection. She works hard to practice appreciation for the life she has been given.”

When she was in the hospital maternity ward looking through the glass at a day-old infant, she heard an onlooker say, “What a beautiful baby. But who would want him?” Joyce surprised even herself by replying, “I would.” She went home and said, “Earl, I met your son.”

Joyce was involved with the Pennsylvania Prison Society, an organization that advocates for prisoners. She founded an informal Adams County Prison Ministry in the late 1990s and helped organize it on a more formal basis in 2001.

She also served for 20 years on the board of the South Central Community Action Programs (SCCAP) and assisted in SCCAP’s projects for food security and drug and alcohol abuse prevention and treatment.

“Joyce is a woman of great faith who believes all people have value,” said SCCAP Chief Executive Officer Megan Shreve. “It’s not just words; it is how she lives her life. From anti-poverty work, to working with folks in the criminal justice system, to advancing human rights, Joyce stands up to power and fights to break stereotypes and show the value of others.”

In the midst of all these activities, Joyce has always found time to write.  Her book, “Steps to Hope” considers addictions in terms of the Beatitudes found in Christ’s Sermon on the Mount.  The work embeds her own experiences and her love for her family and community. The book won a Silver Angel Award.

Joyce has continued to write, almost daily, maintaining her blog Born to Blog – Steps to Hope. The blog has influenced thousands of people in the county and beyond, and Gettysburg Connection is privileged to share her thoughts in a weekly column.

“Joyce is the most gifted writer I know,” said Shreve. “She brings light and strength in darkness. She reminds us to be vulnerable and see others through new eyes, to be grateful amidst even the most difficult of times.”

“She is a graceful person,” said longtime FMC member MJ Duffy. “I’ve modeled my life after her. She’s always been one of my heroes. For pretty much anything involving community needs — when she saw, she responded. There’s no way not to be influenced by Joyce.”

“Maybe we think we should all be changed at once”, said Gretchen, “but that’s not how it works.  Mom has changed one person at a time. People tell me I should spend every waking minute with her, she’s so special.”

“Joyce has always told me, ‘No matter what your skin color is, we’re not just one; we’re family.’ I love her to pieces and I’m lucky to be her daughter,” she said.