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Cora Rose knew from an early age that she wanted to harness her aptitude for math, logic and public speaking for others’ good.

Rose was a 12-year-old Azalea Middle School student when a vocational test told her she should be either a social worker, an attorney or a minister. She credits her teacher, Maggie Prevenas for helping her become all three.

“It mattered to her that we had the tools and practical advice about what to do to bridge the gap between our dreams and where we were in Brookings,” Rose said, adding that Prevenas told her about the college classes she might want to take and what the LSAT is. “I credit her for making something not seem like a passing whim or passing idea, but creating a concrete action plan to be able to make that happen.”

Rose’s journey has taken her from the U.C. Berkeley School of Law, where she graduated in 2012, to legal aid organizations in San Francisco. She returned to Brookings, becoming a member of the Oregon State Bar in 2019, and graduating from the Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in 2020.

Rose is a sister in the Deaconess Community of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. She worked for Legal Services of Northern California, of Eureka from 2020 until 2022 when Reverend Bernie Lindley and St. Timothy Episcopal Church invited her to create their legal aid ministry.

It’s because of Rose’s work trying to prevent people from falling into homelessness or to help them get back on their feet that the Oregon Bar Association’s Oregon New Lawyers Division presented her with their 2023 Public Service Award on Nov. 3.

The Oregon New Lawyers Division represents those who have either been members of the state bar for six years or less or who are younger than 36.

“I felt a call from a young age to essentially come back home and be a missionary in my own community,” Rose told the Outpost. “My impulse to serve my community comes from my faith and understanding that each is given opportunities and gifts that are meant to serve our neighbors and communities.”

When she began the legal aid ministry, Rose met with the Curry Homeless Coalition, Brookings CORE Response, Oregon Coast Community Action, or ORCCA, and other providers to determine what needs people had.

Rose said she didn’t want to duplicate services provided by Legal Services of Northern California or the Oregon Law Center in Coos Bay. But St. Tim’s legal aid ministry helps bridge a 222-mile gap between the two organizations.

“What I offer is a little bit different than what the Oregon Law Center provides,” Rose said. “I focus on assisting people with regaining stability in their lives. Drivers license reinstatements, I’ll assist with fines and fees and (whether) they’re being correctly calculated. I do a lot of work with people trying to get their property back. If their camp site was swept and people lost their backpack or bike or wallet that has an ID and birth certificate, that can derail someone’s progress toward gaining more stability in their life.”

Rose can also help those trying to get a criminal record or eviction record expunged so they can find housing or a job.

Rose said she may be one of the first attorneys from a rural community who has received the Oregon New Lawyers Division’s Public Service Award. Despite its long tradition of social work — deaconesses trained Florence Nightingale in nursing and began the first hospitals and ambulances on the East Coast, she says — Rose said she’s the first deaconess who is also an attorney.

“My faith tradition puts high importance on the imago dei, or image of God, in each person and the goal of healthy, thriving communities where people’s God-given spark can flourish,” she said. “It means we must work for the dignity of every person and uphold human rights.”

Rose said she’s grateful to the person who nominated her — a member of the Oregon Law Center’s Eugene office who has asked for information about policies in Curry County — for the Public Service Award.

She said she’s also grateful to St. Timothy Episcopal Church and Lindley who never fail to say yes to those who have an idea for a ministry and need a building to house it.

In addition to giving Rose space to provide legal assistance to those most in need, the church offers a variety of other services, including its Community Kitchen four days a week. The church is currently in the middle of a federal lawsuit against the City of Brookings in response to the city’s attempts to restrict its meals ministry.

“My work through the legal advocacy ministry at St. Timothy’s focuses on hope and human rights,” she said. “(Including) basic access to enough food, hygiene, shelter and a way out of snowballing poverty fees and fines. (I’m) accompanying people in navigating resources and public benefits and finding a way forward to achieve goals and a stronger sense of belonging.”

Outreach hours at the church are from 9 a.m.-noon Monday, Wednesday and Fridays. Meal services at St. Timothy’s are offered at noon Monday, Tuesday and Sunday and the first, third and fifth Saturdays of the month.

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