Upper Columbia Conference Pastor One of Two NPUC Pastors Honored with Junia Award

North Pacific Union is now home to two of the thirteen 2026 Junia Award winners, with one in Upper Columbia Conference, and the other in Oregon Conference. The Junia Award is given annually by Association of Adventist Women to one woman in a pastoral role in each division. 

Lidija Djordjevic Runic, who was chosen as the Trans-European Division winner, was installed in Upper Columbia Conference as a pastor at Walla Walla University Church this summer. Violeta Bilan, the 2026 North American Division winner of the Junia Award, currently pastors three congregations near Portland, OR under the Oregon Conference. 

“We are thrilled to have Lidija be a part our conference’s pastoral team,” said Eric Brown, UCC vice president for administration. “Not only for her excellent understanding of theology, but as someone with a genuine heart for spreading the gospel through pastoral ministry.”

Leading a church is a long way from Runic’s initial training in computer science. She heard God calling her to empower others to deepen their relationship with Jesus Christ, so she earned a master of divinity and a doctor of ministry. Until recently, Runic served as senior pastor for two churches in Belgrade, Serbia, and mentored a number of women colleagues in ministry. She also served as a lecturer in practical theology at Belgrade Theological Seminary, where she previously served as student dean. Runic has also been secretary for mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

Runic has tested the belief that God can bring unity and healing through her ministry by serving on numerous committees, including the TED and General Conference executive committees, and by establishing a prison ministry in an all-male prison in Foča, Bosnia and Herzegovina, which continues today. 

Association of Adventist Women created the yearly Junia Award in 2024 to highlight women from each Adventist division who are actively leading churches, teaching religion, or serving as chaplains. Like Junia, and many other women who led in the early church, the association wishes to highlight women’s roles in nurturing and sustaining church life. This includes groundbreaking new roles for women and roles that are representative or unique in their division. 

Association of Adventist Women was organized in 1980 to offer encouragement to women supporting the Adventist Church. Currently, it connects with women ministers worldwide, translates church scholarships, works to prevent abuse, and documents women in Adventist history.