At their recent annual conference, Episcopal Communicators recognized excellence in communication across the Episcopal Church through the Polly Bond Awards. The awards encompass a variety of forms of media (website, video, podcast, social media, and traditional print periodicals, among others).
The Living Church and its writers took four awards.
In the category “Writing: Feature,” first place went to Matthew Townsend for his reporting on the Sisseton Mission in the Diocese of South Dakota: “A Little Hope on the Prairie” and “From Hopelessness to Hope” (online here, .pdf here).
In the category “Writing: News,” first place went to Matthew Townsend for “Ending 50 Years of Solitude,” a feature on the Episcopal Church of Cuba’s desire to rejoin the Episcopal Church as an overseas diocese and canonical obstacles that stood before the 79th General Convention in Austin.
Second place went to Kirk Petersen for “St. James the Resurrected / St. James Reopens after Three-Year Lockout,” a capstone to TLC’s reporting on the long-running conflicts between St. James Episcopal Church, Newport Beach, and Bishop J. Jon Bruno, as well as their joyous resolution.
In the category “Writing: Theological Reflection,” third place went to the Rev. Ephraim Radner for “Silence, Sound, and the Power of God.”
In April, Radner’s essay won an award of merit from Associated Church Press’s annual Best of Church Press awards in the category “Theological Reflection.” The Rev. Zac Koons garnered an honorable mention in the category “Feature Article” for “Lazarus and the Resurrection of a Boy with Down Syndrome.”