Journal wins 11 Canadian Church Press awards

The Anglican Journal was recognized with 11 awards, including one for general excellence in the national newspaper category, at the 2014 Canadian Church Press Convention held April 30 to May 2, in Winnipeg.

Two of the Journal’s publishing partners-Saskatchewan Anglican (newspaper of the dioceses of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and Qu’Appelle) and Crosstalk (newspaper of the diocese of Ottawa)-won five awards and one award, respectively.

The October, November and December issues of the Journal were credited with the general excellence win. The issues reflected “fine storytelling, writing with depth and intelligence, a mission to include and respect people of other faiths, strong, thoughtful editorials and obvious give and take,” said a judge’s comment. (Judges were chosen for their expertise in the secular media and academia.)

The Journal won five first-place awards, five second-place awards and one third-place award for work done in 2013.

On April 25, the Journal also received 15 awards from the Associated Church Press, the oldest interdenominational religious press association in North America.

Its website, anglicanjournal.com, tied with the Salvation Army’s website, Salvationist.ca, for a first-place win. The website is “clean and easy to navigate,” said a judge’s comment, and its design “clearly represents [the] nature of the site’s content.” The website also won second place in the general excellence/website category.

Archdeacon Paul Feheley, interim managing editor, won first place for his editorial, Just say ‘non,’ published in the October issue. “A strong argument against a government initiative that runs counter to Christian and ethical values,” said a judge’s comment. “Well-written, well-paced and well crafted.”

Contributor Diana Swift won first place in the biographical profile category for her profile, The irreverent, reverent Don Cherry. “It totally surprised me! I learned all kinds of things about Don Cherry,” said a judge.

Art director Saskia Rowley won first place in the feature layout and design/newspaper category for the spread on Children’s Ministry. “Sophisticated presentation, very appealing,” said a judge’s comment. Rowley also won two second-place awards for her front page/newspaper layout of the September issue (“Simple, clear and elegant presentation”) and for entire edition layout and design/newspaper for the Summer 2013 issue. (“The bright airy feel makes this paper appealing to read.”)

The artwork that accompanied the article, Corrective lenses needed, won first place for contributor Glenn Harvey. “The artwork lends itself well to the content’s subject matter. The illustrative style is tight and exquisite,” said a judge.

Senior staff writer Marites Sison’s Holocaust survivor offers message of hope won second place in the reporting and writing category for news/newspaper. “Very clear and simple story that artfully connects two terrible historic events. At the same time, it’s a very positive piece,” said the judge’s comment.

A collection of articles on children’s ministry written by staff writer Leigh Anne Williams won third place in the in-depth treatment of a news event/newspaper category. “All of us who are parents have had to deal with these issues in the story,” said the judge.

Saskatchewan Anglican won third place in five categories for newspaper with circulation of up to 9,999:

• Editorial –An Argument in Favour of the ‘Open Table,’ by the Rev. Canon Glenn Ash
• Theological reflection-This is my father’s world!, by Bishop Michael Hawkins
• News story/newspaper-Hardwick Installed as 12th Bishop of Qu’Appelle, by Joanne Shurvin-Martin
• Features/newspaper-The Lectionary: Reading the Word of God to God’s People, by the Rev. William Portman
• Front page/newspaper-December 2013 issue

Crosstalk won third place in the general excellence/regional newspaper category.