Earlier in May, Sojourners attended the Associated Church Press awards ceremony in Toronto and took home 20 awards, including first place prizes for Best National and International Magazine, Best Department (Culture Watch), Best Column (Hearts & Minds), and Best Annual Report.
Read (or reread) some of the award winning articles below. A few of the posts are available for free, and some are for subscribers only.
Award of Excellence (first place)
1. Editorial or Opinion (Online)
“Ten Things I’ve Learned About Trauma” by Catherine Woodiwiss
This is the big, scary truth about trauma: there is no such thing as “getting over it.” The five stages of grief model marks universal stages in learning to accept loss, but the reality is in fact much bigger: a major life disruption leaves a new normal in its wake. There is no “back to the old me.” You are different now, full stop.
2. Editorial or Opinion (Print)
“One Church, One Body” by Jim Wallis
When racism is tolerated, the reconciling work of Christ on the cross is contradicted.
3. Interview
“Cutting-Edge Orthodoxy” by Jason Byassee
The tattoos on a 6’1” woman with a taste for punk, a bad-girl past, and a gay-inclusive church—House for All Sinners and Saints in Denver—make for easy picking for secular media.
Award of Merit (second place)
4. Reporting and Writing (Online)
“D.C. Protesters Confront Police, Christmas Season in March for Racial Justice ” by Ryan Stewart
If Eric Garner, Michael Brown, and Tamir Rice can’t get a Christmas because someone unjustly took their life, how can we as Christians celebrate Christmas at this time?
5. Poetry
“A Million Prayers” by Brian Doyle
And it turned out that they had gone over the million / Prayer mark for our son, which, according to the law / Of the monastery, gave him lifetime privileges.
6. Biblical Interpretation
“What is to Prevent Me from Being Baptized?” by Reta Halteman Finger
Sometimes we are too quick to criticize what we don’t understand.
7. Theological Reflection (Short Format)
“Why I Stay in the Church” by Brian Doyle
Because there are women like Dorothy Day and Mother Teresa and Annie Dillard in my church, tough flinty brilliant women who know that you pray by what you do, not by what you say or shout.
Honorable Mention (third place)
8. Theological Reflection (Long Format)
“Did Jesus Pray to Allah?” by Ryan McAnnally-Linz and Miroslav Volf
The first thing to say is that no human language can adequately capture God. No words can refer to God in any straightforward way because God is so far beyond creatures like us.
9. Devotional/Inspirational (Long Format)
“Daddy, Why Are Those People Sleeping in the Park?” by Christian Piatt
How do I begin to explain all of this to my two children who know nothing other than sleeping in their own beds at night and waking up to a full refrigerator, warm clothes, and a family that loves them?
10. Editorial Courage
“What is to Prevent Me From Being Baptized?” by Reta Halteman Finger
When intersexual or transgender people today ask, “What is to prevent me from belonging to your church community?” let us answer with Philip, “Nothing!”
11. Biographical Profile
“Don’t Get Weary Though the Way Be Long” by Joanna Shenk
Part of the reason Harding was able to envision such sweeping social change was because his own life told the story of transformation.
12. Humor
“A License to Pray” by Ed Spivey Jr.
I added 10 percent as a tithe to the church of your choice. Now, which style of license do you prefer: the Ten Commandments or Nativity scene?
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