Women of the ELCA staff collected a total of 19 awards at two religion communicators awards ceremonies April 10-11 in Chicago.
For work created in 2018, staff took home eight awards at the Religion Communicators Council (RCC) DeRose-Hinkhouse Memorial Awards ceremony, April 10, and 11 awards at the Associated Church Press (ACP) Best of the Church Press Awards ceremony, April 11.
At the RCC banquet at Fourth Presbyterian Church in downtown Chicago, April 10, Women of the ELCA staff won four awards of excellence and four awards of merit.
At RCC, Gather magazine won two awards of excellence, one for advertisement and one for a fundraising appeal. Women of the ELCA blogs won an award of excellence as did the Human Trafficking Exhibit at the 2018 ELCA Youth Gathering.
Also at RCC, Interchange and Women of the ELCA’s website each received an award of merit. And Gather received two awards of merit, one for its table top display and one for its May 2018 cover.
At ACP, April 11, Gather won eight awards and Café, three, one in the Best in Class category. Gather won an award of excellence, three awards of merit, and four honorable mentions. In addition to its Best in Class award, Café won an award of merit and an honorable mention.
Our publications, digital media, and public relations efforts are a huge driving force behind our mission and purpose of acting boldly on our faith. — Lisa Plorin
“I have such a strong passion for Women of the ELCA, and it makes me so happy and grateful to see them receive so many awards,” said Lisa Plorin, president of the churchwide executive board. “Our publications, digital media, and public relations efforts are a huge driving force behind our mission and purpose of acting boldly on our faith. Congratulations to everyone who had a part in winning these awards.”
List of awards
Café won the following awards at ACP:
- Independent website, Best in Class, honorable mention, edited by Elizabeth McBride
- Electronic newsletter, award of merit, June, September, October, edited by Elizabeth McBride
- Devotional/inspirational (short format), honorable mention, “Sacred spaces that require no words,” by Ralen Robinson
Gather won the following awards at ACP:
- Humor, award of excellence, “Pray for the spiders” by Susan Sparks
- Personal experience short format in a magazine or journal, award of merit, “Changed hearts” by Judith Roberts
- Books (devotional), award of merit, “Advent words,” produced by Elizabeth Hunter, Sarah Carson, and Hannah Hawkinson
- Illustration with article or cutline, award of merit, “Most merciful God” edited by Elizabeth Hunter and Sarah Carson, designed by 2Communique
- Bible resource, honorable mention, “Turn, turn, turn: A time for faithful repentance” by Meghan Johnston Aelabouni
- Seasonal article, honorable mention, “Alleluia, Hallelujah!” by Meghan Johnston Aelabouni
- Art design/graphics, magazine cover, honorable mention, June 2018
- Photography or photo spread, honorable mention, “Finding the rhythm of love,” edited by Elizabeth Hunter and Sarah Carson, designed by 2Communique
Women of the ELCA won the following awards at RCC:
- Public Relations Campaign, best display or exhibit, award of excellence, Women of
the ELCA Human Trafficking Exhibit at the 2018 ELCA Youth Gathering, Elizabeth McBride, designer - Digital Media, blogs category, award of excellence, Women of the ELCA blogs, Terri Lackey, editor
- Public Relations Materials, advertisement, single issue, award of excellence, Gather magazine ad for Living Lutheran, Sarah Carson and Elizabeth Hunter, designers, editors
- Public Relations Campaign, fundraising campaign, award of excellence, Gather magazine fall fundraising campaign, Sarah Carson, Elizabeth Hunter, Linda Post Bushkofsky, editors
- Periodicals, national newsletter category, award of merit, Interchange, Terri Lackey, editor
- Digital Media, website category, award of merit, Women of the ELCA website, Terri Lackey, Elizabeth McBride, and Linda Post Bushkofsky, editors
- Public Relations Campaign, best display or exhibit, award of merit, Gather magazine tabletop display, Sarah Carson and Elizabeth Hunter, designers
- Graphic Design and Photography, design publication cover, award of merit, Gather magazine May 2018 issue cover, Sarah Carson, Elizabeth Hunter, Karli Pawlak, Kelly McMurray