When my Friends Journal arrives these days, I greet it with a new sense of awe. After just over a year on the Board of Trustees of Friends Publishing Corporation, I have a growing awareness of the incredible resources of time and talent that go into each issue. Despite the fact the staff faces tight deadlines and inevitable hassles with the various technologies of publishing and distributing, I find in each issue a centered reflection of the Truth as Friends discern it. And as I hungrily read, I reflect how glad I am, along with so many other Friends, to be making just a small contribution.
For the Board of Trustees of Friends Publishing Corporation, I am pleased to announce a change of title for our Editor-Manager to Publisher and Executive Editor. In making this change, our Board is attempting to better reflect to those within the Quaker family and to the wider world the extensive duties and responsibilities involved in this position. Our present Publisher and Executive Editor, Susan Corson-Finnerty, has served faithfully and skillfully for over two years now, not only running the day-to-day operation of Friends Publishing Corporation, but also representing Friends Journal among Friends and representing Friends in the broader publishing and business world. We commend her on her service and hope that this new title will make it easier for others to understand the multifaceted scope of her position.
We also are very happy to announce that this spring Friends Journal was awarded 3rd place for "Best in Class—General Interest Denominational Publication" by the Associated Church Press (1st place was U.S. Catholic, and 2nd place was The Lutheran). The ACP is a "community of communication professionals brought together by faithfulness to their craft and by a common task of reflecting, describing, and supporting the life of faith. . . ." Nearly 160 publications are ACP members with a combined circulation of nearly 28 million in print and many others on the Internet. This is a top award. It is for overall excellence, not just for a single aspect of the magazine, such as we’ve received in the past. That’s quite an accomplishment for a very small, denominational magazine with a restricted budget. This award brings well-earned recognition to the fine accomplishments of our gifted staff and volunteers, and to all the many Friends who contribute in so many ways.
Keep up the good work, Friends, doing the ministry of the word and sharing broadly in the world!