Friends Journal received three honors in the Associated Church Press’s annual Best of the Christian Press awards.
The April 2012 issue on “Membership and the Generation Gap“ won an Award of Excellence (first place) in the Theme Issue category. Here’s what the judge had to say:
The outstanding opening essay by Emma Churchman sets the tone for the entire issue. She challenges Friends to directly ASK what young adults need and want, then to INVITE them to participate in meaningful ways and finally be willing to CHANGE. I especially loved the motto: “If it’s not working, stop doing it.”
The conversational tone, honesty and focus on solutions is refreshing and powerful in all of the articles presented.
The questioning of “membership” and how the structure of the Religious Society of Friends can be alienating to some is honest and powerfully presented.
Each article explores a deep question such as inclusion, isolation, exclusion and membership with profound honesty and introspection. Excellent issue.
Our 2012 website redesign won an honorable mention in the Website Redesign category: the judge called the new Friendsjournal.org “far more visual and inviting to users” and added that it “feels like a far more informative and robust site.” Our third honor was an Award of Merit for “Fixing Nitrogen,” Tony Martin’s poem from the June/July 2012 issue.
Thank you to all the staff, volunteers, writers, artists, poets, donors, partners, and readers that make Friends Journal possible. Thank you for helping us communicate Quaker experience in order to connect and deepen spiritual lives. I encourage you to share Friends Journal with anyone who might be interested—every new reader or subscriber makes our mission more sustainable.
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As the son of Quaker parents, one of whom was and is an artist, I’ve long been attuned to the integration of the artistic and spiritual self in Friends’ lives. This issue of Friends Journal explores that tie in the experiments and experience of a group of Quaker artists who are diverse not only in their backgrounds and ages, but in the form of their artistic expression. These Friends describe art as having transformative effects on their own lives and as having the potential to open the eyes of others to God’s truths. We hope you enjoy them and consider how the potential of Spirit to motivate art is realized in your life.
Yours in peace,
Gabriel Ehri
Executive Director
ed@friendsjournal.org
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