Three cheers for ‘The Lutheran’
The Lutheran has collected another three awards, picking up two silver and one bronze at the Australasian Religious Press Association (ARPA) conference dinner, held in Christchurch, New Zealand, on 7 September.
In awarding second place (silver) for a series of stories on the one topic, the judge began by describing The Lutheran’s coverage about living with autism as ‘a fabulous feature’. The lead story ‘Biggest challenge our greatest joy’ was written by Kirra Lewis with her son Asher, who lives with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Kirra said, ‘The whole experience has strengthened my faith. It has given me a deeper understanding of God’s diversity in creation, and that there are beautiful things in the cracked and the broken’. The judge also commended The Lutheran for the gentleness of editor Lisa McIntosh’s editorial piece, and the complementary story about The Ark congregation in Salisbury, Adelaide, which has set up a space for families living with autism. The story provided ‘practical ideas for other churches to follow’, the judge said.
The LCA/NZ’s churchwide magazine also won a silver award in the category ‘Best Story by a Single Author’ for Dr Mark Worthing’s insightful piece, ‘Is science replacing God?’ (June 2018). Noting Dr Worthing’s credentials as both a theologian and a scientist, the judge commended him for ‘superb’ use of his ‘well-honed communicated skills’ which brought ‘simplicity and credibility to what otherwise could have been an esoteric piece that few might read and fewer still might understand’.
Prof Neil Bergmann’s article, ‘How green is my Bible?’ (October 2018) was awarded bronze in the category ‘Best Theological Article’ for what judges described as ‘a well-argued and comprehensive theology of creation, with reference to the biblical stance and a denominational stance based on this’.
‘Of course, we are delighted that our LCA/NZ magazine has been recognised in this way’, says Executive Editor Linda Macqueen. ‘But the accolades belong to our writers, who share their expertise and experience with our readers and bring courage and depth to The Lutheran. We’re indebted, too, to our loyal readers whose subscriptions keep The Lutheran serving and encouraging the church through the printed word.’
As editor Lisa McIntosh is on annual leave overseas, Fiona Castle-Schmidt from the LCA Communications team represented The Lutheran at the ARPA conference and awards dinner.
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