When awards are given out in the mainstream entertainment industry the competition is fierce and the perks are large—parties, celebrations and hoopla galore. Christian publications have an award season too, although the celebrations tend to be much smaller affairs. They’re usually accompanied by a nice dinner (low on the hoopla factor) and paper certificates are much more likely than gleaming statuettes.

However, those who are recognized by their editorial colleagues should be no less proud of their accomplishments than their ritzy counterparts—a lot of hard work and dedication goes into the craft of writing, editing and publishing.

And so, we’re happy to report that ChristianWeek was among those honoured at two award ceremonies this spring.

First, we were pleased to receive a third place showing in the General Excellence category at the annual Canadian Church Press (CCP) awards held in Ottawa in May. The CCP is an organization made up of many fine Canadian publications, and we are honoured to be in the top three. The judges’ comments, “Engaging, lively, wide-ranging!” caused a few buttons pop on our editorial vests.

Meanwhile, Marg Buchanan, our former regional correspondent for Quebec, took a first place for her column “Ours is an unbiblical definition of marriage” (May 25, 2004). The judges said the piece is “a courageous piece of writing that articulates a deep problem and brings a social issue close to home for abstract Christians.” The CCP also awarded a first place to Esther Barnes, who last year wrote a column series entitled “Life After Death,” reflections on widowhood.

Ontario regional correspondent Patricia Paddey took home two awards this year. She received a second place in the CCP news category for “Canadian Bible Society loses national director” (April 13, 2004), which the judges called “a tough assignment tackled with good investigating effort. Well written and researched. Great news value.”

During an earlier awards ceremony for the Fellowship of Christian Newspapers (FCN), Patricia also received a first place in the news category for “Atheist parents lose child but find faith” (August 31, 2004), an article detailing how the parents of a murdered child came to find Christ.

The FCN, which includes publications from Canada and the U.S., awarded ChristianWeek freelancer Maxine Hancock a second place for her article “The day my father was born again…again” (February 3, 2004).

And, last but not least, editorial director Doug Koop picked up a third place from the CCP for an editorial about evangelical reaction to Sven Robinson’s recent problems (“Inexplicable act merits irrational response” April 27, 2004), and a fifth place from the FCN for his editorial “We have the technology” (November 12, 2004).

While these writers have been singled out, and deservedly so, we would be remiss to imply that they alone create an award-winning newspaper. There are many who contribute to ChristianWeek both on the page and behind the scenes; they have our utmost thanks and appreciation for their roles in the continued success of this publication.