The ARPA Executive wish all members
a blessed Christmas and a peaceful New Year.
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. (Luke 2: 8-11)
We hope members will continue to encourage each other through the formal ARPA Christmas gatherings (as arranged) or informal times over the Christmas and New Year period.
Congratulations to all the 2018 Award winners and especially to NZ Baptist for being the Gutenberg winner
and to Others, The Salvation Army for becoming the - The Neumann and Turnour* ‘Publication of the Year’.
From NZ Baptist Simply the best!
In September a couple of Baptist magazine staff members attended the annual Australasian Religious Press Association (ARPA) Conference. At the awards evening, the Baptist came away with the ARPA Gutenberg Award for overall excellence in Christian newspaper and magazine publishing. Entries are judged on the quality of journalism, layout, production and use of professional and creative skills to communicate the message of the gospel. We also picked up a couple of writing awards:
Gold for Best Headline for an article by Charles Hewlett, entitled "I'm glad you're not my doctor".
Bronze for Best Theological Article for an article by Dr Sarah Harris, entitled "God made me lime green".
The judging period for the awards was the 2017 calendar year, so kudos for the above awards go to the magazine team at that time, especially to the following: Sarah Vaine (former editor), Rebecca McLeay (Graphic Designer), and Jill Hitchcock (former Production Manager), and of course to Charles and Sarah for their contributions.
Ramon Williams Scholarship
Congratulations to Josh Low (Record/E-Record, Perth) for becoming the 2018 Ramon Williams Scholarship Winner. Not only was Josh the scholarship winner but also judged to be the best-dressed person at the Conference. Well done Josh and well done for winning a Bronze Award in the Category “Best New Writer”. We look forward to Josh’s contributions to ARPA in 2019.
Ramon Williams Interview shown at 2018 Conference Dinner
The short video interview with Rev Keith Garner AM from Wesley Mission can be viewed here.
Christchurch 2019
It’s official: The Novotel Hotel, Cathedral Square, Christchurch has been booked for the 2019 ARPA Conference 6th-8th September. Start thinking about attending this Conference which will reflect on the Christchurch earthquakes with a theme of ‘Providing a Hope-filled response in a time of disaster and recovery’.
* A Sponsor’s response
Presentation by Dr Matthew Turnour of Neumann and Turnour, Brisbane at the 2018 Australasian Religious Press Association Conference held at Novotel, Brisbane on Saturday 8th September 2018.
Good evening,
I really would like to say one primary thing to you as a group and that is Thank you. Thank you for your role in supporting individuals. Thank you for your role in providing a voice for communities. Thank you for your role in society. Over my 30 years as a Christian I have drawn much encouragement from many of the journals represented here, as have others in our firm. So, the first thing I would like to say thank you for is just your role in supporting and encouraging each of us in our faith.
The second thing I particularly would like to thank you for is being a voice for communities that are not necessarily able to find that voice in the mainstream media. It is my view that specialist focus media serving communities will become more and more important as society seems to be continually fragmenting.
Finally, I wish to acknowledge the role that many of you play in our wider society in speaking truth and in so doing resisting participating in the phenomenon of “fake news” and the breakdown in civil public discourse. My expectation is that you will play an increasingly trusted role in disseminating information that is known to be true.
So, in conclusion my firm considers it a privilege to be a Silver sponsor of this conference. We thank you for the work that you do and are appreciative of your contribution.
2019 Executive Meeting
1-2 February, Stanmore House, Sydney. We value your prayers as we plan for 2019.