Concordia Seminary, St. Louis received a total of 13 awards from the Evangelical Press Association (EPA) and the Associated Church Press (ACP) during the organizations’ recent conventions and award ceremonies.

The EPA is a professional organization of Christian publications including magazines, newspapers, newsletters and content-rich websites. Its awards, which were given in recognition of exceptional content produced by the Seminary in 2017, were announced at the EPA’s annual banquet April 6 in Orlando, Fla.

The Seminary received the following in the EPA’s Awards of Excellence contest for publications as a whole:

• A third-place award in the “Higher Education” category for Concordia Seminary magazine. Named in the award are former Provost Jeff Kloha, executive editor; Vicki Biggs, senior vice president; Melanie Ave, communications manager; Jayna Rollings, creative services manager; Michelle Poneleit, graphic designer; and Susan Klein-Shelton, designer.
• A third-place award in the “Higher Education Digital” category for Concordia Seminary magazine’s online edition. Named in the award are Jayna Rollings, creative services manager; Katie Werges, senior designer with Atomicdust; Melanie Ave, communications manager; Jazzy Danziger, senior copy editor with Atomicdust; Tim Gieseking, senior web designer with Atomicdust; and Lewis Mendez, web developer.

The Seminary received the following in the EPA’s Higher Goals contest for individual pieces:

• A second-place award in the “Website Design” category for Concordia Seminary magazine’s online edition. Named in the award are Jayna Rollings, creative services manager; Katie Werges, senior designer with Atomicdust; Melanie Ave, communications manager; Jazzy Danziger, senior copy editor with Atomicdust; Tim Gieseking, senior web designer with Atomicdust; and Lewis Mendez, web developer.
• A fourth-place award in the “Cause of the Year Illustration/Photo: The Reformation” category for the Concordia Seminary magazine illustration Luther Watercolor. Named in the award are Dr. Erik Herrmann, artist, and Jayna Rollings, creative services manager.
• A fifth-place award in the “Article Series” category for Concordia Seminary magazine articles “500: The Impact of the Reformation Today.” Named in the award are Dr. Erik Herrmann, Dr. Paul Robinson and Dr. Charles Arand, the series writers.
• A fifth-place award in the “Single Photo: Candid” for the Concordia Seminary magazine photo “Call Day Joy” for an image of Center for Hispanic Studies students on Call Day 2017. Named in the award is freelance photographer Sid Hastings.

“We are humbled by this recognition by our peers, which means so much knowing the esteemed company we are in,” said Vicki Biggs, senior vice president for Seminary Advancement. “May God continue to bless the efforts of this outstanding communications and creative services team as they carry out their work for the sake of the mission of the Seminary.”

The ACP, the nation’s oldest interdenominational religious press association, presented its awards April 20 in Chicago. The awards were given in recognition of exceptional content produced by the Seminary in 2017.

In the ACP’s “Best in Class” category for overall excellence the Seminary received:

• A first-place Award of Excellence in the category “Seminary publication” for Concordia Seminary magazine. Named in the award are Jeff Kloha, executive editor; Vicki Biggs, managing editor; Melanie Ave, editor; Jayna Rollings, art director; Michelle Poneleit, designer; and Susan Klein-Shelton, designer.
• A second-place Award of Merit in the “Best in Class” category “Journal” for Concordia Journal. Named in the award are Dr. Charles Arand, executive editor; Dr. Travis Scholl, editor; Melanie Appelbaum, assistant editor; Jayna Rollings, creative director; XiaoPei Chen, graphic designer; and Lewis Mendez, web developer.

In the ACP’s Higher Goals awards contest for individual work, the Seminary received:

• A first-place Award of Excellence for Concordia Seminary magazine in the category “Photography: Single Photo with Article or Cutline: Magazine or Journal” for a “First Look” photo of students praying with Seminary President Dr. Dale A. Meyer during the Opening Service. Named in the award are Jill Gray, freelance photographer; Jayna Rollings, art director; and Michelle Poneleit, designer.
• A second-place Award of Merit for Concordia Journal in the category “Theological or Scholarly Article.” Named in the award is Dr. Joel Okamoto, writer.
• A second-place Award of Merit in the category “Integrated Communications” for “Faith … Living, Daring Confidence in God’s Grace 2017-18 Academic Year Theme.” Named in the award are Melanie Ave, communications manager; Jayna Rollings, creative services manager; Lewis Mendez, web developer; Michelle Poneleit, designer; and Dale Ward, senior media producer.
• An Honorable Mention in the category “Integrated Communications” for the Concordia Theology and Concordia Journal rebrand. Named in the award are Jayna Rollings, creative director; XiaoPei Chen, designer; Lewis Mendez, web developer; and Mark Duerr, motion designer.
• An Honorable Mention in the category “Video: Video Series” for “Reformation500.” Named in the award are Erik Herrmann, director; Melanie Ave, communications manager; Dale Ward, senior media producer; Jayna Rollings, art director; and Mark Duerr and Anthony Fields, motion designers.

“Last year, 2017, was a special year for Lutherans worldwide,” said Scholl, editor of the Concordia Journal. “Which makes it even more encouraging to see how the resources Lutherans can contribute to the wider church and world are valued and celebrated even beyond a milestone anniversary.”

To read the full list of EPA awards, click here. To read the full list of ACP awards, click here.

About Concordia Seminary
Concordia Seminary, St. Louis provides Gospel-centered graduate-level theological education for pastors, missionaries, deaconesses, scholars and other leaders in the name of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). To learn more, visit www.csl.edu.