The new 256-page history of Yale Divinity School has won top honors for best nonfiction book of 2022 in the annual Associated Church Press awards contest.
“This Grand Errand”: A Bicentennial History of Yale Divinity Schoolby Ray Waddle won the Award of Excellence in the nonfiction category. The award was announced at the ACP annual banquet Thursday night in Chicago.
The Divinity School journal Reflections was also a winner. Edited by Waddle, the publication was given the Award of Excellence as the best seminary journal in 2022.
Regarding “This Grand Errand” the judges said: “What a wonderful book commemorating the history of YDS. Thorough research and epoch-oriented progression doesn’t shy away from the growing pains of the institution while celebrating its achievements. Well prepared, indexed and designed. Excellent work.”
![](/sites/default/files/resize/images/Waddle%20photo%20new-175x277.jpg ""This Grand Errand" author and "Reflections" editor Ray Waddle")
Dean Greg Sterling commissioned the book for the occasion of the School’s 200th anniversary, which Yale is celebrating over the 2022-23 academic year. “This Grand Errand” is published by YDS and distributed by Yale University Press.
Reflections won top honors in the seminary publication or journal category for its two issues in 2022, “Called into the Unknown: Church and Pandemic” and “Audacious Odysseys: Charting the Future of Theological Education.” The journal is published online twice a year by YDS. Subscriptions are free.
The annual ACP contest covered 78 categories, from news stories to graphics to books, attracting a total of 725 entries from 58 organizations. More than 40 judges—professional journalists, communication educators, seminary professors, and visual communications specialists—ranked the winning entries. ACP, an international community of communication professionals, was founded in 1916, making it the oldest interdenominational religious press association in North America.
The full list of ACP winners can be found here.