Reflections journal from Yale Divinity School has been selected for the Award of Excellence for best seminary journal in the Associated Church Press awards contest for work produced last year.
The results were announced during the ACP’s annual banquet May 17 in Chicago.
Reflections won a best-in-class Award for Excellence in the seminary publication or journal category, based on its two issues in 2023—“The Future of God: In Pursuit of the Divine” (Spring 2023) and “Faith Not Fear: Varieties of Christian Practice” (Fall 2023).
“Yale is the gold standard for seminary publications,” the judges wrote. “It’s just an outstanding theological journal, with contributions from across the seminary’s diversity of faculty, students, alumni and friends.”
In addition, two articles from the “Faith Not Fear” issue were honored with an Award of Merit (second place) in their categories:
• “Stand Up for Character,” an interview with Philip Gorski, the Frederick and Laura Goff Professor of Sociology at Yale University (category: long format interview), and
• “Hospitable Courage in a Divided Church” by scholars Christine Helmer ’97 Ph.D. of Northwestern University and Amy Carr of Western Illinois University (category: scholarly article).
In the Fall 2023 issue, YDS Dean Greg Sterling remarked in his Dean’s Letter: “Churches today face serious challenges. One of them is that Christianity has become a dirty word for too many. We need to offer moral leadership in our churches and in our society—moral leadership that is both personal and social. I found the essays in this issue of Reflections inspired hope within me. They inspired hope because they were written by people who have a moral compass and are living lives of moral excellence. Early Christians changed their world through the quality of their lives. We need to do the same.”
The ACP contest included approximately 100 categories, from news stories to graphics to books. Judges from the ranks of journalism, communications education, seminary faculties, and visual communications chose the winning entries. ACP is an international community of communication professionals founded in 1916, making it the oldest interdenominational religious press association in North America. The full list of ACP winners is here.
Reflections is produced twice a year online for some 8,600 subscribers, including YDS alums. The editor is Ray Waddle, with web support provided by Campbell Brock Harmon and Marie Hause. To receive an email notification of future issues, subscribe for free here. Focusing on one theme per issue, the journal features essays, interviews, poetry, and artwork in an effort to advance the YDS mission “to foster the knowledge and love of God.”