The Episcopal Diocese of Dallas won four prestigious Polly Bond Awards for Special Achievement in Church Communication, which was announced during the 2016 Episcopal Communicator’s Conference.

The diocese won the following national awards:

Award of excellence for News/Feature photography taken by freelance photographer, Anja Schlein, for a photo of a priest in front of a stained-glass window during a service at Incarnation in Dallas. The judge wrote, “This image immediately jumped out at me as the best technical image and actually made me feel something. Framing his head in the window was a really smart decision. The exposure rocks and the lens-choice is perfect. It’s really a nice back-to-front composition.”

Award of merit for best writing in news for the story "House of Twitter" written by EDOD Communications Director, Kimberly Durnan. “This writer examines the impact of Twitter on the General Convention of the Episcopal Church, particular the election of the presiding bishop. She includes some funny and clever tweets, as well as examples of practical ways in which they were used and problems that they sometimes caused. The story goes beyond simply reporting what happened to examining the broader impact of social media – in this case Twitter – on traditional convention procedures.”

Award of Merit for long-form video created by the Rev. Joe Hermerding during Incarnation’s youth mission trip to Guatemala. Hermerding used a Go Pro camera to shoot unusual angles to create a funny and poignant video that he also edited. The judge wrote, “I LOVE the Go Pro Bro! The video had great energy and music, and had a nice mix of still and moving images. The video really looked FUN.”

Honorable Mention for best writing in features for the story “A New Shepherd” also written by Durnan. The judge wrote, “Your feature of Bishop Sumner reaches beyond the usual and introduces readers to the contradictions as well as the characteristics of the man.”

The publication for the “Search for the 7^th Bishop” did not win an award but received high marks from the judge regarding its design and content. The judge wrote, “Very elegant design, fitting of the topic at hand. Effectively gets a great deal of information on each candidate in the publication and in a consistent/balanced way. You can tell a good editor was at work here because all the information submitted, from the different candidates, is presented in a consistent manner. Big kudos to the editor!”

Winning the awards illustrates that the diocese is producing professional, high-quality communications that is recognized nationally, said the Rev. Dr. Neal Michell, who serves on the Communications Commission. “I am pleased to see the Diocese of Dallas receive four awards at the Episcopal Communicator’s Conference,” he said. “What an honor to see the quality of communications in the diocese recognized in the larger church. Effective communications helps bring us together as a diocesan family and encourages us as we see what God is doing among us.”

The conference was held in Portland, Oregon, and was attended by around 150 communicators from across the nation. Attendees participated in best practices workshops, attended Holy Eucharist with Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and joined in fellowship with each other during meals and evening get-togethers.

Curry, who also gave the keynote speech, said that communications is the frontline of evangelism. “We are the Episcopal branch of the Jesus Movement. The more deeply we live into that we will find revival that won’t be afraid of the word, we will find renewal and won’t be confused by what it means, we will find our soul, our real Episcopal soul and make even more difference in the world than we have.”

He also joked that his wife asked him, “How long are we going to hear about the Jesus movement.” He told her, “nine years.”