The Good Oil and three of its writers were honoured last week at the annual award ceremonies for the Australasian Catholic Press Association (ACPA) and the Australasian Religious Press Association (ARPA).
At the ACPA Awards for Excellence, The Good Oil was acknowledged in two categories with articles written by Debra Vermeer and Good Samaritan Sister Patty Fawkner.
Debra Vermeer was the winner of the “Best News Story” category for her article “Are you buying slavery-free products?”, which was published in The Good Oil earlier this year.
“This story breaks news on the issue of slave made goods and the Church’s questioning of supply lines,” said the judges.
“It has become a topic in media outside religious media and was well researched with multiple sources or voices in the story. The writing is crisp with an interesting lead par.”
Sister Patty Fawkner’s article, “The pattern of all life”, also published in The Good Oil earlier this year, was highly commended in the category “Best Article on Catechesis”.
The judges said: “With ‘The pattern of all life’, Patty Fawkner seeks to define the term ‘Paschal Mystery’.
“Her reflection opens with a personal reflection on an experience of facing and dealing with loss, with a view to recognising that life is changed not ended.
“She then provides a framework for others to understand this in light of Christ’s death and resurrection to new life. Finally, she challenges the readers to identify this process of transformation in their own life.”
A complete list of the ACPA award winners and the judges’ comments can be downloaded here.
Meanwhile, at the ARPA Awards for Excellence, Monica Dutton won a silver award in the “Best New Writer” category for her article published in The Good Oil last year, “May those… in the shadows be seen by those in the sun”.
The judges said Monica’s article was “a moving, well-crafted piece about an unlikely, thirty-second encounter between a homeless man and someone from a completely different social situation”.
“That unexpected but positive encounter represented for the author everything that was contained in the passion, death and resurrection of Christ,” said the judges.
A complete list of the ARPA award winners and the judges’ comments can be downloaded here.
Both the ACPA and ARPA awards were announced last week in Auckland, New Zealand, during the annual conferences of ACPA and ARPA. This is the first year that The Good Oil has been a member of ACPA and ARPA.
The Good Oil, the free, monthly e-magazine of the Good Samaritan Sisters, publishes news, feature and opinion articles, and reflective content which aims to nourish the spirit, stimulate thinking and encourage reflection and dialogue about issues of the day from a Christian, Catholic, Good Samaritan perspective.
Check out the latest edition here.
