Thirteen awards were presented to Concordia Seminary, St. Louis from the Associated Church Press (ACP) and the Evangelical Press Association (EPA) during the organizations’ recent award ceremonies for exceptional work completed in 2021.

“We are humbled and grateful for this recognition of our work,” said Vicki Biggs, senior vice president, Seminary Advancement and chief communications officer. “God gifts His people with the skills they need for the vocations to which they are called. These awards reflect the awesome skill of our communications, faculty and theological publications team members, who serve to share the stories of the Seminary for the sake of the mission of Christ.”

The ACP, the nation’s oldest interdenominational religious press association, presented its awards May 12, 2022, as part of the virtual Religious Communicator’s Conference.

In the ACP’s “Overall Excellence/Best in Class” division, the Seminary received a second place Award of Merit in the category “Best In Class Seminary Publication or Journal” for Concordia Seminary magazine. Named in the award are Vicki Biggs, executive editor; Melanie Ave, managing editor; Jayna Rollings, XiaoPei Chen and Beth Hasek, art directors; and Courtney Koll, designer.

In the ACP’s “Reporting and Writing” division, the Seminary received the following awards:

• A first place Honorable Mention in the category of “Books – Nonfiction,” for The Beautiful Sermon: Image and the Aesthetics of Preaching. Named in the award are Dr. Dean Nadasdy, author; Dr. David Schmitt, editor.
• A second place Honorable Mention in the category for “Personal Experience: Long Format,” forConcordia Seminary magazine, “Bringing light and life into a dark world.” Named in the award are Dr. Philip Werth Penhallegon, writer; Melanie Ave, Vicki Biggs, editors.

The Seminary received the following awards for the ACP’s “Visual Communications” section:

• A first place Award of Excellence in the category of “Integrated Communications,” for “Theological Symposium: Whatever is Lovely” symposium branding. Named in the award are Vicki Biggs, CCO;Courtney Koll, creative; Chris Miller, web; Sarah Maney, Melanie Ave, communications.
• A second place Award of Merit in the category of “Integrated Communications,” for “Your Word Is a Lamp to My Feet” 2021-22 academic year branding. Named in the award are Vicki Biggs, CCO; Julia Staggenborg, Jayna Rollings, creative; Chris Miller, web/video; Melanie Ave, Rebekah Lukas, communications.
• A second place Award of Merit in the category for “Magazine/Journal Design, Spread or Story,” for Concordia Seminary magazine, “Meet Concordia Seminary’s 11^th President: Dr. Thomas J. Egger.” Named in the award are Courtney Koll, designer; Jayna Rollings, art director.
• A second place Award of Merit in the category for “Photo Spread or Essay (Printed Media),” forConcordia Seminary magazine, “First look.” Named in the award are Courtney Koll, designer; Jayna Rollings, art director.

The ACP awarded the Seminary the following awards in the area of Social Media:

• A first place Award of Excellence in the category of “Event Promotion/Marketing Campaign/Brand Awareness,” for “Give Green and Gold.” Named in the award are Vicki Biggs, CCO; Julia Staggenborg, Beth Hasek, creative; Chris Miller, web, Sarah Maney, Melanie Ave, communications; John Clifton, video.
• A second place Award of Merit in the category of “Event Promotion/Marketing Campaign/Brand Awareness,” for “Giving Tuesday 2021.” Named in the award are Vicki Biggs, CCO; Julia Staggenborg, Beth Hasek, creative; Chris Miller, web; Melanie Ave, Rebekah Lukas, communications.

In addition to the ACP awards, the Seminary was recognized by the EPA, a professional organization of Christian publications including magazines, newspapers, newsletters and content-rich websites. Its awards were announced during the annual EPA convention held April 10-12.

In the EPA’s “Award of Excellence” contest for publications, the Seminary received a second place Award of Merit in the category “Higher Ed (Digital)” for Concordia Seminary magazine. Named in the award are Chris Miller, Jayna Rollings, Beth Hasek, Melanie Ave and Vicki Biggs.

In the EPA’s “Higher Goals” contest for work accomplished in specific categories, the Seminary received the following:

• A third-place award in the category of “Blog: Website” for Concordia Seminary magazine, concordiatheology.org. Named in the award are Chris Miller, Dr. Erik Herrmann, Jayna Rollings, Beth Hasek and Vicki Biggs.
• A fourth-place award in the category of “Blog: Single Post” for Concordia Seminary magazine, “Letter to self... 40 years later.” Named in the award is Dr. Timothy Saleska.
• A fourth-place award in the category of “Infographic” for Concordia Seminary magazine, “Meet Concordia Seminary’s 11^th President.” Named in the award is Sarah Maney.

Read the full list of ACP awards and the full list of EPA awards.

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 csl.edu.