CHICAGO, IL (May 20, 2010) – The Covenant Companion’s focus on immigration in the March 2009 issue earned the publication an Award of Excellence (first place) from the Associated Church Press (ACP) in the “In-Depth Coverage: Magazine” category.

The awards were announced during the ACP’s annual convention, which was held in Washington D.C., earlier this month. Nearly 200 publications are members of ACP, the oldest religious press association in North America with a combined readership of several million subscribers.

The Covenant Companion received seven awards. The magazine consistently is recognized for excellence across a broad spectrum of categories, but this marks the first time the publication has won in the “In-Depth Coverage” category.

Stories included in the issue were “Samaritans at the Border” by Dan Johnson, pastor of Eastside Covenant Church of Tucson, Arizona; “A Refuge in Iowa” by Ian Wrisley, a Covenant minister; “How Do We Welcome the Newcomer?” by Linda Parkyn, professor of Spanish at North Park University and a member of North Park Covenant Church; and “Sojourners in a Strange Land” by M. Daniel Carroll R., distinguished professor of Old Testament at Denver Seminary.

The judge wrote, “This issue actually reveals details readers did not know before, from a day with Samaritans in the desert to a small Iowa town with an amazing array of refugees.”

“The recognition the Companion receives year after year is even more remarkable when one considers the size and the stature of the other publications competing for those same awards,” says Don Meyer, executive minister of Covenant Communications. “The Companion competes with magazines like Sojourners, U.S. Catholic, The Lutheran and Christian Century – magazines with larger budgets, larger staffs and parent organizations that are much larger than the Evangelical Covenant Church.

“Companion subscribers receive each month an issue packed with high quality, thoughtful, inspiring and challenging articles and columns – content that is recognized by our peers as simply excellent,” Meyer adds.

Meyer encourages Covenanters who are not currently receiving the magazine to subscribe online. “Those who subscribe online beginning today through May 31 will not only receive the July issue as the first of their 12-month subscription, but as a bonus, we will mail a copy of the June issue as well.”

How to live well the Christian experience and find fulfillment amid seemingly dull daily routines is one of June’s themes (see accompanying cover illustration). That same issue also contains part two of a series featuring people explaining why they are in the Covenant. And, the ongoing dialogue on civility takes a deeper look at the breakdown of civility in our culture today.

July continues the civility series, offering a Christian perspective of civility in the workplace. The question “What does community mean in today’s church world?” is addressed in the continuing “Another Voice” series, with President Gary Walter exploring in greater detail the unfolding vision for Covenant ministry in his new column.

Following is a list of the other Companion 2009 awards:

• Award of Merit (2nd place) for devotional/inspiration article: “What’s on Your Mind? How Facebook Connects Me to the Body of Christ” by Lenora Rand (June). The judge wrote, “This piece offers a fresh perspective of ritual as it considers how Facebook can help play that role.”
• Honorable Mention (3rd place) for interview: “A Conversation with the Unlikely Disciple” by Doug Bixby (October). Doug interviewed Kevin Roose, author of The Unlikely Disciple.
• Honorable Mention for column: Markings by John E. Phelan Jr.
• Honorable Mention for personally useful article: “I Was Sick and You Cared for Me” by Diana R. G. Trautwein (January).
• Honorable Mention for professional resource: “Being Intentional about the Interim” by Mick Murphy (August).
• Honorable Mention for seasonal article: “Reflections on Torture, Part III” by John Weborg (December)..