Journal honoured as 'best in class': newspaper wins 18 awards for writing, art direction.

The Anglican Journal was named top national or international newspaper by the North American Associated Church Press (ACP), one of 18 awards the newspaper received recently.

The awards were presented at the annual gatherings of the ACP, North America's oldest church press organization, and the Canadian Church Press.

On April 24, the Journal took home the award of excellence in the Best in Class/National or International Newspaper category at the ACP awards in Chicago. It is the association's top award.

The Journal also picked up an additional five ACP awards: an award of merit (second place) for newspaper feature article for staff writer Marites N. Sison's story on rural ministry in Saskatchewan. Journal art director Saskia Rowley's design of the story also won an award of merit.

Journal editor Leanne Larmondin won an award of merit in the letters to the editor category. Freelance artist Anna Payne-Krzyzanowski also won an honourable mention for a Remembrance Day illustration that accompanied a November reflection about military chaplains.

The media review section won an honourable mention.

Founded in 1916, ACP has about 200 members.

Meanwhile, on May 4, the journal won 12 awards from the Canadian Church Press.

First place awards honoured:

* newspaper feature, Ms. Sison's story on Saskatchewan;

* feature layout and design, the Saskatchewan feature;

* newspaper editorial, The story behind the story of church membership, by Ms. Larmondin;

* biographical profile, staff writer Solange De Santis' story about filmmaker Richard Stringer;

* original artwork, Ms. Payne-Krzyzanowski's illustration.

Second-place awards cited:

* colour photo spread, the Saskatchewan feature;

* narrative, Rev. Maj. Robert A. Lander's meditation on military chaplains.

Third-place awards honoured:

* layout and design of an edition, Ms. Rowley, for the November issue;

* colour photo, Debra Fieguth's photo of a Kenyan mother and child affected by AIDS;

* theological reflection (doctrinal), Bishop William Hockin's article, Testing the tent poles of Anglicanism;

* media review, three examples of arts reviews from the Journal's culture section, including Ms. Sison's review of gardening books, freelance writer Wayne Holst's film review of The Narnia Chronicles, and the April issue's collection of reviews of books for children, written by children of Journal staff,

* in-depth treatment of a news event, Ms. Sison's and Ms. De Santis' coverage of the native residential schools legal settlement.

Crosstalk, the newspaper of the Anglican diocese of Ottawa, garnered five CCP awards in photography, design and poetry.

CCP is a professional organization for Canadian Christian publications.