The Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta was recognized in three categories of communications at the 2022 Episcopal Communicator Conference: podcasts, social media posts and long-form video.

The winning entries were among more than 150 submissions across 18 categories and were independently judged by well-respected and experienced communications professionals outside of organization membership. The following awards were won by the diocese.

Imagine Church, an innovation in online worship begun in August 2020, was one of four entries recognized in the best long-form video category. The new approach to online worship through music, visual art, and spoken word has aired nine services to date.

9 Things You Can do to Heal the Nation was cited in the best social media posts category. Its first episode was released one week after the 2020 General Election. In each video Episcopal Bishop of Atlanta Rob Wright talks about ways individuals can take action to heal the political divides in our nation.

FOR PEOPLE with Bishop Rob Wright won the Award of Excellence in the podcast category. The weekly podcast is an expansion on Bishop Wright’s blog, For Faith. Since debuting in March 2020, the podcast has been downloaded more than 120,000 times with an average of 1,100 downloads per episode.

Easton Davis, Canon for Communications and Digital Evangelism said the recognitions were affirmations of the Diocese of Atlanta’s commitment to “seeking new expressions of proclaiming the good news of Jesus to the world. Receiving this recognition by outside communications experts also reinforces the importance of being active in digital spaces,” Davis said.

Davis also praised the work of All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Atlanta, which took home the Award of Excellence for their newly updated website: In the City, for the City.

Episcopal Communicators began these annual awards in 1980 that are named in honor of Polly Bond (1914-1979), former director of communications in the Diocese of Ohio. Among other things, Bond was known for spearheading the early use of electronic media in the church. The Polly Bond Awards ceremony is held each year in conjunction with the Episcopal Communicators annual conference, which was held this year from May 3rd through 5th in Savannah, Georgia.