Honored and encouraged by special award

The hundreds of people from all around the Albany Diocese who attended the annual Spring Enrichment this week (see article on page 1) began the event by singing: "We are bathed in the glory of God!"

The staff of The Evangelist certainly feels that way after being honored at that opening by the diocesan Office of Religious Education (ORE) with the Bishop Edwin B. Broderick Award, given each year by the ORE for leadership, vision and commitment to catechetical ministry. (The award, initiated in 1996, is named for bishop of Albany who preceded Bishop Howard J. Hubbard and who established the ORE in 1971.)

In giving The Evangelist the 1999 Bishop Broderick Award, Jeanne Schrempf, director of the ORE, said that the staff of The Evangelist "exemplifies what it means to be catechist: one who echoes the word of God faithfully and creatively to this generation and the next. You do this through your talents and skill -- and also through the witness of your own faith and lives. The Evangelist is unique, for it is teacher, witness and text. You have provided an outstanding instrument for Bishop Hubbard to exercise his role as chief catechist in our Diocese. Your editorials, columns and news stories continue to be excellent tools of adult faith formation. You have given children, youth and persons with special needs a voice and a face. The sensitivity and beauty of your photos and art touch the core of our faith in ways that words often cannot....The spark of renewal in our Church burned wide and deep in a very great measure because of your commitment, passion and dedication. That is something to honor and celebrate."

Bishop Hubbard, himself a past winner of this award, called The Evangelist "a powerful teaching tool for all ages in the Diocese. I am grateful for the way you have made it possible for me to reach our people in a special way."

Since its founding in 1926, The Evangelist has produced close to 4,000 issues, and the scores of people who worked on them over those decades deserve a share in the award given by the ORE. But most especially it honors the current staff who labor week by week to create a Catholic publication that brings into each home in the Diocese news about the Church locally, nationally and internationally; guidance and inspiration on prayer and spirituality; insights into Church history, the Bible and Jesus; and opinions on the issues of the day.

We are grateful to the Office of Religious Education for this tribute to our work. We accept it not only as a salute to what we have done but also as an encouragement to persevere and improve as the new millennium unfolds.

(05-13-99)

[[In-content Ad]]