All convention attendees are invited to join us for a reception and pizza, sponsored by Shanley + Associates.

About Giordano's:

Where is the best deep dish pizza in Chicago? Right where you’d expect it to be: Giordano’s on Rush Street! Since 1974, Giordano’s has handcrafted the best Chicago-style pizza using old-world techniques and the finest ingredients. You’ve seen the best Chicago has to offer — now try the best pizza place in the Windy City!

Our special guest for the evening is Ali Abu Awwad, a prominent Palestinian peace activist and proponent of nonviolence. He founded Taghyeer (Change), a Palestinian national movement promoting nonviolence to achieve and guarantee a nonviolent solution to the conflict. He will be joined by Steve Stern, COO of J Street, both of whom are eager to meet and speak with convention attendees.

Join us for an expression of faith led by Heidi Parsons and Joyce Litoff of the U.S. Baha'i National Center.

Check in at the registration table on your arrival.

Join your friends for refreshments and conversation at this break, sponsored by the Louisville Institute.

The Louisville Institute provided grants and fellowships to those who lead and study North American religious institutions, practices, and movements, and thereby promoting scholarship that strengthens Church, academy, and society.

• Deborah D Douglas - Director of the Midwest Solutions Journalism Hub - Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University

Journalism is in the midst of a war over objectivity, a method that drives how we frame and source stories, ask questions and craft the narratives that create our understanding of the world. How well we accomplish the goal of this method of testing information is a high-stakes effort often with life-or-death implications. But are we really practicing objectivity? Or has this principle become a stand-in for a white, male default lens on the world? Let’s talk about it.

• The Hartford Institute for Religion Research
• Scott Thumma - Professor of Sociology of Religion - Hartford International University
• Dr. Allison Norton - Faculty Associate in Migration Studies and Congregational Life - Hartford International University
• Tracy Simmons - Writing and Social Media Consultant - Exploring the Pandemic Impact on Congregations study

The Exploring the Pandemic Impact on Congregations project of Hartford Institute for Religion Research is a 5-year research effort to understand how faith communities are changing while helping religious leaders adapt and respond effectively. This presentation from three of our team members highlights a few research trends then discusses the hopeful stories we are hearing from our research subjects and through interesting case studies.

• Teresa Faust - Senior Manager, Research & Metrics - United Methodist Communications

The Great Reset Community Roundtable is all about connecting to one another and that is what we’d like to invite you to do. Please join us for a conversation across perspectives. We’ll introduce you to the community and host a conversation.

We began this journey five years ago and these last two years, as a not-for-profit we’ve expanded our conversations to half the United States and ten countries across the globe. Our topics range from education, religion, race, immigration and more and we seek to afford a space to listen, first, and be heard. The goal is not to change your opinion, or anyone else’s. The goal is to share space and maybe learn something from one another along the way. Please join us.

thegreatreset.org

Join your friends for refreshments and conversation at this break, sponsored by the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship.

CICW partners with congregations, organizations, and publishers to further its mission of promoting the scholarly study of the theology, history, and practice of Christian worship and its renewal.

• Heidi Thompson - Senior Consultant - Shanley + Associates

In this workshop, we'll talk about how to sift through the mountains of data and reporting that's now available with most modern online tools. How can publishers find useful insights in their website analytics, social media reporting, and email data? We'll walk through some cast studies together, and you'll leave with a framework for using analytics to support decision-making.

• Rev. Brian Fesler - President - Religion Communicators Council

Honoring Excellence in Religious Communications and Public Relations

The DeRose-Hinkhouse Memorial Awards are given annually to active members of the Religion Communicators Council who demonstrate excellence in religious communications and public relations.

The awards are named to honor the late Victor DeRose and the late Paul M. Hinkhouse, leading lithographers in New York City, and longtime friends of the RCC. Both men shared a strong interest in, and concern for, excellence in communications.

Join us for an expression of faith led by Dr. John Thomas III.

• Celeste Kennel-Shank - President - Associated Church Press
• Steve Thorngate - Managing Editor - The Christian Century
• Rose Schrott Taylor - Digital Content Editor - Presbyterian Outlook
• Dartinia Hull - Managing Editor - Presbyterian Outlook
• Danielle Klotz - Executive Director - Anabaptist World

ACP president Celeste Kennel-Shank will facilitate this roundtable discussion. We'll start off by hearing from staff of several publications that have completed print redesigns in the past several years while continuing to adapt to the current journalism landscape. Then we'll have a free-flowing conversation with all participants.

Contributors include Steve Thorngate, the Christian Century; Rose Schrott Taylor and Dartinia Hull, the Presbyterian Outlook; and Danielle Klotz, Anabaptist World.

• Greg Dunn - Senior Counselor - Kurth Lampe Worldwide

A mishandled crisis can be damaging to any organization, perhaps even moreso for faith-based entities whose reputations are perceived to be grounded in integrity. What can an organization do to prepare in advance ... and what are strategies to help mitigate when a crisis arises?

• Charissa Johnson - Photographer, Editor - Charissa Johnson Photography

How do I approach a photographic essay in a way that encourages evocative photo stories? How can I best design photographic work in my essay? What should I expect when contracting photographers? Find out the answers to these questions and more, from a photographer’s point of view.

• Bob Smietana - National Reporter - Religion News Service

A look at the complex factors driving the decline of organized religion in the US – and how congregations are trying to adapt.

Bob Smietana is a national writer for RNS based near Chicago, covering evangelicals, weird religion and the changing religious landscape. A veteran religion reporter and editor, he is author of “Reorganized Religion: The Reshaping of the American Church and Why it Matters.”

• Will Nunnally - Video Producer - Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)

There is so much demand for video content these days. Since it is a specialized skill set, how do we utilize our resources to make the best content for our audience? We’ll walk through misconceptions that drag down quality from pre to post-production and explore creative solutions to improve your visual content on a variety of platforms.

• Dr. David Dault - Host and Executive Producer - Things Not Seen: Conversations About Culture and Faith

Join your friends for refreshments and conversation at this break, sponsored by Reformed Worship.

Reformed Worship is a collection of resources available through social media, monthly enewsletters, a website, and a digital library, all based on a quarterly print magazine that provides practical help and support to worship planners.

• Celeste Kennel-Shank - President - Associated Church Press

The annual business meeting of the Associated Church Press.

• Rev. Brian Fesler - President - Religion Communicators Council

The annual business meeting of the Religion Communicators Council.

• Gregg Brekke - Executive Director - Associated Church Press

Each year, the Associated Church Press honors faith communicators’ best work with the ACP “Best of the Church Press” awards. New and established newspapers, newsletters, magazines, journals, news services, electronic publications, blogs, and websites earn recognition for the work they do, as do the many excellent entries in social media and visual communications.

The religious landscape has changed drastically in the past few years and the role of faith-based journalism has changed along with it. From the ways in which we gather to the ways we get our messages across, the role of communicators has been reinvented and reimagined.

Winners will be announced at our in-person convention being held in Chicago, April 19-21, 2023.

Join us for an expression of faith led by Rev. Celeste Kennel-Shank.

• Gregg Brekke - Executive Director - Associated Church Press
• Chris Herlinger - International Correspondent - Global Sisters Report

Join Chris Herlinger, international correspondent for Global Sisters Report, and Gregg Brekke, ACP executive director and freelance photojournalist, to hear about their recent assignment to Ukraine and Poland for National Catholic Reporter’s Global Sisters Report with observations about a two-week trip in February that took them across Poland and Ukraine to meet with Catholic sisters, clerics, humanitarian workers, refugees and war survivors.

Chris will also talk about GSR’s new series on sisters in conflict zones, Hope Amid Turmoil. A highlight of the discussion will be a presentation of some of Gregg’s videos and photographs from the trip, and Chris will share his observations on what set this trip apart from his earlier assignments to Poland and Ukraine in 2022.

Both Gregg and Chris are veteran award-winning international journalists – as a freelancer, Gregg has traveled to Central America for GSR, and Chris has been a full-time international correspondent for GSR since 2015, covering numerous refugee and migration stories.

• Bekah McNeel

Solutions journalism is a helpful and engaging approach to produce rigorous and insightful stories...but how does it work in faith-based or church media? Audiences look to faith-based outlets to counteract mainstream media bias, and solutions journalism can help meet that need, while still holding powerful people and institutions accountable, and encouraging critical thinking.

The session will consider issues like: When audiences already agree on so much, how do you suggest that no solution is perfect? Can something have a "solution" if not everyone agrees it's a problem? How do we talk about the limitations of solutions our denominations or governing boards consider to be orthodoxy?

The session will include a workshop for the stories you're currently working on.

Outline:
I. How the four pillars align with faith-based audience needs (slide deck annotation of Christianity Today solutions story)
II. The biggest challenges for faith-based outlets when using a solutions approach (focus on limitations pillar)
III. Small group workshops: applying solutions lens to stories already on your radar.

• Rev. Donna Frischknecht Jackson - Vice President - Religion Communicators Council

Life is full of amazing highs and plummeting lows that present us with fodder for intriguing and inspiring stories. As communicators who have been called to the vocation of telling stories, though, we need to remember that some of the best material is drawn from the well of our own lived experiences — and our willingness to fully enter into the human condition: to feel, to laugh, to cry, to walk with the wounded and to celebrate with the redeemed. After all, before a story can be told, one needs to listen attentively — and intently.

• Michael Duerksen - Founder & CEO - buildgood.com

Inflation, erosion of trust in society, post-pandemic burnout, and a decline in household giving…nonprofits are really up against it. But not all hope is lost. In this session, we will walk through a practical framework you can implement to keep donors connected—and giving.

• Rev. Brian Fesler - President - Religion Communicators Council
• Brad Pomerance - Host & Executive Vice President - Jewish Life Television

Over 70 Years of Recognizing Excellence in the Communication of Religious Issues, Values, and Themes in Public Media

Since 1949, the Wilbur Awards have been presented annually to recognize excellence in the communication of religious issues, values, and themes in public secular media. Through the awards, the Religion Communicators Council (RCC) recognizes the work of individuals, production companies and agencies as they communicate about religious issues, values and themes with professionalism, fairness, respect and honesty. Past winners include Morgan Freeman, Oprah Winfrey, Jane Pauley, Mister Rogers, CBS Sunday Morning, ABC’s 20/20, Meet the Press, Vanity Fair, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and the New York Times.

Reception begins at 6pm, please be at your tables by 6:45 for dinner.