Crystal Penguins Awards

Our friend Rich Melheim has been working on ways to encourage young artists who participate in the life of their church. Rich and Faithink.com have come up with something wonderful: the Crystal Penguins awards. Grammys, move over! Any ECVA friends reading this, would you please bring Rich's project to the attention of young Christian artists whom you may know? (He especially notes that it might be nice to pass the invite along to college students away from home, who might need to be reminded that their gifts are still needed by the church.) Here's a brief description:

"The National Youth Worship Arts Awards (NYWAA) are designed to create a renaissance in the worship life of the church through celebration, nurturing, and encouragement of young artists, musicians, writers, dancers, videographers, and actors who share their gifts, talents, and passion for God through the arts. All youth between the ages of 16-21 who regularly share their gifts in their local community of faith are eligible for the awards."

Rich has brought to fruition a search specifically directed at the use of young artists' work in worship contexts - so don't hide your talent under a barrel. Rich is one of the warmest, most encouraging advocates we know. The deadline for contest entries has been newly extended to March 15. There are prizes - $10,000, ten crystal Penguins and ten iPods, with a live podcast awards ceremony on April Fool’s Day at 7 pm central. Here's the URL for more information: http://www.faithink.com/About/nywaa.asp. This link will also let you download applications and brochures. Questions are welcome at awards@faithink.org.

Brie Dodson
Director of Communications
The Episcopal Church & Visual Arts