Awards recently given to two religious documentaries produced by the Baptist Center for Ethics reflect successful efforts to engage the public on important faith-based policy issues, say two Virginians who serve on the BCE’s board of directors.
Gospel Without Borders and Sacred Texts, Social Duty earned Silver and Bronze awards, respectively, from the Telly Awards, a 34-year-old organization which recognizes film and video productions, web commercials and TV programs. The awards were presented to EthicsDaily.com, the division of the BCE which produced the documentaries.
Michael Cheuk (left), pastor of Farmville (Va.) Baptist Church, and Bruce Powers, co-pastor of Westhaven Baptist Church in Portsmouth, Va., display the Telly Awards at the annual meeting of the Baptist Center for Ethics in Nashville. (Photo courtesy of EthicsDaily.com)
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“It is a real privilege and honor to serve on the board of an organization that produces such high-quality documentaries,” said Michael Cheuk, pastor of Farmville (Va.) Baptist Church. I hope that the Gospel Without Borders documentary can shed light from a prophetic biblical perspective on our current immigration issue, so that people of faith will be challenged to consider more deeply and broadly what it means to ‘love our neighbors as ourselves.’”
Bruce Powers, co-pastor of Westhaven Baptist Church in Portsmouth, Va., said, “When I agreed to represent Virginia Baptists on the board of the Baptist Center for Ethics, I knew I was dealing with an organization that was seeking to engage the public in discussing important issues.
“These films tackle difficult, often divisive, topics that are equally important to policy-makers and people in the pews, bringing to the table discourses that are intelligent, insightful, non-partisan, and ecumenical,” he added.
Gospel Without Borders focuses on faith and immigration and highlights stories in North Carolina and four other states—Arizona, Arkansas, Alabama and Iowa. It has been screened across the country and distributed in bulk by Catholic and Methodist bishops. Long and short versions of the documentary are available on a single DVD.
Sacred Texts, Social Duty is an hour-long documentary that explores how Jewish, Christian and Muslim people of faith read their sacred texts and what they say morally about taxation.
Other Mid-Atlantic members of the BCE’s board of directors are Daniel Carro, a professor at the John Leland Center for Theological Studies in Arlington, Va.; Jeffrey Haggray, pastor of First Baptist Church in Washington; and Guy Sayles, pastor of First Baptist Church in Asheville, N.C.
The Telly Awards were founded in 1978 by David E. Carter, a Clio and Emmy winner with a career spanning TV production, advertising and book publishing. About 11,000 entries are submitted annually. Roughly 10 percent of entries are awarded the Silver Telly and 25 percent are awarded the Bronze.