Energetic and rewarding.
These are two words that describe 2018 for EthicsDaily.com.
An in-person staff meeting in early January with Mitch Randall, our new executive director, kicked off the year, as we dreamed about and planned for the next era in our organization’s 27-year history.
Those plans set in motion a fast-paced year filled with extensive travel, new partnerships, the launch of a new website, expanded readership and columnists, a shift to short-form documentaries, as well as fostering a spirit of renewal and excitement within not only our organization but also (I hope!) the moderate-to-progressive Baptist movement.
Randall visited six countries and 11 U.S. states (including D.C.) this year, often preaching at local churches.
We’re currently lining up preaching and speaking opportunities for 2019, so contact us at info@testing.goodfaithmedia.net if you’d like to discuss Randall visiting your church or organization.
Collaboration and partnership were a principal focus over the past 12 months – re-establishing relationships and forming new connections.
We established a partnership with Baptist Women in Ministry, initiated conversations about formal partnerships with several organizations and worked to renew and strengthen relationships with current partners.
Another way we’ve promoted our partners is with the creation of a “Partners” page and a “Social Justice Network” page on our website.
If you haven’t already done so, I’d encourage you to read our EthicsDaily 2018 series, sharing Randall’s reflections on our collaborative work in 2018. You can also watch a two-minute video overview of the past year here.
In 2018, we published 551 columns and 128 news articles written by 209 unique contributors from 26 U.S. states (including D.C.) and 13 nations, as well as 46 #ProfilesInGoodwill.
Included in these numbers are eight series focused on annual observances (Earth Day and Labor Day) as well as global challenges (criminal justice, human rights, racism and taxation) and church trends (women in ministry and interfaith engagement).
We also announced two new, ongoing series in August, focused on engaging younger generations of writers. We published 10 columns in the “Emerging Voices” series and four columns in the “U:21” series.
We see these series as an avenue to provide the next generation an opportunity to address pressing issues and to support them as they emerge as future leaders of our churches, organizations and communities.
Please encourage students and younger generations in your classes, congregations and organizations to consider submitting columns to EthicsDaily.com for publication in 2019.
Media producer Cliff Vaughn published 66 new videos to EthicsDaily.com’s Vimeo channel in 2018.
These included interviews with global leaders at the Baptist World Alliance gathering in Switzerland, coverage of the Third National Baptist-Muslim Dialogue in Wisconsin and the Angela Project in Kentucky, as well as series on public education and the crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border.
As another means of expanding EthicsDaily.com’s collaboration with partners, Vaughn produced promotional videos for Baptist World Alliance and Charlottesville Clergy Collective, and EthicsDaily.com staff provided video coverage of New Baptist Covenant’s luncheon at the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s general assembly and of NBC’s 10th anniversary summit.
Two short documentaries were among the EthicsDaily.com video productions released this year:
- “Mercy” focused on the experience of Imam Imad Enchassi growing up as a Palestinian refugee in Beirut, exploring how mercy has shaped his life.
- “No. 1: Mary Alice,” the first in a series of films on women senior pastors in U.S. Baptist churches produced with Baptist Women in Ministry, focused on the calling to ministry of Mary Alice Birdwhistell, senior pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Waco, Texas.
These facts and figures represent some of EthicsDaily.com’s 2018 initiatives, all of which sought to provide a diverse perspective on both local and global issues written by goodwill people of faith around the world.
Our staff is committed to continuing to educate, engage and empower people of faith to seek justice for all and advance the common good in 2019 by continuing to provide timely, relevant and free ethics resources.
We need support from you, our faithful readers, to make this possible.
I hope you’ll consider making a year-end donation at EthicsDaily.com/Donate to help us end 2018 on a high note, poised for a strong and vibrant 2019.
Managing editor for news and opinion at Good Faith Media.
