A senior Church of England cleric has praised journalists and TV and radio programme-makers for his or her work “within the seek for truth.”
Opening the celebrated Sandford St Martin Awards for the perfect in programmes about religion, ethics and spirituality, Dr Mark Oakley, Dean of Southwark, celebrated the work of creative people working within the media.
He emphasised the essential role of “journalists, reporters, filmmakers, and writers who’re passionate and fearless within the seek for, and the sharing of truth.”
Dr Oakley described the present global context as “a time when we’ve never had so many words but never been so disinclined to consider them, a time when the boundaries between facts and opinions and lies, are publicly disappearing, and a time when there may be heightened self-promotion coupled with a low self-awareness.”
Speaking to the audience at Southwark Cathedral, London he identified, “When many are attempting to be examples of power, our journalists and creatives must show the facility of example. And that is why we’re here tonight, because they do.”
Dr Oakley, an award-winning creator of books on poetry and spirituality, explained, “These awards are essential because they have a good time work that helps people understand the philosophical, historical, political, and emotional intricacies of faith and ethics.
“There is way around in the meanwhile that may prefer dishonest simplicity to an honest complexity, however the work we acclaim this evening refuses that impatient temptation.”
The Sandford St Martin Trust described the entries for this yr’s awards as “a showcase for the excellence of UK creatives producing content that explores belief and ethics.
“Whether it is thru cutting-edge journalism, creative storytelling or societal impact, they prove that the audience for good religiously literate content and in-depth exploration of ethical issues is more diverse and more engaged than ever before.”
Winners of the awards presented this week included a radio celebration of Christmas in war-torn Ukraine, a TV documentary concerning the debate around assisted dying, and a TV investigation right into a Jewish community in Brooklyn, New York.
The award, voted for by readers of the best-selling magazine Radio Times, went to TV programme ‘The Holy Land and Us.’ The two-part documentary explored how several families’ histories were impacted by the founding of the state of Israel in 1948.
Author and broadcaster Tom Holland received the Sandford St Martin Trustees’ Award “In recognition of his contribution to the greater public understanding of religions and their role in contemporary and historical human experience.”
The Sandford St Martin Trust “promotes thought-provoking, distinctive programming that engages with religion of all faiths, ethics or morality.” It believes “the media have an increasingly essential and difficult role to play in interpreting what happens on the earth, and that through their work, they will promote understanding, increase tolerance, and help construct community.”
Rev Peter Crumpler is a Church of England minister in St Albans, Herts, UK, and a former communications director with the CofE.
