Benedictine nun wins ‘Blogger of the Year’ award

Sister Catherine Wybourne

A blog, created and written by a Benedictine nun in Herefordshire, was one of 15 winners in this year’s annual Christian New Media Awards, presented in London last weekend by the Premier group’s New Media Centre of Excellence.

Sister Catherine Wybourne from Holy Trinity Monastery at Howton Grove Priory, who was nominated by a third party, received the ‘Best Blogger of the Year’ award of a new iPad air for her work on the www.ibenedictines.org website.

Hosted by Premier Christian Radio presenter Maria Rodrigues and writer and broadcaster Sheridan Voysey, the awards were open to bloggers, churches, charities and businesses who entered their websites in the Seventh annual competition, staged in conjunction with the Christian New Media Conference.

Kevin Bennett, Director of New Media, said: “Yet again we are truly encouraged by the creativity, passion and skills demonstrated by the Christian community online. These awards aim to encourage and celebrate those who are pushing boundaries to share the message of Christ online with the aid of 21st century technology and I commend the finalists to you.”

This year’s competition saw 15 awards in three individual categories – Blogs, Websites, and New Media – including ‘Young Blogger of the Year’, ‘Most Inspiring Leadership Blog’, ‘Up & Coming Award’, ‘Multi-Author Blog of the Year’, ‘Best Christian Organisation Website’, ‘Most Engaging Small Church Website’, ‘Most Engaging Large Church Website’, ‘Best New or Re-designed Web Site’, ‘Accessibility Award’, ‘Innovative Use of New Media in Outreach’, ‘Christian Mobile/Tablet app of the Year’, ‘Tweeter of the Year’, ‘Most Creative Use of Social Media’, and ‘People’s Choice Award’.

A £1,000 cheque for the ‘Most Engaging Small Church Website’ went to Catherine Hellings of the Hope Church, Islington.

Winner of the ‘Most Creative Use of Social Media’ went to Spurgeons for their ‘Every 22 Minutes’ initiative which responds to the fact that, every 22 minutes, a child under 16 in the UK loses a parent.

Fiona Furman, who directs the campaign, explained that the organisation has almost 100 services operating across England supporting children following bereavement or being separated from their parents.

“Jesus himself told us that those who mourn will be comforted,” she said. ”We are so delighted that our campaign has been recognised by these awards, especially for these young people, so we might all better understand their grief”.

Their website can be found at www.every22minutes.org.uk

For a full list of Winners and finalists, visit www.nmce.org.uk/winners.