June 9, 2009

CHICAGO – The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is inviting congregations and individuals to submit 30- to 90-second videos in a contest related to the ELCA tagline, "God's work. Our hands."

The contest begins June 15 and runs through July 15, the deadline date for submitting video entries. ELCA Communication Services is managing the contest for the churchwide organization.

ELCA members have many stories to tell about how God works in the world, said Kristi S. Bangert, executive director, ELCA Communication Services. "With this video contest we are asking people to illustrate the meaning of ‘God's work. Our hands.' by sharing these stories from their own contexts through the medium of short-form video," she said.

"By promoting this story-gathering, storytelling process as a contest with significant prizes, we hope to encourage strong participation while generating innovative content," Bangert said.

The contest aims to give members a voice in demonstrating how Lutherans do God's work in the world "for the sake of the gospel," she added.

Prizes include a $5,000 ministry grant for an ELCA congregation and a $2,500 cash prize for an individual entry. Second prize in both categories is a high-definition "Flip" video camera. Prize sponsors are Odyssey Networks and Lutheran Film Associates. Winners will be announced at the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly, Aug. 17-23 in Minneapolis.

To enter, finished videos must be uploaded to the Web. Each video will be available for viewing and rating by the public from June 15 through July 22. A panel of judges will then rate the top 10 videos based on creativity, ability to inspire, interpretation of the theme and popularity.

Resources and contest rules are at http://www.ELCA.org/videocontest/, on the Web.

Bangert said participants are encouraged to be creative. Examples of possible topics could be congregational ministries, human interactions and responses to community needs. Humorous videos are welcome, she said.

Contest rules spell out video requirements. Key requirements include a maximum length of 90 seconds per video, submitted in a specific format; use of the ELCA brandmark; online submission of videos; and original work. Contestants may submit as many videos as they wish, but only one prize per congregation or individual will be awarded.

ELCA News Service