(Toronto, Ontario—December 1, 2016) Each year, the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement co-sponsor the Friars’ Student Writing Award with The Catholic Register, a publication of the Archdiocese of Toronto. Students enrolled in a secondary school or equivalent program within the Canadian province of Ontario between the ages of 14 – 18 are invited to write a five hundred-word essay on this year’s theme for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which will be celebrated January 18-25, 2017.
The Theme for this coming year is “Reconciliation – The love of Christ compels us” (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:14-20). Students read the Scripture passage and then respond to the following statement in their essay:
As the Christian world reflects on the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation (1517-2017) and after reading 2 Corinthians 5:14-20, discuss the main obstacles to Christian reconciliation and ways to overcome them based on your own experiences.
Winning essays will be edited then published in The Catholic Register. Deadline for entries is January 13, 2017. First prize is an iPad Air 2 (64 GB), second prize is a Kobo Aura H2O, and third to sixth prizes are a one-year subscription to The Catholic Register and other prizes.
Completed essays can be emailed to editor@catholicregister.org or faxed to
416-934-3409. All entries must include the student’s full name, email address, phone number, and the name of their school on the front page of the essay. For further information call 416-934-3400, ext. 344 or 416-934-3410, ext. 403 or 1-855-441-4077.