Geez Magazine
EditorLydia Wylie-Kellerman
Categoriesreligious, social justice activism
FrequencyQuarterly
First issueFall 2005
CompanyGeez Press Inc.
CountryUnited States of America
Based inDetroit, Michigan
LanguageEnglish
Websitewww.geezmagazine.org

Geez is an independent quarterly magazine dealing with issues of spirituality, social justice, religion, and progressive cultural politics. The byline of Geez was "holy mischief in an age of fast faith".[1][2] In 2015 the byline was changed to "contemplative cultural resistance".[3] Geez is based in Detroit and distributes in Canada, the U.S and abroad.[4]

Geez was founded in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 2005 by Aiden Enns and Will Braun. Geez looks at religion, spirituality, and politics through the eyes of its readers. Geez is known for its pointed illustrations,[5] graphics and unique combination of satire, critique, social consciousness, and quirkiness.[6] The magazine says it's for "people at the fringes of faith".[7]

History

The founder of Geez magazine, Aiden Enns, originally had the idea of the magazine in 2003 while he was working as managing editor at Adbusters in Vancouver.[8] Enns then moved to Winnipeg and recruited writer and activist Will Braun who came on board as co-editor and co-publisher.[8] The graphic design for the magazine is done by Darryl Brown.[9] Geez has hosted annual sermon contests.[9]

Aiden Enns founded the Buy Nothing Christmas movement.[10][11] He has encouraged participation in the anti-consumerist movement throughout his career at Geez.[12][13][14]

The first issue of Geez was published in Fall 2005 with an initial 500 paying subscribers and no advertising revenue. In the first year, the number of subscribers climbed to 2,000.

In 2009, Geez moved its hub from Enns' home to a community-minded church in Winnipeg's inner-city (Knox United Church).

In 2010, Aiden Enns did an interview on CKUT-FM discussing Geez.[15][16]

In 2010, Geez celebrated its 5th anniversary. At the time, Darin Barney, the Canadian Research Chair in Technology and Citizenship said, Geez is one of the "smartest kind of progressive, critical, lefty magazines."[17]

In 2012, Geez sponsored an Earth Day tent revival service with Charleswood Mennonite Church.[11]

From the beginning, the aim of Geez was to "put the 'geez' into Jesus."[18] A religious magazine for a new generation of Christians and post-Christians, the up-and-coming magazine wanted a short, provocative name that risked offending more conservative readers. Some consider the name blasphemous because it is an expletive derived from the name of Jesus.[19]

In 2019, Geez relocated to Detroit, Michigan.[20][21][22] Aiden Enns stepped down from his position as the editor and Lydia Wylie-Kellermann filled the role.[23]

Awards

Awards and nominations for Geez
Year Ceremony Category Result Ref.
2007 Canada's Western Magazine Awards Magazine of the Year Award Won [17][6]
2008 Canadian Church Press General Excellence Won [24]
2009 Canadian Church Press A.C Forrest Memorial Award Won [25]
UNTE Independent Press Awards Best Spiritual Coverage Won [17][26]
2010 Associated Church Press Best in Class Won
2011 Canadian Church Press Service Journalism Won [27]
2013 Canadian Church Press Best poetry Won [28]
Original illustration Won
Layout and design of an issue Won
Photography Won
2020 Associated Church Press Award of Merit for Best in Class for National/International Magazine Won [29][30]
Award of Excellence for theme issue (Geez 54: Climate Justice) Won
Award of Excellence for interview (with Siwatu-Salama Ra in Geez 53: Mothering) Won
Award of Merit for personal experience (article by Lucia Wylie-Eggert in Geez 53: Mothering) Won
Honourable Mention for editorial (by Lydia Wylie-Kellermann in Geez 54: Climate Justice) Won
Honourable Mention for letters to the editor Won
Honourable mention for photography (in Geez 54: Climate Justice) Won
Honourable Mention for podcast/audio series (Geez Out Loud) Won

Regular sections

In addition to a large feature section, Geez has several different sections: Culturosities (arts and culture), Experiments, Civil Disobedience, Reviews, Feministry, updates from Christian Peacemaker Teams, the Catholic Worker Movement, and highlights from the LGBTQ community.

Media reports and comments

In 2006, Mary Hynes from CBC Radio Tapestry did a feature interview with Aiden Enns and Will Braun.

In July 2007, the National Post called the presentation of the magazine "intriguing".[31]

Geez is a "unique combination of satire, critique, social consciousness, and just plain quirkiness," Brenda Suderman, August 2007, the Winnipeg Free Press.[6]

"Restless questioning gives the magazine its edgy tone," Caley Moore, November 2007, the United Church Observer.[32]

"In each quarterly issue of Geez, people of faith are invited to challenge structures of power and embody joyful alternatives," Christina Crook, January 2008, BC Christian News.[33]

The magazine is an "exasperated exclamation derived from Jesus' name that some Christians consider to be blasphemous," Julia Duin, July 2009, The Washington Times.[19]

In 2010, Michael Enright from The Sunday Edition interviewed Aiden Enns.[34]

"Readers were so in love with the cheeky, contrarian 'post-Christian' quarterly that many were paying more than the annual $35 subscription to ensure its survival," Leslie Scrivener, January 2011, the Toronto Star.[17]

"It pokes, piques and prods Christians, and the unconverted among its readers to lie out the revolutionary values of Jesus in a consumer-driven, post-modern, materialist world," Nancy Haught, The Portland Oregonian, April 2006.[35]

"A stylish magazine in the tradition of Adbusters and Mother Jones . . . a surprisingly hip, bold take on Christianity," Gloria Kim, Maclean's, January 2005.[18]

"The magazine tries to ask questions that we normally don't ask . . . They take the work they're doing seriously. But they don't take themselves all that seriously," Bill Phipps, as quoted in United Church Observer, November 2007.[32]

Geez pushes "the edge of respectability in a subversive, ecological, visionary way," Douglas Todd, Vancouver Sun, March 2007.[5]

"Shows no signs of disappearing," Lauren Parsons, The Uniter, December 2010.[36]

"Geez is very good at opening minds to creative ways of seeing the world and pursuing social justice," Samantha Rideout, January 2011, United Church Observer.[37]

References

  1. ↑ Sines, Tom (January 8, 2008). Joining the Anabaptist Conspirators -- Activists Found in Four Streams: Emerging, Missional, Mosaic, Monastic. Vol. 11. Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary Library. Elkhart, IN: Mennonite Church USA. Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary. p. 343. mennonite200811unse. One of the most creative contributions from young Anabaptists in North America was the launching of Geez magazine in Winnipeg Manitoba. The byline on the cover of Geez reads, "holy mischief in an age of fast faith" (www.geezmagazine.org).
  2. ↑ "Holy Mischief in an Age of Fast Faith". Geez Magazine. 2006. Archived from the original on October 19, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. ↑ "Contemplative Cultural Resistance". Geez Magazine. 2014. Archived from the original on December 27, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
  4. ↑ London, Sarah (February 25, 2021). "From One Vibrant City to Another". The Uniter: Winnipeg's Weekly Journal. University of Winnipeg. Archived from the original on February 27, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  5. 1 2 Douglas, Todd (March 31, 2007). "Blowing Open the Cliches of Evangelical Christians". Vancouver Sun. Canada.com. Archived from the original on June 28, 2013. Retrieved May 28, 2013.
  6. 1 2 3 Suderman, Brenda (August 2007). "City Pair's Feisty Publication Nabs 3 Secular Awards". Winnipeg Free Press. Geez Magazine. Archived from the original on October 31, 2013. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  7. ↑ Marowski, Steve (May 14, 2020). "Faith Groups Call on Clergy, Elected Officials to Condemn Protests in Lansing". MLive.com. Advance Publications. Archived from the original on May 15, 2020. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  8. 1 2 Sammons, Scott (June 4, 2007). "Interview With Will Braun of Geez Magazine". The Other Journal. The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology. Archived from the original on August 28, 2012. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  9. 1 2 Haught, Nancy (May 14, 2013). "Geez Magazine Opens Up the People's Pulpit". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on January 4, 2022. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  10. ↑ Sorensen, Chris (January 28, 2016). "Have We Hit 'Peak Stuff?' Ikea Says There's Röom to Grow". Maclean's. St. Joseph Communications. Archived from the original on January 28, 2016. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  11. 1 2 Suderman, Brenda (April 21, 2012). "Consumption Sabbath: Winnipeg Christians Hit the Streets to Defend the Environment". Winnipeg Free Press. FP Canadian Newspapers. Archived from the original on May 3, 2012. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  12. ↑ "5 Shopping Challenges to Consider This Holiday Season". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. December 6, 2012. Archived from the original on December 23, 2014. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Buy Nothing Day 2014: Black Friday Anti-Consumerism Backlash Facts and History". International Business Times. IBT Media. November 23, 2015. Archived from the original on December 1, 2014. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  14. ↑ Salo, Jackie (November 26, 2015). "What is Buy Nothing Day 2015? Facts About the Black Friday Anti-Consumerism Protest". International Business Times. IBT Media. Archived from the original on November 28, 2015. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  15. ↑ Robin Lutjohann, The Big Idea - Interview with Aiden Enns, part 1, retrieved 2022-01-04
  16. ↑ Robin Lutjohann, The Big Idea - Interview with Aiden Enns, part 2, retrieved 2022-01-04
  17. 1 2 3 4 Scrivener, Leslie (January 7, 2011). "A Faith Magazine for 'The Un-Churchable'". Toronto Star. Toronto Star Newspapers. Archived from the original on November 3, 2013. Retrieved June 20, 2013.
  18. 1 2 Kim, Gloria (January 9, 2006). "Jesus is Our Homey". Maclean's. St. Joseph Communications. Archived from the original on June 24, 2013. Retrieved June 20, 2013.
  19. 1 2 Duin, Julia (July 5, 2009). "Magazine Takes Soft-Sell Approach". The Washington Times. Operations Holdings. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved June 20, 2013.
  20. ↑ Klassen-Wiebe, Nicolien (February 13, 2019). "Geez Magazine Moves Offices From Winnipeg to Detroit". Canadian Mennonite Magazine. Archived from the original on March 29, 2019. Retrieved March 29, 2019.
  21. ↑ Witsil, Frank (February 9, 2019). "Canadian Magazine Turns to Detroit, Millennial Women to Help Save It". Detroit Free Press. Gannett. Archived from the original on February 9, 2019. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  22. ↑ Longhurst, John (January 26, 2019). "Founder Glad Magazine in Good Hands: Geez Moving to Detroit This Year, but New Boss Vows to Honour Its Roots". Winnipeg Free Press. FP Canadian Newspapers. Archived from the original on September 18, 2020. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  23. ↑ Frank, Annalise (February 4, 2019). "Canadian activist magazine moves to Detroit". Crain's Detroit Business. Crain Communications. Archived from the original on January 4, 2022. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  24. ↑ Ward, Stephen J.; Todd, Doug (2008). "2008 Award Winners". Canadian Church Press. Archived from the original on February 14, 2009. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  25. ↑ Braun, Will (2007). "Can I Get an 'Amen'? Mega-Sermons in a Hurting World". Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. The Christian Post. Archived from the original on September 26, 2020. Retrieved June 20, 2013.
  26. ↑ Enns, Aiden (May 19, 2009). "Geez Blushes From Gush of Awards". Geez Magazine. Archived from the original on January 31, 2016. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
  27. ↑ Barber, Rachel (May 18, 2011). "Aw Shucks Geez". Geez Magazine. Archived from the original on November 28, 2011. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
  28. ↑ Dorrell, Kathryn (2012). "Category: General Excellence – Magazine". Canadian Church Press. Archived from the original on September 15, 2013. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
  29. ↑ "2020 Best of the Church Press Awards" (PDF). Associated Church Press. April 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 18, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  30. ↑ "Overall Excellence / Best in Class" (PDF). Associated Church Press. April 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 18, 2021. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  31. ↑ Haim, Emmanuelle (July 14, 2007). "Take Five: Handel -- IL Trionfo Del Tempo E Del Disinganno" [Take Five: Handel -- the Triumph of Time and Disillusionment]. Canada.com (in Spanish). National Post. Archived from the original on December 8, 2009. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  32. 1 2 Moore, Caley (November 2007). "Holy Mischief". Geez Magazine. United Church Observer. Archived from the original on June 18, 2015. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
  33. ↑ Crook, Christina (January 2008). "Geez: Culture Jamming, Just Like Jesus". Geez Magazine. BC Christian News. Archived from the original on June 18, 2015. Retrieved June 21, 2013.
  34. ↑ Enright, Michael (February 2011). "Geez on CBC, the Sunday Edition With Michael Enright". Geez Magazine. The Sunday Edition. Archived from the original on September 28, 2020. Retrieved January 4, 2022.
  35. ↑ Haught, Nancy (April 2006). "Ethics and Values / Faith Journal Spreads 'Holy Mischief'". Geez Magazine. The Oregonian. Archived from the original on August 23, 2011. Retrieved June 23, 2013.
  36. ↑ Parsons, Lauren (November 25, 2010). "On the same page". The Uniter: Winnipeg's Weekly Journal. University of Winnipeg. Archived from the original on November 27, 2010. Retrieved June 23, 2013.
  37. ↑ Rideout, Samantha (January 2011). "Christian Magazine Introduces New Ways of Seeing the World and Pursuing Social Justice". United Church Observer. Observer Publications. Archived from the original on June 24, 2013. Retrieved June 23, 2013.
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