Old South Church announces Christiansen and Duane Day Awards recipients

The Christiansen Award is given annually to an organization that has done extraordinary work of mercy and justice in the past year. This award was created in memory of Bob Christiansen, a beloved Old South Church minister who is memorialized most visibly by the Christiansen Cross, the large cross hanging in our sanctuary. This year's recipient of the Christiansen Award is Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition. In a year when foreign-born people are mistrusted and mistreated, the work of the MIRA Coalition stands as a beacon of hope and decency.

The Duane Day Award honors the legacy of a longtime member of Old South Church who was passionate about "helping people help themselves". This award is given annually to an organization that embodies that ethos. This year the enormous scope and impact of sexual harassment and sexual assault has become more well known. This year's recipient of the Duane Day Award is Impact Boston, which offers self-defense training that delves deep into understanding what to do in unsafe and potentially abusive situations in the workplace, school, intimate relationships, and public places.