wfn.org | 'Grace Matters' New Name For ELCA Radio Ministry

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ELCA NEWS SERVICE

February 1, 2005

'Grace Matters' New Name For ELCA Radio Ministry
05-014-JB

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- On Feb. 13, 2005, the radio ministry for
the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will introduce
its audience to a new name, "Grace Matters," and welcome a new
host, the Rev. Peter W. Marty.
     Grace Matters replaces "Lutheran Vespers" -- the name for
the ELCA's radio ministry since its inception in 1947.
     Marty is senior pastor at St. Paul Lutheran Church,
Davenport, Iowa.  He will continue in that role while hosting
Grace Matters.	Marty succeeds the Rev. Walt Wangerin Jr., who
had been the voice of Lutheran Vespers for a decade when he left
the role earlier this year.  Wangerin, a popular author and
speaker, is a faculty member at Valparaiso (Ind.) University.  He
announced last year he would leave the ELCA radio ministry Jan.
2, 2005, to devote more time to writing and teaching.
     The Rev. Stephen P. Bouman, bishop of the ELCA Metropolitan
New York Synod, is serving as interim speaker through Feb. 6.
     During the Lenten season listeners won't notice many changes
in the program immediately, said Susan V. Greeley, Grace Matters
producer and director, ELCA Department for Communication.  Marty
will offer theological reflections on the text for the first few
weeks he is host.  After Easter (March 27), Grace Matters will
adopt a "magazine" format, which will include an interview in
each program, she said.
     "This type of format allows Peter to bring new voices of
faith to the airwaves:	ordinary people living extraordinary
lives through the grace of God," Greeley said. "Following the
interview, Peter will offer a biblically based meditation on the
ideas presented by that week's guest.  It's a way for the
listener to get a peek at how others live out their faith in
daily life and maybe come away with some ideas for deepening
their own relationships with God."
     The name "Grace Matters" was developed by a planning group
working on the future of the ELCA's radio ministry and the
transition to a new host, said the Rev. Eric C. Shafer, director,
ELCA Department for Communication.
     "As Lutherans we continually emphasize that God's grace,
God's love for humankind, matters," he said.  "As broadcasters we
want to talk with the public, Lutheran and non-Lutheran,
Christian and non-Christian, about matters of God's love, God's
grace.	Grace matters."
     "There is nothing quite like grace," Marty wrote, in a
column to appear in the March-April issue of Lutheran Partners, a
magazine published by the ELCA for professional lay and ordained
ministers.
     "It's the electricity that keeps believers plugged into God
and lighting up the world around them," he wrote. "Anne Lamott's
simple reference to grace is as succinct as any I know. 'It meets
us where we are but does not leave us where it found us.'"
Lamott is a best-selling author.
     Marty, 46, said the radio ministry will reflect his
experiences as a parish pastor.
     Grace Matters can be heard on some 175 radio stations in the
United States, Tanzania, Denmark and Australia.   Beginning Feb.
13, the program will air on at least four new stations including
KDUZ, Hutchinson, Minn.; WBHP, Madison (Huntsville), Ala.; WLYC,
South Williamsport, (Williamsport), Pa.; and WOC, Davenport,
Iowa.
---
     Information about the ELCA's radio ministry -- including
downloadable images of Peter Marty and the Grace Matters logotype
-- is at http://www.gracematters.org/ on the Web.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news