wfn.org | Re: United Methodist Daily News note 21

[owner-umethnews@ecunet.org]

"UNITED METHODIST DAILY NEWS 97" by SUSAN PEEK on April 15, 1997 at 14:24
Eastern, about DAILY NEWS RELEASES FROM UNITED METHODIST NEWS SERVICE (211
notes).

Note 211 by SUSAN PEEK on July 11, 1997 at 16:49 Eastern (3680 characters).

CONTACT: Linda Bloom (Release # 399) {211}   New York (212) 870-3803          
         July 11, 1997

Pastor's messages on life
target radio listeners

        
A UMNS News Feature
        by Linda Bloom*

        It's drive time.
        You've just heard about last night's apartment fire in Brooklyn, the
expected snarlup when Clinton visits the United Nations later today and a
commercial for a copy machine when a quieter, less hurried voice asks:
        "When was the last time you were asked to do something great?"
        The question is part of a minute-long observation on life which ends
with the tagline, "This is Stephen Bauman of Christ Church, New York City."
        Bauman -- senior pastor of the United Methodist church at 60th Street
and Park Avenue in Manhattan -- has been airing his paid radio commentaries
since September, 1996. They evolved from a conversation with a parishioner
"who thought it would be a good idea to have a message which had a wider
audience," he says.
        The congregation agreed and Bauman, who has served there 10 years,
went to work creating messages about civility, values and meaning.
        "Most of them aren't explicitly religious," he explains. "(But) They
all flow out of the faithful rendering of the Christian tradition."
        Nor were the spots intended to serve as advertising for the church.
"You probably could call it an awareness campaign, but it's driven by the
message itself, not the institution," Bauman adds.
        Those messages often use real-life incidents -- a traffic-related
murder, a dinner conversation, a wait for the subway train -- to introduce
short reflections on the deeper aspects of life and human nature.
        Humor can be an ingredient, too. "One of the very first lessons my
mother taught me, shortly after I mastered toilet training, was under no
circumstances was I ever, ever, to spit on anybody, including my two older
brothers," one commentary begins.
        Bauman then observes that spitting on the sidewalks seems to be part
of the New York culture and registers his surprise the day an ill-timed wind
blew the spit of a well-dressed man on Park Avenue all over him.
        "Let's all agree on a rule here, no spitting," he concludes.
        The words, "United Methodist," are never mentioned in the messages --
due, he says, to both the "relentless economy of language" required and the
fact that he is trying to promote a broader message, not an affiliation. "The
denomination has its payoff when we do our job well," Bauman declares.
        Although success is hard to quantify, both the radio stations involved
and pastor himself have had response from listeners. One letter, written last
November, came from "not a particularly religious person" who had been
listening to the spots on WCBS and noted that never before "has a commercial
driven me to honestly think of the person I am.
        "Additionally, I appreciate the obvious lack of recruiting for, or
'preaching' to, your organization," Christopher Carr wrote. "I simply can't
imagine anyone, regardless of belief or existing faith, that will not benefit
from your words."
        In recent months, Bauman has written five messages a week, which air
every several times a day on weekdays, with repeats on Saturday, now on WOR.
        After the current series ends in mid-July, Bauman and his congregation
will evaluate whether to continue the radio spots in the fall.
        Although he believes the congregation is willing to foot the bill,
Bauman said he would like to find a way to convince media outlets that
messages with meaning could be a worthwhile part of their regular programming.
# # #

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