wfn.org | It's Not Easy Being Seen

[PCUSA NEWS <pcusa.news@ecunet.org>]

99254 
6-August-1999 
 
    It's Not Easy Being Seen 
 
    Odyssey Creates Partnership with Hallmark, Henson 
 
    by Bill Lewellis 
    Episcopal Diocese of Bethlehem, Pa. 
 
BETHLEHEM, Pa.-Nearly 10 years ago, more than 10,000 people came to the 
Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York City, for a memorial service to 
honor a great communicator of human values: the voice of Kermit the Frog. 
 
    Through his Muppets, Jim Henson touched the lives of children around 
the world in ways that Sunday School materials and preachers hadn't been 
able to do, said the late Bruno Caliandro who worked with United Methodist 
TV and VISN, an earlier televersion of Odyssey, a religious-oriented cable 
channel founded by the National Interfaith Cable Coalition (NICC). 
 
    "Kermit was the essence of each of us as we live with our fears and 
doubts and explore our hopes and dreams," Caliandro wrote.  "People at the 
Cathedral experienced the power and depth of Jim Henson's medium and 
message as a recording was played of Kermit (Henson's own voice) singing 
"It's Not Easy Being Green." 
 
    Kermit's words about respect for self and others, Caliandro continued, 
had been "heard over and over again, in many languages, by millions upon 
millions of children and adults where they live." 
 
    Jesus Christ went as a teacher and storyteller to the well, the city 
gate, the hillside, the seaside - to reach people where they lived and 
where they met. 
 
    Today?  Where do people meet?  Where else but television do so many 
people go alone to be together?  Using the storytelling and teaching power 
of television to reach people where they live today is the mission of NICC. 
 
    The coalition began with 12 denominations, including the Presbyterian 
Church (U.S.A.).  Today it includes nearly 80 Protestant, Jewish, Catholic, 
Eastern Orthodox, Evangelical and Pentecostal faith groups and traditions. 
 
    Having recognized, however, that it's not easy being seen, NICC 
recently created a new partnership with Hallmark Entertainment and the Jim 
Henson Company.  NICC officials said, "The partnership is an effective way 
to redefine religious television and to make faith both visible and viewed 
on television." 
 
    And the Muppets are back, with all their characters, only on Odyssey, 
which describes its new programming mix as "magical, mystical, spiritual, 
entertaining." 
 
    "Hallmark Hall of Fame," for nearly 50 years, and Jim Henson 
Productions, for nearly 40 years have offered consistently creative and 
moving presentations of faith and values on television. 
 
    Odyssey now has access to exclusive cable airings of both original and 
existing Hallmark and Henson programs. 
 
    A crucial aspect of the partnership will give NICC previously 
unavailable financial resources to develop and enhance its own faith and 
values programming to help Odyssey become a reliable, enriching television 
environment that doesn't exist anywhere else. 
 
    For more information about the Odyssey channel, call toll free 
1-888-390-7474 or visit the Odyssey channel website at 
<www.odysseychannel.com>. 
 
    Persons wanting to receive the Odyssey channel should call their local 
cable company and ask for the Odyssey channel. 

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