wfn.org | TV program will show two cities' joint efforts against AIDS

[NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG]

Jan. 4, 2001 News media contact: Linda Green·(615)742-5470·Nashville, Tenn.
10-31-71B{001}

By United Methodist News Service

A television show airing in February will put a face on people living with
AIDS and examine how two cities -- one in South Africa and the other in New
York -- have forged a bond to meet the epidemic.

"From Harlem to Soweto: Black Churches Speak!" will be broadcast Feb. 25 on
the Odyssey Network's new "World of Faith and Values" show. The segment will
be the summary of a live simulcast that took place Dec. 1, on World AIDS
Day, and involved St. Mark United Methodist Church in the Harlem community
and St. Matthew's Anglican Church in Soweto.  

The original simulcast was fed to 30 African countries by African television
on Dec. 1. The February airing will highlight the service and introduce
viewers to common stories of hope and struggles from both continents. The
broadcast also will spotlight the bond that Harlem and South Africa share,
from the days of civil rights and apartheid to the current AIDS crisis. 

Actor Ossie Davis will host the hour-long program. It will air at 2 p.m.
Eastern time Feb. 25, and will be repeated at 9:30 a.m. Feb. 26 and at 2
a.m. Feb. 27. 

"I've called this unique and compelling because this kind of service has
never been done between two churches on two continents, on the issue of
AIDS," said Jeneane Jones, director of television programming for United
Methodist Communications in Nashville, Tenn.  

"It's compelling because the communities being hit hardest by the disease
are the same communities where many churches have historically been
reluctant to embrace the issue and the hurt in the community," she said.
"But that's changing. And this program illustrates the change in song, and
moving testimony and powerful sermons.

"From Harlem to Soweto" will introduce the sister relationship between the
two cities and highlight the celebration in Harlem following the release of
Nelson Mandela from prison. In another segment, people living with AIDS or
HIV in Harlem will be profiled.

Odyssey, owned by Hallmark Entertainment, the Jim Henson Co., Liberty Media
Corp. and subsidiaries of the National Interfaith Cable Coalition (NICC),
reaches almost 30 million households in nearly 1,500 cable systems
nationwide. NICC is a consortium of nearly 70 Jewish and Christian faith
groups, including the United Methodist Church.  

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United Methodist News Service
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