wfn.org | Disciples of Christ tv spot airs on Odyssey Network

[wshuffit@oc.disciples.org]

Date: March 14, 2001
Disciples News Service
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Contact: Clifford L. Willis
E-mail: CWillis@oc.disciples.org
on the Web: http://www.disciples.org

01b-19

by William C. Winslow
 
	NEW YORK CITY -- His gaze is riveting, but you'd expect that
from the man who sparked a religious movement. "In 1829, a young
preacher named Alexander Campbell was challenged by a skeptic to
prove his faith in a public debate," begins the voice-over for a
new identity spot on Odyssey Network for the Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ). The visuals recreate the historical
Campbell and are taken from a Disciples film, "Wrestling with
God," a dramatized episode in the life of the church's founder.
 
	The spot is part of a national identity project by Faith &
Values Media called "Discover Our Family of Faiths PSA Campaign"
to showcase America's Jewish and Christian faith groups to a
mass audience. Faith & Values Media produces television
programming on Odyssey for its 29 faith group members, of which
the Disciples is one.

	"People came from miles around," continues the narration of the
30-second spot. "Campbell challenged them to move beyond the
creeds that divide them, to find unity in Christ. Today in the
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the unity of all people
is affirmed every day in every place."
 	
	Curt Miller, executive director of the Disciples' Office of
Communication, is pleased with what he calls the spot's
modern-day message. "I think that faith with reason, diversity,
Christian unity and a lack of ‘top-down' doctrine and structure
are as fresh today as they were as the Stone-Campbell movement
spread across the American frontier," he notes. "The Odyssey
spot delivers that message."
 
	This new 30-second TV spot is now available to all Disciples
congregations for airing on their local channels.  According to
the Rev. Theodore J. Nottingham, director of production, a tag
can be added to the end of the commercial with a congregation's
name, address, and phone number.  Contact the Office of
Communication for further information.

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