wfn.org | CBS religion special to feature United Methodist ministries

["NewsDesk" <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Dec. 12, 2002  News media contact: Kathy Gilbert7(615)742-54707Nashville,
Tenn.	10-21-71B{574}

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - United Methodists will be featured prominently in a
30-minute TV special, "Reaching Out," which will begin airing on CBS
affiliates Sunday, Dec. 15.

Two United Methodist-related ministries will be part of the program, one at a
North Carolina auto racing speedway and the other at a Pennsylvania truck
stop. The first broadcast of the show will be at 7 a.m. Sunday in New York
City. CBS says 106 of its 180 affiliates are scheduled to place the show on
their broadcast schedules. 

The "Faster Pastor" segment, produced by UMTV, based at United Methodist
Communications in Nashville, profiles Methodist Motor Sports, an outreach
ministry of the denomination's Western North Carolina Annual (regional)
Conference. Pastors participate in races and share the gospel message with
auto racing fans, living out Paul's biblical admonition to run the race set
before them.
 
The other United Methodist segment will profile the work of the Rev. Bruce B.
Maxwell, a United Methodist chaplain based at a Breezewood, Pa., truck stop.
The ecumenical Trucker-Traveler Ministry offers prayer, counsel, hospitality
and emergency at three truck stops across the state. United Methodist News
Service news director Linda Green profiled Maxwell in a June 17 story on
www.umns.umc.org.

The nationwide airing will "call attention to this sector of working life -
tens of thousands of people trying to earn a living in an industry that
becomes more a way of life than it is a 9-to-5 paycheck," said Maxwell, who
has been with the effort of the Pennsylvania Council of Churches for 10
years. 

Other segments in the special include profiles of ministries and programs of
Jewish, Catholic and non-denominational groups. 

UMTV, an initiative launched in late April by UMCom, produces stories of
faith for use by the secular news media. The Rev. Larry Hollon, top executive
at the communications agency, said UMTV tells the stories of "people making a
difference and stories about moral and ethical challenges we face as a
culture." UMTV television reports are offered to TV stations and networks via
news feeds, and streamed video is available at the www.umtv.org Web site.
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United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://umns.umc.org