Press Release from the National Council of Churches USA
Cleveland, Ohio, March 21, 2007 – "Joy Dawned Again," an Easter TV special, will air on many ABC-TV stations on or near Easter Sunday, April 8.
(Note: The program will air here in Portland on KATU at 5 am - for other listings around the country click here.)
The hour-long special, produced for the National Council of Churches USA (NCC) by the United Church of Christ (UCC), was filmed on March 3 at Dover Congregational UCC in Westlake, Ohio. It included a diverse congregation comprised of Dover UCC members and others from across the UCC's Western Reserve Association.
About 200 people, including a 35-member choir, took part in the filming, an experience described by many as transforming.
"Everyone just belted out the singing and the responses," said Jean Robinson, UCC video producer. "I've never had the experience of being in a church where everyone did that."
Religious documentaries and specials air on the three major TV networks under an arrangement with the Interfaith Broadcasting Commission (IBC) of which the NCC is a founding member.
"The whole experience actually worked as worship, and we did it all in one take," said the Rev. Cliff Aerie, the UCC's minister for special events, creativity and the arts. "People really did have a worshipful experience."
The UCC's worship special focuses on a picturesque UCC congregation as it gathers on Easter Sunday morning. Before long, the worshipers experience the power of the resurrection in unexpected ways as current reality intersects with the ancient narrative.
Seven years ago, the UCC produced a similar Easter morning special that aired on about 90 percent of ABC-TV stations, says the Rev. Robert Chase, the UCC's communications director and chair of the NCC's communication commission.
Click here for the full press release.
