October 28, 2005

CHICAGO – The Rev. Patrick Keen, Bethlehem Lutheran Church, New Orleans, will be part of the first one-hour "New Morning" television program on the Hallmark Channel on Oct. 31. Keen, a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), was interviewed days after Hurricane Katrina scattered his congregation and damaged his church. The program's theme is "Perseverance."

"New Morning" is produced for Faith & Values Media, the United States' largest coalition of Christian and Jewish faith groups dedicated to media production, distribution and promotion. The ELCA is a member of Faith & Values Media, a service of the National Interfaith Cable Coalition, Inc., formed in 1987.

The program aired in a 30-minute format weekdays on the Hallmark Channel since June 3, 2002. Timberly Whitfield continues to host the new one-hour format at 7:00 a.m. Eastern. "New Morning" is a magazine-style television series that is also available at http://FaithStreams.com/ on the Web.

"‘New Morning' is a program about how to get in touch with our spiritual environment and how to explore it further in order to enrich our own journey and to experience a deeper purpose in our life," said Whitfield.

"The show is unique among early morning programs. ‘New Morning' is not about what's going on around us – the weather, the traffic report, shocking news stories – but rather, about what is going on inside ourselves," said Edward J. Murray, president and CEO, Faith & Values Media. "‘New Morning' will continue to affirm the best that's in you, so you can start your day feeling spiritually centered, uplifted, assured and positively challenged," he said.

Keen and his wife, Catherine Keen, are featured in stories by Monica W. Perin in the October 2005 and November 2005 issues of The Lutheran, the magazine of the ELCA. The stories recount the struggles of their congregation, Bethlehem Lutheran Church, immediately after Hurricane Katrina struck and Pastor Keen's work among evacuees in Houston.

The "prayer walkers" of Bethlehem Lutheran Church are featured in the Fall 2005 Mosaic Television program on "Prayer." Tim Frakes, Mosaic Television producer, ELCA Communication Services, interviewed the Keens in June 2005, before Hurricane Katrina flooded New Orleans.

ELCA News Service