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| Church World Service Featured in Dec. 11 CBS Interfaith Religion Special "After the Storm: Religions Respond to Nature's Fury" |
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NEW YORK – The disaster relief work of Church World Service will be featured in a CBS interfaith religion special, After The Storm: Religions Respond to Nature's Fury, scheduled for broadcast Sunday, December 11 on 83 CBS Television Network stations. (Broadcast dates and times for several cities listed below. Please check local broadcast listings for dates and times of the program in your area) The special reviews the major natural disasters of the past year and focuses on the response of the interfaith community to the Gulf Coast hurricanes here in the USA. It travels to Baton Rouge, La., where a wide range of faith-communities are seen working cooperatively to relieve the suffering and dislocation of so many. Woven throughout the piece is an interview with the Rev. Lura Cayton, one of the Church World Service (CWS) disaster response and recovery liaisons coordinating the agency's response to the Katrina disaster. The victims, many of whom lost family, friends, homes, churches, and businesses in the storm, tell stories of their losses and their efforts to recover. There are stories of pain and heroic sacrifice. Some hurricane survivors also have family suffering in Pakistan because of the devastating earthquake there and must send money to help them. With 60 years experience in domestic and international disaster response, Church World Service (CWS), the global humanitarian relief agency supported by Protestant, Orthodox, and Anglican denominations in the United States, was one of the first agencies to respond to the Gulf Coast disaster. CWS is focusing on long-term recovery, particularly for under-served populations. To identify and serve people whose needs are not being fully met, CWS is working with existing community organizations and is helping to establish new, independent non-profit community organizations whose sole work-during this crisis and beyond-will be to fill the serious disaster related needs of these people in their local communities. The under-served populations identified in a particular community could include the elderly, the disabled, the uninsured, or others needing additional help with housing, medicine, transportation, clothing, rebuilding, or some other social service that has not been provided. The special also profiles the Rev. Darryl Tate and the Rev. Connie Thomas – who are suddenly churchless because of the hurricanes, and who have pitched in to work with the Methodist Disaster Recovery Center in Baton Rouge. In addition, the interfaith special highlights the New Orleans suburb of Henner, where Abdul Rahman Bashir, the Imam of a local mosque, and other Muslims distribute supplies provided by the Islamic Circle of North America. At the same time, the program follows Father Ernest Saik, who has opened St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Baton Rouge to house mothers needing to be near their premature babies being cared for at the Women's Hospital next door. John P. Blessington is the executive producer of the special. Ted Holmes is the producer. It is being produced with the cooperation of the National Council of Churches, The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, The Jewish Theological Seminary and the Southern Baptist Broadcast Communication Group Following is a list of some of the 83 stations airing the broadcast. Check your local listings for broadcast stations, dates and times in your area. New York: WCBS-TV – 12/25 at 1:00 PM |
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