December 17, 2010

NEW YORK – A National Council of Churches Christmas Eve special, A Christmas for Everyone, will be broadcast from New York's St. Paul and St. Andrew United Methodist Church on December 24 at 11:35 p.m. (Eastern and Pacific time) on most CBS television stations.

The service of lessons and carols, produced by the National Council of Churches in cooperation with the Interfaith Broadcasting Commission (IBC), will feature scripture readings and carols. Bishop Jeremiah Park, the bishop for the United Methodist-New York Area, and members of the church's diverse congregation will read scripture and holiday selections.

Carols will be sung by children and the congregation, as well as by the St. Paul and St. Andrew's choir accompanied by harp and strings. Music Director Dr. Frank Glass will conduct the choir. Tony Award winner Victoria Clark, an active member of the church, will offer a solo rendition of "O Holy Night."

The 175-year-old Methodist church is known for its openness to the wider community of faiths whenever they have a service or when others need their help. The church houses and provides vital social programs, including an emergency food program, a shelter for homeless women and a tutoring program for neighborhood children.

The special broadcast will open with the church's pastor, Rev. K. Karpen, briefly describing how the church reaches out to the homeless, the poor and the marginalized, as well as to the Jewish and Muslim communities.

Rev. Karpen along with Rabbi Rolando Matalon (Congregation B'nai Jeshurun) and Imam Talib-Rashid (Mosque of the Islamic Brotherhood) will speak about opportunities for people of different faiths to come together in peace and love during the holiday season.

A Christmas for Everyone also expounds upon the Christmas story and examines how it can have meaning for everyone in the 21st century.

Wesley M. "Pat" Pattillo, NCC Associate General Secretary, Justice, Advocacy and Communication, represents the NCC on the Interfaith Broadcasting Commission. Shirley Whipple Struchen is the NCC's Coordinator of Electronic Media Programming. John P. Blessington is Executive Producer for CBS.

Broadcast times may vary and viewers should check with their local CBS stations.

Other holiday broadcasts by the NCC and the Interfaith Broadcasting Commission this year are:

A service of lessons and carols from New York's Trinity Church on ABC Christmas Eve, and

Christmas Angels, slated to air on NBC on Christmas Day.

Additional information about the broadcasts and a complete list of stations carrying the programs can be found at http://www.interfaithbroadcasting.com.

Since its founding in 1950, the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA has been the leading force for ecumenical cooperation among Christians in the United States. The NCC's 37 member faith groups – from a wide spectrum of Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox, Evangelical, historic African American and Living Peace churches – include 45 million persons in more than 100,000 local congregations in communities across the nation.

National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA