CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Patrick Keen, Bethlehem
Lutheran Church, New Orleans, will deliver sermons on June
15 and 22 for the radio program "Day 1." He will preach
on the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA)
response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, as well as on
violent crime in the United States.
Each "Day 1" program will include one of Keen's
sermons, as well as an interview with the Rev. Peter
Wallace, the show's executive producer and host. Keen
will draw from his experiences with the hurricanes and
his church's involvement in serving as a hospitality
center for relief workers.
Keen's first sermon, "A Great Time to Be the Church,"
deals with hurricane response. "The church continues to
manifest itself as the body of Christ, almost three years
after that ravaging flood turned the lives of hundreds of
thousands of people upside down," he said. "The church is
at last manifesting itself as 'the church triumphant.'"
The second message, "A Bad Case of the I-Can't-Help-It,"
will focus on violent crime in the United States. "I, like
the prophet Jeremiah, am living in a generation where there
is destruction and violence all around, and it seems that
those who could do something about it, and should do something
and are empowered to do something, seem to want to do
nothing," Keen said.
Keen was the first director of Chicago's Habitat for
Humanity program. He currently works as an ELCA
pastor/developer, and also serves as a community developer
and grassroots organizer.
"Day 1" is produced by the Alliance for Christian Media
in association with the ELCA, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship,
the Episcopal Church, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the
United Church of Christ and the United Methodist Church.
Wallace has worked as executive producer of the program
since 2001 and as on-air host since 2005.
*Luke Tatge is a senior journalism major at Augustana College,
Sioux Falls, S.D. This summer he is an intern with the ELCA
News Service.
-- -- --
"Day 1" is available as a podcast at http://www.Day1.net on the Web.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news
ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog
- - -
About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
