Christmas Eve CBS special to spotlight ELCA congregation

CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Hope Lutheran Church in Reading, Pa., will be
featured in “One Christmas Story: People Rich in Spirit” -- a national
CBS television special to air Dec. 24 at 11:35 p.m. (EST). Hope is a
congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
Produced by Odyssey Networks, a multi-faith coalition based in New
York, the Christmas special is one hour, commercial free. Filmed at Hope
Lutheran Church, the special features the congregation’s choir, along
with other choral groups from Reading.
“We hope we’ll be able to show the world that we are full of faith,
and we are a place of hope” in Reading, according to the Rev. Mary Wolfe,
pastor of Hope.
“There is so much richness here, and the folks here are so rich in
spirit,” said Wolfe, adding that the special will show “to the whole
world how much (members of Hope) have to offer, and how much there is
still to celebrate in (Reading), the people here and their faith.”
According to U.S. Census data, Reading is one of the poorest cities
in the United States. “Our members are from the neighborhood and are
living below the poverty line,” said Wolfe. “A lot of members are
unemployed or employed part-time,” she said. “Hope has a number of
ministries dedicated to helping those in need.”
The ELCA Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod, St. John Lutheran Church
and Holy Spirit Lutheran Church, both in Reading, the ethnic-specific and
multicultural ministries of the ELCA churchwide organization and others
are supporters of the program.