ELCA NEWS SERVICE February 1, 2005 'Grace Matters' New Name For ELCA Radio Ministry 05-014-JB CHICAGO (ELCA) -- On Feb. 13, 2005, the radio ministry for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) will introduce its audience to a new name, "Grace Matters," and welcome a new host, the Rev. Peter W. Marty. Grace Matters replaces "Lutheran Vespers" -- the name for the ELCA's radio ministry since its inception in 1947. Marty is senior pastor at St. Paul Lutheran Church, Davenport, Iowa. He will continue in that role while hosting Grace Matters. Marty succeeds the Rev. Walt Wangerin Jr., who had been the voice of Lutheran Vespers for a decade when he left the role earlier this year. Wangerin, a popular author and speaker, is a faculty member at Valparaiso (Ind.) University. He announced last year he would leave the ELCA radio ministry Jan. 2, 2005, to devote more time to writing and teaching. The Rev. Stephen P. Bouman, bishop of the ELCA Metropolitan New York Synod, is serving as interim speaker through Feb. 6. During the Lenten season listeners won't notice many changes in the program immediately, said Susan V. Greeley, Grace Matters producer and director, ELCA Department for Communication. Marty will offer theological reflections on the text for the first few weeks he is host. After Easter (March 27), Grace Matters will adopt a "magazine" format, which will include an interview in each program, she said. "This type of format allows Peter to bring new voices of faith to the airwaves: ordinary people living extraordinary lives through the grace of God," Greeley said. "Following the interview, Peter will offer a biblically based meditation on the ideas presented by that week's guest. It's a way for the listener to get a peek at how others live out their faith in daily life and maybe come away with some ideas for deepening their own relationships with God." The name "Grace Matters" was developed by a planning group working on the future of the ELCA's radio ministry and the transition to a new host, said the Rev. Eric C. Shafer, director, ELCA Department for Communication. "As Lutherans we continually emphasize that God's grace, God's love for humankind, matters," he said. "As broadcasters we want to talk with the public, Lutheran and non-Lutheran, Christian and non-Christian, about matters of God's love, God's grace. Grace matters." "There is nothing quite like grace," Marty wrote, in a column to appear in the March-April issue of Lutheran Partners, a magazine published by the ELCA for professional lay and ordained ministers. "It's the electricity that keeps believers plugged into God and lighting up the world around them," he wrote. "Anne Lamott's simple reference to grace is as succinct as any I know. 'It meets us where we are but does not leave us where it found us.'" Lamott is a best-selling author. Marty, 46, said the radio ministry will reflect his experiences as a parish pastor. Grace Matters can be heard on some 175 radio stations in the United States, Tanzania, Denmark and Australia. Beginning Feb. 13, the program will air on at least four new stations including KDUZ, Hutchinson, Minn.; WBHP, Madison (Huntsville), Ala.; WLYC, South Williamsport, (Williamsport), Pa.; and WOC, Davenport, Iowa. --- Information about the ELCA's radio ministry -- including downloadable images of Peter Marty and the Grace Matters logotype -- is at http://www.gracematters.org/ on the Web. For information contact: John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask] http://www.elca.org/news