ELCA NEWS SERVICE

June 15, 2005

ELCA Pastor Featured In June 19 CBS-TV Special
05-104-JB

     CHICAGO (ELCA) - The Rev. Heidi B. Neumark, pastor of
Trinity Lutheran Church, an Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America (ELCA) congregation in New York, is among several church
leaders who will appear in the "Sacred Spaces: More than Steel
and Stone." CBS-TV stations will broadcast the program June 19 as
part of the network's "Religion and Culture" series.
     "Sacred Spaces" is an interfaith special about places of
worship, according to a news release from CBS-TV.  The 30-minute
program is to be broadcast at 8 a.m. Eastern Time, 5 a.m. Pacific
Time.
     The program examines how churches, temples and mosques are
used for rituals, and it explores what makes a worship space
become a sacred space, the release said.  "Sacred Spaces"
includes visits to various worship sites across the United States
and conversations with clergy, professors, historians and a
liturgical designer.  The program highlights scenes from "mega"
Protestant churches, the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in
Los Angeles, and Temple B'nai Jeshurun, Temple Israel and the
Islamic Cultural Center's Mosque, all in the New York area.
     "What struck me most particularly was the need for a public
witness that the church is a community with generous space for
those who are pushed to the edges in other places," Neumark told
the ELCA News Service. "Here in Manhattan, space is at a premium.
The poor and the undocumented are the first who find themselves
unable to afford space. I wanted to present the church as a place
where the reverse is true, where, when it comes to space, the
last shall be first."
     "I also wanted to bear witness to the work of justice and
social change," she added.
     Other people featured in the program are Judith Dupre,
author of "Churches," who gives a perspective on Christian sacred
spaces; the Rev. Richard Vosko, a liturgical designer; Jerrilyn
Dodds, professor of Architectural History and Theory, City
College of New York and author of "New York Masjid: Mosques of
New York"; and Rabbi Lawrence Hoffman, Hebrew Union College, who
presents the history and meanings at the center of various Jewish
rituals.
     John P. Blessington is the executive producer of the CBS-TV
special; Liz Kineke is the producer.  The program was produced in
cooperation with the Interfaith Broadcasting Commission, which
includes the National Council of Churches U.S.A., United States
Conference of Catholic Bishops, The Jewish Theological Seminary
and the Southern Baptist Broadcast Communication Group.
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     Information about the Interfaith Broadcasting Commission and
CBS-TV's Religion and Culture series is at
http://www.interfaithbroadcasting.com on the Web.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
http://www.elca.org/news