Evening star., 1952-04-06
The Week in Religion
By Religious News Service

Religion is proving to be sub
ject of growing appeal over tele-
vision. a survey this week indi-
Gated.
Religious leaders are planning
to expand the number and scope
of their teievision programs. Tele-
vision officials, made aware that
religion can be "box Office" by the
popular response to some new re-
ligious Shows" are casting about
for more religious programs.
Efforts are under way to tele-
wise more religious ceremonies,
special events and regular worship
services. Meanwhile, new ap-
proaches to religious programs
also are being developed.
It was announced this week
that a Protestant communion
service will be televised for the
first time. The service will be tele-
cast over southern New England
from the WHNC-TV studios in
New Haven, Conn.
Climax to Lenten Series.
The program will climax a
weekly Lenten series called Prot
estantS Look at Lent" under the
auspices of the New Haven and
the Connecticut Councils of
Churches. The series, first of a
religious nature to be presented
by the station, is directed by Yale
Divinity School students under the
supervision of the Rev. Everett c.
Parker, lecturer in religious radio
at the school.
In Detroit Station WITTY will
present on April II a continuous
three-hour telecast of one of the
solemn Ire Ore Good Friday serv-
ices sponsored in 10 downtown
theaters by the Detroit Council
of Churches.
More than half dozen stations
in New York City have scheduled
special telecasts this year of Palm
Sunday, Passover, Good Friday
and Easter observances. Similar
programs are planned by other
Nv stations over the country.
Begun BY WPIX.
A program featuring the first
telecasts in TV history of actual
services in churches of the various
faiths is now in it's fifth month.
Begun late in the fall by Station
WPIX, New York, the program
is on the air from II to IL each
Sunday morning. Pickups from
three churches of as many faiths
are televised on each program.
Another recent development is
the Inauguration by two of the
largest TV networks Of a policy
of opening and closing their
days telecasts with programs of
a spiritual nature.
Last Sunday, WNBT, mother"
station of the NBC network, began
opening its Sunday telecasts at
9:15 am. with a new Religious
Chapel series which will feature
clergymen of different faiths each
week. On Monday. WNBT began
opening and closing it's daily pro-
grams with series of five-minute
sermonettes.
Twice Daily Prayer.
WOR-TV, home station of the
Mutual network, has been OPEN
ing and closing each days tele-
casts with a prayer since the first
of the year.
Within the past few weeks sew
eral other religious TV f1rsts have
been registered. On March 20, a
Philadelphia station telecast the
entire three-hour service at which
the Most Rev. Joseph M. McShea
was consecrated auxiliary bishop
of Philadelphia. It was the first
conservation of a Catholic bishop
to be televised.
One Of the most significant
television developments from a
religious standpoint is the wide
spread response to a new pro-
gram, Life Is Worth Living" on
WABD (New York; and other
DuMont network stations, featur-
ing Auxiliary Bishop Fulton j.
Sheen of New York.
First presented on February IL,
the propram was aired on "a