Spreading The Word Via Cable TV

By Shannon Hicks

Elizabeth Ricci was looking at a control panel within a television studio, trying to decide which button to push, which knob to turn, and what exactly she wanted to appear on the small screen in front of her.

That was January 21, and Mrs Ricci was working in the community access booth at Charter Communications in Sandy Hook, along with a few fellow members of Church Women United (CWU). Two local chapters of the ecumenical group have worked together to produce a cable television special about Church Women United and one of its worship services. Following training, filming, and final editing, that program is about to debut on cable television.

Church Women United in Connecticut Presents World Day of Prayer 2006 is an educational program about World Day of Prayer, which will be held this year on Friday, March 3. It will also offer information about the Christian women’s movement Church Women United (CWU), which was founded in 1941 and currently represents more than 25 million Protestant, Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and other Christian women.

Church Women United in Connecticut Presents World Day of Prayer 2006 will debut on Charter Communications’ local access station, CommuniTyVision 21 (channel 21) on Tuesday, February 14, at 9 pm. The program will also air on Channel 21 on Saturday, February 18, at 4:30 pm; Tuesday, February 21, at 9 pm; and Saturday, February 25, at 4:30 pm.

World Day of Prayer (WDP) is a worldwide movement of Christian women of many traditions who come together on the first Friday in March to observe a common day of prayer each year. WDP is one of three services local chapters present annually.

Mrs Ricci is a member of CWU/Danbury. The Danbury and Newtown-Bethel chapters have worked together in presenting CWU services, most recently the annual World Community Day in November 2005.

Newtown resident Mark Ingram was the guest speaker during that service a few months ago. Mr Ingram, who is the local access coordinator for CommuniTyVision 21 (the local access channel for Charter Communications), suggested using community access to share their celebrations and offer education about the organization.

“Last fall Darlene Jackson, the president of CWU/Newtown-Bethel, and I were preparing for our joint units’ presentation of World Community Day,” Mrs Ricci explained recently. “The suggestion in the leader’s guide [to help plan the service] was to look into media. In the course of discussing who our guest speaker would be for World Community Day, we both named Mark Ingram of CommuniTyVision 21.

“We asked him to be our guest speaker and he agreed, and the rest is history,” Mrs Ricci said.

Mr Ingram’s presentation included the suggestion that CWU try using its local cable company’s community access station to share its celebrations, and thereby reach a larger audience. That suggestion sparked something in Mrs Ricci, whose enthusiasm was echoed by members of the Danbury and Newtown-Bethel groups.

“Since World Day of Prayer is the first celebration of 2006, we thought it would be a good idea to have an educational video on this celebration,” Mrs Ricci said.

While this was the first time most of the CWU members had taken a training course on what goes into preparing a program for local access, the training in mid-January served as a refresher for Mrs Ricci. Four years ago she went through the training, and produced a program highlighting a New Fairfield resident before putting her producing aspirations aside for a while.

Training and filming for the CWU program “went well,” said Mrs Ricci.

Dave King, one of Charter’s local access coordinators, agreed.

“They’re quick learners,” Mr King said the morning the CWU ladies were taping their show. “They did their training yesterday, and they’re finishing the taping now… they’re in good shape. Everyone’s doing very well.

“I’m just here,” he continued, “to back them up in case something goes wrong. But nothing has happened.”

The program will be narrated by Jeane Eddy. Ms Eddy is a Newtown resident whose voice is familiar to anyone who listens regularly to WMNR; Ms Eddy has a regular program that airs on the public radio station each Friday morning from 10 am until noon.

Ms Eddy’s guest was Liz Calvin, who is the World Day of Prayer USA executive coordinator.

In addition to telling viewers what World Day of Prayer services include, Ms Eddy and Ms Calvin discussed the beginnings of WDP, how the services are supported financially, and who benefits from the funds collected through offerings at the services, how women around the world participate in WDP, and who is on The World Day of Prayer Committee.

The two women also discussed the theme for this year’s service, which is called “Signs of the Times.” They talked about the decision by WDP South Africa to focus on HIV and AIDS, related resources that are available, how WDP and CWU are related, and how women’s groups can learn more about WDP.

Amanda Cochran, an intern at CommuniTyVision 21, served as the program’s director. Camerapersons were Cynthia Johnson and Haley Firmender. Joan Gourley was the audio technician, with assistance from Miss Firmender.

(Church Women United in Connecticut Presents World Day of Prayer 2006 will debut on Charter Communications on Tuesday, February 14, at 9 pm.. It will be presented on CommuniTyVision, the local access station on Channel 21. CWU’s World Day of Prayer will be celebrated in Newtown at Newtown Congregational Church on Friday, March 3. The service will begin at 1 pm, and will be presented by members of CWU/Newtown-Bethel. All are welcome. Call 426-9024 for additional information.)