If The Prayer Channel is a part of your steady TV diet, then you must tune in to the station this weekend.

The Prayer Channel will be broadcasting its 2007 Telethon on Saturday and Sunday, April 21-22, from 5 to 10 p.m. It’s an ambitious live production from its studios in Park Slope.

This year’s telethon will be a tribute to our diocesan and auxiliary bishops, with an emphasis on the new pastoral ministries they have been assigned. Three of them recently were appointed as parish pastors, which is in addition to their diocesan-wide duties. Bishop Frank Caggiano has assumed the position of Vicar General.

Throughout the weekend, each of the bishops is scheduled to either stop by the studio and appear live or to appear via a taped message. Viewers will be able to call in and speak with the bishops or ask them a question.

Bishop Octavio Cisneros is scheduled to be live on Saturday at 7 p.m. Bishop Guy Sansaricq’s taped remarks will be seen in the 5 p.m. hour and Bishop Caggiano’s recorded message will be at 9 p.m.

On Sunday, Bishop Ignatius A. Catanello will be live at 5 p.m. with retired Bishop Thomas V. Daily in the studio from 7 to 9 p.m.

Taped messages from Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio will be shown on both days.
One of the highlights of the past season for The Prayer Channel was the live telecast of the episcopal ordinations of our three new auxiliary bishops. That was no easy assignment. Our Lady of Angels Church in Bay Ridge had to be completely wired for sound and lit for television cameras. Scaffolding was brought in to provide platforms for the proper camera angles. And a special truck had to be rented to enable the station to beam its signal from the church back to its antenna in Park Slope.

It costs a lot of money but the result was worth it. The liturgy was conducted in a flawless manner. The logistics went smoothly, with almost 50 visiting bishops and dignitaries in attendance. People came and went without ever noticing all the folks working behind the scenes to make the ceremony available to everyone sitting in front of cable television. There even was an encore presentation later in the day.

The diocese got its first look at its new spiritual leaders via television.

Bishop DiMarzio makes good use of the television station all year long. He tapes a weekly message that appears numerous times during any given week. He also makes himself available to the various shows which are produced by The Prayer Channel staff. For instance, during Easter week, he invited the cameras into his Clinton Hill home for an up-close look at how he prepares his own holiday lasagna.

In addition to live and taped daily Masses from St. James Cathedral-Basilica and St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the station also allows viewers to pray the Rosary along with Bishop DiMarzio each evening at 9:30 p.m.

The production of this year’s telethon will be under the guidance of Robert Ruggiero, an assistant manager of the station. This after an 11-year run by Chris Quinn who will be kept busy by new duties over the two-day marathon.

Ruggiero says that for the past three weeks, camera crews have been taping performances by some of the more prolific choirs in Brooklyn and Queens for showing during the telethon. Scheduled to appear on Saturday are the Foundation for Filipino Artists Junior Randalla of Brooklyn, the Hispanic Teen Life group, the Polish Apostolate choir, magician Josh Rand, and the St. Francis Prep Chamber Orchestra. On Sunday, you’ll get to see and hear from the choirs of the Lithuanian, Brazilian and Filipino diocesan apostolates, Father Charles and Laurie Mangano and the St. Francis Prep Chamber Choir, and you’ll be treated to the magic of Father Jerry Jecewiz.

On-air hosts for the event will be Msgr. Michael Dempsey, the executive director of Pastoral Communications which oversees the Prayer Channel; Jon Kelley, Rose Terranova and Nicole Fiore, all on-air personalities from the station. Various diocesan officials will be dropping by to offer words of appreciation and encouragement to The Prayer Channel for the way it fulfills its role as “Media in Service of the Gospel.”

The Prayer Channel has been on the air for 19 seasons and we at The Tablet are proud of our 18 years of collaboration with the station in the production of Tablet Week in Review, our weekly news magazine show.

Just as many changes have taken place in our show, many changes also have taken place at The Prayer Channel since its inception. There are more in-house productions, like the Ask the Doctor, Ask the Lawyer and New York Woman shows.

Many of the shows are now interactive allowing callers to interact with studio guests. The viewing audience has expanded into Manhattan and Staten Island. And hopefully people in Brooklyn and Queens are understanding more and more each day what it means to be a Catholic in our present society. All shows also stream live on The Prayer Channel’s website.

The Prayer Channel would like to improve itself even more during the course of the next year. But it will cost real dollars. Which is where you and I come in. Be sure to tune in and support our diocesan television station this weekend. There is no fat in the budget. Every dollar will be put to good use.

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