The Bread Shed feeds the hungry, both spiritually and physically, in Southeast Missouri. The Bread Shed is a volunteer organization made up of churches and community members, local and regional social service organizations all working together to help to ensure that the needs of children and families are met.

The Bread Shed does this through Sunday community meals, a regular food, clothing diaper and Bible distributions, and ABC, A Better Childhood food distribution.

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The half hour broadcast version will air every Sunday at noon in December (beginning this Sunday) on ABC 7.2 Live Well Network Chicago.

A longer version will be offered on DVD this spring, available through the Lombard Historical Society.

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Sheldon Peck, Portrait of an Ordinary Man in Extraordinary Times is now complete! A 28 minute broadcast version of the documentary began airing on the Live Well Network in Chicago every Sunday in December, 2018 at noon. Check local listings for Sanctuary, Greater Chicago Broadcast Ministries.

Here is a link to the broadcast version:
http://www.frakesproductions.com/2018/sheldon-peck-an-ordinary-man-in-extraordinary-times/

The full, 37 minute documentary will be offered beginning in January, 2019 on DVD for a $20 donation to the Lombard Historical Society.

Here is the script for the documentary.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1R4SVOKIDCro9UOckPP0HYlifiMzZmHyytfqIEJKoPHs/edit?usp=sharing

Sheldon Peck, Portrait of an Ordinary Man in Extraordinary Times is the is a story infused with a humanity that resonates today. Largely forgotten in the decades after his death in 1868, Sheldon Peck and his legacy have seen a revival and renewed appreciation that recognizes his talent, passion, courage and vision. It’s a story of American Western expansion in the days of manifest destiny, and how one man embraced the important issues of his day and was not afraid to speak out or get personally involved where he saw injustice. “What Sheldon and his spouse Harriett Corey Peck did, the way they are sharing their values…. It spreads” says Sarah Richardt from the Lombard Historical Society.

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LSSI’s mental health programs embody the emotional and social well-being of the people they serve, and vividly illustrate whole person care.

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Today was fun. Recorded an interview with Kenneth B. Morris at the American Writers Museum in Chicago.
Morris descends from two of the most influential names in American history: he is the great-great-great grandson of Frederick Douglass (he looks just like him) and the great-great-grandson of Booker T. Washington.

It’s part of a new documentary I’m creating with Sarah Richardt, Executive Director of the Lombard Historical Society, on the life of primitive American portrait artist, radical abolitionist, and temperance crusader Sheldon Peck.

Thanks Jim Quattrocki for running camera. You are a peach.

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One of the things I love most about my job is the broad theological diversity of clients and the projects they ask me to produce. Catholic Theological Union (CTU) asked me to produce this short video about their annual “Catholics on Call” summer workshop. Catholics on Call is a national vocation discovery program of The Bernardin Center for Theology and Ministry at Catholic Theological Union. It supports Catholic young adults (ages 18-35) as they strive to discover God’s call in their lives, and explore the possibility of a life of service in the Church.

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With all the talk this week relating to the summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, I decided to dig up Peace, Arms and a Test of Faith, a 1992 documentary I produced for Jean Martensen and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, through the ELCA Department for Communication and the Division for Church in Society.

We recorded most of this program in the Rocky Mountain Synod of the ELCA at a conference attended by ELCA members who were actively engaged in social opposition to the nuclear arms industry and specifically the re-opening of the Rocky Flats Nuclear Arsenal near Boulder, Colorado. The conference was also attended by members of the ELCA who were then employed in the U.S. nuclear defense industry either in formal military roles or as scientists.

The keynote speaker at the event was the late Dr. Timothy Lull, then Academic Dean and Professor of Systematic Theology at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley, California. Lull was a prolific writer and widely sought speaker with a particular interest in the life and work of Martin Luther.

During filming at a protest, I was nearly arrested along with peace activists as we recorded their provocation of Rocky Flats security personnel and successful attempts to get arrested themselves. At the time, I was struck by the contrast in costumes between the two groups; the peace activists with their Birkenstock sandals and tie-dye shirts and the security personnel with their camoflage uniforms and aviator sunglasses. Everyone has their herd.

Interviews included:
Mag Seaman, American Friends Service Committee
Dr. Gary Rochau, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Rev. Nelson Bock, Araria Higher Education Center, Denver, Colorado
Melody Buck, Peace and Justice Activist
Dr. Timothy Lull, Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary
Janet Miller, Hill Air Force Base, Utah
Lorne Matheson, NOAA Space Environment Lab Boulder, Colorado

Typically I misspelled Matheson’s title using the name “NOAH” instead of NOAA, National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration. Oh well, it was a church video…

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Franciscan Outreach 2018 V2 from Tim Frakes on Vimeo.

Franciscan Outreach is a leading provider of homeless services in Chicago. This is the second year they have asked me to produce their annual gala video. Every day, Franciscan Outreach provides critical, life-changing services to hundreds of men and women in need.

Throughout Chicago, at their emergency shelters, day programs soup kitchen, Franciscan Outreach serves more than 8,000 of Chicago’s most vulnerable people.

In this video, three Franciscan Outreach guests share their personal stories and how, with a little help, they’re moving forward and making positive changes in their lives.

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Episode 1. “The Age Wave”
It’s called “The Age Wave.” By 2030, an American demographic crisis will have become a reality. In thirteen years, America’s healthcare industry will be flooded with aging, economically unprepared Baby Boomers. Millennials, children born after 1980, will find it difficult to support the healthcare needs of their parents’ generation.

This will all take place amid a pervasive cultural bias that idolizes youth, fears death and often discriminates against the elderly. As the healthcare industry and government and social service professionals grapple with these issues the Chicago Sunday Evening Club explores the challenges facing American society as it ages, and examines ways in which communities of faith can respond in helpful ways to a looming silver tsunami.

Episode 2. Ambiguous Grief: Alzheimer’s, Dementia and the American Age Wave looks at one families journey through Alzheimer’s Disease. Alzheimer’s disease is a persistent degeneration of the nervous system that represents 60 to 70 percent of all cases of dementia. The disease often begins slowly, worsening over time. 12. 48 million people are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease worldwide with 5 million cases in the United States. By 2050 some estimates push the US figure to 13.8 million.

Episode 3. The Age Wave, A Faith-based Response
By 2030 demographers predict 20 percent of Americans will be over the age of 65. Baby boomers, American’s born between 1946 and 1965, will be at or above retirement age, flooding an already burdened healthcare, social security, medicare, medicaid and healthcare system. 4. At the same time, research shows that there is a growing secularization of American society away from formal, organized religious institutions and denominations.

According to a study published by the Public Religion Research Institute, those who claim no affiliation with a religious body make up the largest “religious” group in the United States. They are at 25 percent today, and growing rapidly.

As Americans age, many of the institutions who often provided care for their parents and grandparents generations are faith-based. Many of Americas hospitals, nursing homes and educational institutions were founded by faith-based organizations. Large, non-profit charities, who often bear the brunt of care for America’s indigent elderly are faith-based organizations. Given the demographic realities associated with Americas approaching age wave, the Chicago Sunday Evening Club takes a look at faith-based organizations and institutions and examines how these institutions and the people who work for, volunteer and support them, are addressing the challenges posed by the coming age wave through a faith-based approach.

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