Category: History
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Death of Harold Washington
November 25, 1987 we were recording the lighting of the Salvation Army Christmas Tree near Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago when we learned that Mayor Harold Washington has suffered a heart attack. This is the first national news story I worked on as a young producer with WCFC-TV 38 Chicago. Wade Bobbitt ran camera as…
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Christian History Magazine and People of Faith
Christian History Magazine, a publication of Christian History Institute, has devoted a full issue to People of Faith: Christianity in America, a documentary series currently being distributed by Vision Video/Gateway Films. You may read the full on-line edition at Christianmistorymagazine.org The magazine makes an excellent companion study guide for adult and young adult groups who…
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Cornerstone 89 Family Reunion
In the summer of 1989 I produced this half hour documentary while working for WCFC-TV38 Chicago. Cornerstone is a Christian Rock music festival connected with Jesus People USA. We recorded this at the Lake County Fair Grounds in Grays Lake, Illinois. Interviews include event coordinator Henry Huang, rockers Charlie Peacock, Margaret Becker, Glen Kaiser (REZ…
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Seminex: Memories of a Church Divided
This is a preview of a 2015 documentary about a divide in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod in the 1970’s. Order a DVD of the full, 42 minute SEMINEX documentary today for $19. Our Indigogo campaign to raise funds for our next documentary, God’s Glory, Neighbor’s Good: The Story of Pietism ended on March 10,…
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John H. Tietjen on Lutheran Identity
While working a new documentary about Concordia Seminary in Exile (later Christ Seminary-Seminex), I ran across this sound bite which I recorded in 2002 for an earlier program about the history of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. John H. Tietjen (1928 -2004) was a Lutheran clergyman, theologian, and church leader best known for his…
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People of Faith Publicity
People of Faith: Christianity in America is getting some local media attention these days. Wheaton College issued a news release this week. Also, Jane Charmelo, a reporter for the Lombardian, our home-town newspaper, ran the following piece in it’s February 15 issue. ‘People of Faith’ explores church history – by Jane Charmelo, Lombardian and Villa…
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People of Faith: Christianity in America Reviews
Having no shame, I asked a few friends to review People of Faith: Christianity in America for the Vision Video website. If you are planning an adult Sunday school curriculum, consider these recommendations. Time flew by People of Faith Christianity in America presents an outstanding overview of the history and practice of Christianity in America…
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People of Faith: Christianity in America
In October, 2010, Larry Eskridge from the Institute for the Study of American Evangelicals at Wheaton College asked me to help produce People of Faith: Christianity in America, a six episode video series that tells the story of American Christianity in all its diversity from the colonial period to the present. The series is a…
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Introducing Jesus of Nazareth
It is Advent and a good time to reflect on the life of Jesus. This production aired on ABC Television in December 2006. I produced it for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America with my good friend Peter Marty as host. Jim Quattrocki directed the on-camera sequences. Jim Parks did the editing. www.frakesproductions.com
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Anna Hauge, Gifts of Grace
Here is a story I produced for Lutheran Life Communities Foundation. Anna Hauge was a Navy nurse on board the USS Tranquility, the hospital ship that rescued the survivors of the USS Indianapolis disaster in August, 1945. Anna is one of those unsung heroes who lived through an epic chapter in American history.