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WCFC-TV38 was in some ways, a typical television station. Cameras, studio, set’s, lights, video tape machines, a master control, offices. But in other ways it was different. The call letters, W-C-F-C stood for “Winning Chicagoland for Christ.” At the time, TV-38 was the largest, independent Christian television station in America and part of an emerging trend that saw the rise and public fall of famous televangelists like Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggert, the emergence of the religious right on the conservative political landscape, and a mainstreaming of the American Pentecostal movement.

TV-38 also nurtured a grass-roots ecumenical movement that crossed ecclesiastical, racial and economic barriers that had divided Christians in Chicago for decades.

The post Live in Three States, The Story of WCFC TV-38 Chicago appeared first on Tim Frakes Productions.

We recorded stories with CTS graduates here in Chicago, Montgomery, Alabama and Portland, Maine.
CTS proactively takes on issues of social justice and helps individuals discern and evolve their faith for the future. Whether your interest is in ministry, social justice, community activism, or serious religious scholarship, CTS will take you to the Next.

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Evan Shields, a reporter for the West Chicago Suburban Life filed this story on “Divided Families, Responding with Faith” a 1-hour documentary I shot and edited for the Chicago Sunday Evening Club. Coincidentally, I began my career back in the late 1970’s at the West Chicago Press! The program aired on WTTW, Channel 11, PBS, Chicago in October. You may view the full program at csec.org

By EVAN SHIELDS – eshields@shawmedia.com
WEST CHICAGO – A local elementary school teacher and her family were recently spotlighted in a documentary focusing on immigration reform.

Amy Godoy-Guerra and her husband, Carlos, were featured in the WTTW documentary “Divided Families,” which aired Oct. 16 and can be viewed online at www.csec.org.

Amy lives in West Chicago and works at Gary Elementary School and Carlos lives in Monterrey, Mexico. Carlos was brought to the United States as a teenager using improper documentation. As a result, he has been banned from the country for life.

“It’s seven years that Carlos has been basically out of the U.S. and I have been trying to get him back,” Amy said.

Tim Frakes, who filmed the documentary, said he found Amy and Carlos after talking to an immigration attorney who knew the family. The documentary was produced by the Chicago Sunday Evening Club.

The club supports documentaries that look at issues from a faith-based perspective, rather than a political one. Government institutions and politicians didn’t want to talk to Frakes for the project.

“While this debate gets held up for political reasons on the left and right, families are divided,” Frakes said. “It’s such a hot-button issue, immigration reform, I think people are waiting to see how it shakes out [before talking about it].”

Amy and Carlos have filed a request for a waiver that would allow Carlos to live in America. They filed their original claim in February, which was denied. They filed an appeal in August, which Amy said is expected to be resolved within six to eight months.

In all, Amy and Carlos and have lived in Europe, Mexico and South Korea, but due to financial concerns, Amy has returned to the United States.

The couple have two children – Lucas, 5, and Carolina, nearly 2 – who live with Amy. She said the family’s situation is difficult, because she’s essentially a single mother a lot of the time.

“There’s just a lot of moments where I think, ‘Only if Carlos were here, it would be much simpler,'” she said.
But Amy and Carlos video chat, and Carlos has a strong digital presence in the children’s lives.
The kids aren’t fully aware of the situation, and Amy said Lucas always asks when daddy is coming to visit.
“He wants him to come and play Legos and ride bikes,” she said.

Carolina won’t say much during video chats, Amy said, but she always asks when she’s able to “talk to daddy.”

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Full Program, 56 minutes
This hour-long documentary I shot and edited for the Chicago Sunday Evening Club explores the impact of current US immigration policies on Amy and Carlos, a young family from West Chicago. The program first aired on WTTW, Channel 11, PBS, Chicago on October 16, 2014.

Because Carlos was brought to the US illegally from Mexico as a child, they encounter severe penalties and barriers as they attempt to gain his resident status. Like thousands of families in this situation, they want to do the right thing, but there seems to be no path to follow. We tell the story of their decade-long struggle, and highlight the work of faith organizations across Chicago that are working to help families like theirs stay together.

Sun Times Article: Country says ‘you can’t be a family’

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This hour-long documentary I shot and edited for the Chicago Sunday Evening Club explores the impact of current US immigration policies on Amy and Carlos, a young family from West Chicago. Because Carlos was brought to the US illegally from Mexico as a child, they encounter severe penalties and barriers as they attempt to gain his resident status. Like thousands of families in this situation, they want to do the right thing, but there seems to be no path to follow. We tell the story of their decade-long struggle, and highlight the work of faith organizations across Chicago that are working to help families like theirs stay together.

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Often I’m so busy I forget to watch projects after I finish them. This 2009 interview with Moody Radio Senior Announcer Mike Kellogg, host of “Music Through the Night” popped up on my Youtube feed. Nice stuff Mike!

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In this new documentary I produced for WTTW Channel 11, the Chicago Sunday Evening Club presents the stories of three faith communities that are doing the difficult, but necessary work of healing the lives of ex-offenders, and standing with them as they reenter society. Our hope is to engage with communities of faith in deep dialogue around these issues.

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The program features three faith communities that are doing the difficult, but necessary work of healing the lives of ex-offenders, and standing with them as they reenter society. Our hope is to engage with communities of faith in deep dialogue around these issues.

As part of the project, the Chicago Sunday Evening Club hosted a pair of community conversations about the question, “What happens when prisoners come home?”

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