COVID-19 Pandemic: What's Up at Day1, and How We Can Help
NOTE: You can read or listen to Peter Wallace's special Day1 program that will air on our radio network on June 14 now. *Click Here.** His sermon is entitled, "Love in the Time of Coronavirus," and we hope it gives you some inspiration--and some good ideas--about how you can be a follower of Jesus in these times of social distancing and staying at home. All of us at Day1 are praying for you--God bless you!*
In the midst of these difficult days as we deal with the coronavirus crisis, I’d like to bring you up to date with the Day1 ministry. As you can imagine, the COVID-19 pandemic has made an impact on our production plans, causing several of our scheduled preachers, understandably, to cancel their recording sessions and programs. Even so, we are committed to continuing to share meaningful messages of faith, hope, and love with you each week on the Day1 program.
As you know, our weekly radio program is also available for you to listen anytime on your favorite podcast app. If you have a smartphone, open your podcast app and search for “Day1 Weekly Program,” that’s “D-A-Y-numeral 1 Weekly Program,” and it should pop right up for you to subscribe to.
If you use Amazon’s Alexa, you can say, “Alexa, I want to listen to ‘Day One Weekly Program Podcast.’” If you have Google Home, you can say, “OK Google, I want to listen to ‘Day One Weekly Program Podcast.’” And the latest episode will play.
Our website at Day1.org has a massive amount of trustworthy content for your spiritual life and growth—in audio, video, and text. Visit Day1.org anytime and start digging into the various sections you’ll find there. It’s easy to use whether you’re on a desktop computer, laptop, tablet, or cellphone. And while you’re here, if you haven’t yet, please subscribe to our weekly e-newsletter so we can keep in touch with you.
In 2020 we are celebrating our 75th Anniversary. This radio program started as The Protestant Hour on Easter Day, April 1st, 1945. Presbyterian Pastor E. T. Thompson preached on immortality to anxious families waiting for word from their loved ones in the Armed Forces as the crucial Allied Spring Offensive in Italy began. He preached to shut-ins whose diminished worlds were enlarged by his words. Listening, too, were soldiers waiting in bus stations and travelers with hissy Motorola AM radios in their automobiles.
In America at that time, 82 out of 100 people were radio listeners and families gathered regularly around the home vacuum tube radio. And on Easter morning in 1945, some of them heard the first Protestant Hour sermon. Every week since then, we have been on the air faithfully sharing the good news, when times were good and when times were fearful or confusing.
In 2002, our program name changed to Day1, but whatever you call us, we’re still committed to bringing you inspiring messages of faith that you can put to work in your own lives each week.
This fall, we’re very excited to offer a new book with excerpts from Protestant Hour and Day1 sermons on 12 vital topics of life and faith. It’s called, Bread Enough for All: A Day1 Guide to Life, and it’s being published by our friends at Church Publishing, Inc. More than 80 of our most popular preachers from the past several decades will be included. It will be ideal not only for your own reading, but for use by your small groups and Sunday school classes with discussion questions provided, for gift giving, and much more. We’re working hard on this book even now, and I hope you will enjoy it. We’ll let you know when it’s available.
We’re also working on a new weekly podcast that will help you, your family and loved ones spend a meaningful half hour each week in worship, with hymns, songs, anthems, scripture reading, prayer, and a sermon by a Day1 preacher. It’s designed for those times like these when you can’t get out of your house to go to church on a Sunday, or anytime through the week, while you’re driving, working out, or just resting. We’ll keep you posted about that too.
It’s been my honor and joy to be part of this media ministry for more than 19 years now. I believe very deeply in what we do—to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ through the radio, by podcast, and online, with a diverse group of wonderful preachers from the historic Protestant denominations. We love hearing from you about how the Day1 ministry has been meaningful in your own life. Would you please let us hear from you? You can email us at info@day1.org, or send a letter to Day1 at 2715 Peachtree Road, Atlanta, Georgia 30305.
And, especially in these difficult times, please remember that the Day1 ministry exists only because people like you support it with their financial contributions. We need your help at this crucial time, so I hope you will prayerfully consider sending us a donation. You can mail your gift to Day1, 2715 Peachtree Road, Atlanta, Georgia, 30305, or call us at 404-815-9110. Or give securely online by clicking on the “Donate” link at Day1.org. We are always deeply grateful for your support.
Now I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge our amazing Day1 staff members, who work tirelessly behind the scenes to make sure our program is on the air and online each week—and who even in this challenging time haven’t slackened the pace a bit.
Donal Jones is our director of production who records and edits our weekly radio program, our podcasts, and any other media we produce. Donal has been working on this program for more than 30 years, originally slicing and taping audiotape to put together Protestant Hour programs. He is the reason our program sounds so fresh and professional each week.
Amy Clark Davis is our chief financial officer and director of operations. She makes sure our finances are carefully accounted for and expended wisely. She also oversees our FaithGoods.com website, where you can find an array of clothing and accessories displaying message of faith and hope, as well as books and other resources, all of which supports the Day1 ministry. Amy also handles design projects and helps out in many other ways. She’s amazing!
Ethel Ware Carter is our part-time administrative assistant who handles donor thank-you letters, press releases, office needs, and much more. Ethel Ware is also program director for the Regional Council of Churches of Atlanta. She is incredibly gifted and energetic and full of great ideas.
We’re also grateful for the work of Mary Lynn Darden, who transcribes all our sermons for our website and printed transcripts, and of course our wonderful announcer, Sherrie Miller, who has welcomed you to Day1 each week for nearly 30 years.
We are so blessed by all of these incredibly gifted team members who go beyond the call of duty to serve you through this ministry. I’m so grateful for them. I’m also grateful for our engaged and supportive Board of Trustees led by our chair, Dr. Jennifer Friday, and for our Day1 Advisory Board members, led by Dr. Tom Long, as they recommend most of the preachers you hear on Day1. For a list of their names, click on the “About” link at Day1.org.
Please keep all of us who bring you Day1 in your prayers, as we pray for you. We are truly grateful for you—you are why we do what we do. We pray to God to give you faith and courage, health and hope, in abundance, now and always. Remember, God is good, all the time! God truly is our help in ages past, and our hope for years to come.