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Chicago (ELCA)-JB — Lutheran Vespers, the radio ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), began airing Sept. 7 on KHOW-AM, Denver, a 5,000-watt station that reaches most of Colorado. In addition, the ministry also began airing this week in Ft. Wayne, Ind., and earlier this year it debuted on new stations in Minneapolis and Seattle.
Lutheran Vespers airs at 7:06 a.m. each Sunday on KHOW. The ministry formerly aired on another station in Denver but had been off the air in the market since November 1999.
"We're very excited," said Jessica Farias, KHOW sales manager. "Lutheran Vespers is a quality show." Because of its quality and content, it was easy for KHOW staff to add Lutheran Vespers to the lineup when a time slot became available, she said. Early feedback from listeners has been "very positive," she added.
Returning to Denver, the nation's 22nd largest market, is "like going home," said the Rev. Walt Wangerin Jr., Lutheran Vespers speaker and faculty member at Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Ind.
"Parts of my family live there," he said, adding that he thinks of every listener as a relative.
"Denver is a big place," Wangerin said. "The program speaks to everyone in every position and every profession. The gospel stretches to embrace all people."
One supportive listener made airing the program possible in the Denver area. Rolle Walker, a member of Sammamish Hills Lutheran Church, Sammamish, Wash., recently moved to Denver. He regularly listened to Lutheran Vespers in Sammamish, he explained. When he learned it was not on the air in Denver, Walker and his siblings acted to make it possible with a financial gift.
Walker explained that he listens because he teaches Sunday School. Wangerin "connects the theology of Christ's gospel to everyday application. My class has to do with how we apply our faith to anything," he said. "It (Lutheran Vespers) gets me focused," he said.
The financial gift was made by Walker, his brother and two sisters with funds from a financial investment left by Walker's late parents. The KHOW broadcast of Lutheran Vespers is formally sponsored by the children of James and Francille Walker.
"We were fortunate to have been born to Christian parents," Walker said. "This gift was applied the way they wanted to do it. It's a tribute to Mom and Dad."
The program is guaranteed to air on KHOW at least through November, Walker said. Hopefully, others in the Denver area will be willing to share costs of keeping the program on the air beyond this year, he said. That way, Walker said, the family's investment can be used as seed money for other similar projects.
"It's God's money," Walker observed.
It's significant that one parishioner made it possible for Lutheran Vespers to be heard on KHOW, Farias added. "He (Walker) is fabulous. He's putting his faith into action," she said.
Meanwhile, Lutheran Vespers has gained other new affiliates this year. On Sept. 28 Lutheran Vespers debuted on WOWO-AM, Fort Wayne, Ind., and will air at 11 a.m. each Sunday, said Barbara Andrews, associate director for marketing, ELCA Department for Communication. In April the program began airing on KAPS-AM, Seattle, at 7 a.m. each Sunday and on KKMS-AM, Minneapolis/St. Paul, also at 7 a.m. each Sunday, she said. The program also debuted this year on new stations in Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.