A 30-second promotional television spot, to be broadcast on cable and satellite channels this year, is aimed at raising public awareness of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, say communication leaders of the church in North America.
A 30-second promotional television spot, to be broadcast on cable and satellite channels this year, is aimed at raising public awareness of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, say communication leaders of the church in North America.
The television public service announcement (PSA) focuses on the Adventist teaching of Sabbath, or Saturday, as the biblical day of rest and worship. Beginning this month through December, the spot will air periodically on the Hallmark Channel, a 24-hour cable television network formerly known as the Odyssey Network that reaches 83 million subscribers globally. It will also broadcast on the Adventist Communication Network program “First Wednesday.”
The spot was produced by Faith & Values Media, a television program service sponsored by National Interfaith Cable Coalition, Inc. that has launched a national identity project entitled “Discover Our Family of Faith Campaign.” This project showcases America’s Jewish and Christian faith groups to a mass audience. It provides programming for its 30 faith group members, one of which is the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Celeste Ryan, former media relations manager for the church in North America, and Linda Walters, director of TRANSDA, the agency that negotiates public media air time for the church’s media programs, worked with Faith & Values Media in supervising the production of the video.
“This partnership provided an excellent opportunity to raise public awareness of the Adventist Church to new markets,” said Ryan. “So we chose to highlight the Sabbath, one of the core values of our church.”
To depict what Seventh-day Adventists cherish most about the Sabbath, the 30-second spot emphasizes the beauty of creation and the importance of spending time with family, says Ryan. The script reads: “Seventh-day Adventists worship God on Saturday, the Seventh-day, Sabbath day. It’s not a day when nothing happens. Something happens all right. It’s like a sacred space in time for worship, for family, for our bodies, minds, and spirits. It’s the way we’re all created. And it’s good.”
