The Making of Genesis 2
Description
Contains Illustrations
$5.95
ISBN 0-88999-257-6
Author
Publisher
Year
Contributor
Winifred M. O'Rourke was a writer and journalist in Saskatoon.
Review
This book is the story of how a group of church people fulfilled a mandate of the Maritime Conference of the United Church of Canada by preparing to the production stage a 13-week series for televising in Atlantic Canada. This story is also intertwined with the author’s own faith-story.
Dick Charlton, an electrical engineer by profession, was born in England. Before coming to Nova Scotia in 1975, he with his wife and family had spent five years in Nairobi. When invited to the second meeting of the Television Task Force, he accepted because he had some interest in drama and had, in fact, had plays published. At that time on the committee he was the only layman apart from a secretary who did not continue.
The idea given to the committee by the Church was to use television to convey the message of the gospel “as it is experienced in the life and work of the United Church of Canada. The people to whom such a program would be directed would be those who were non-involved and non-affiliated with the church.” The model format for such a program was the Festivals of Faith currently being celebrated by the church in different parts of Canada, where people gathered for a weekend for services of praise and where a few would “tell their faith-story.”
Charlton tells how the committee struggled to devise a format in keeping with the purpose, but he says he began to wonder if they had all lost the feel for what they were about. Before deciding on a name for the series from the hundred suggestions submitted, the chairman called upon the committee members to pray about it. Charlton writes that he drove off to a quiet area and found himself praying not only for a name, but for the whole project and all those involved. Progress was made and it was decided to build the TV series around a host and a storyteller in a studio setting, but adding live shots from the storytellers’ backgrounds.
So far, committee members had been working in their spare time. Charlton applied for the position of host and he tells how disappointed and upset he was upon receiving a letter of rejection. He felt that Genesis 2 was his “calling.” Not long after, however, he was called back to the committee and offered the job of producer and host.
Budget and the time element were other hurdles to overcome. Working on location, setting up a studio in a rented warehouse, and other incidents are all told vividly by the author. In spite of setbacks, Charlton felt the project was blessed. The program went on the air February 6, 1983, three years after the first project committee meeting. Reaction was enthusiastic.
An independent group has now taken over this work so that the Church would not have to bear the burden of financing. Dick Charlton believes that this is only the beginning and that this particular ministry will continue.