Contact: John R. Brooks, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, 773-380-2958, john.brooks@elca.org

CHICAGO, Nov. 30 /Christian Newswire/ -- "Introducing Jesus of Nazareth" will air as a one-hour special on stations affiliated with the ABC television network. Managers of each station will determine the day and time of broadcast in a 60-day period beginning Dec. 3. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) produced the program as part of the Mosaic Television quarterly video series by ELCA Communication Services.

Two other ELCA productions will air in December on the Hallmark Channel.

Recorded in Israel and the West Bank, "Introducing Jesus of Nazareth" returns to the sights and sounds of Jesus' life -- from Nazareth and Bethlehem to Capernaum, the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan Valley, the Mount of Transfiguration, and finally to Jerusalem. It features interviews with ELCA pastors across the United States.

The Rev. Peter W. Marty, host of "Grace Matters," the radio ministry of the ELCA, and senior pastor, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Davenport, Iowa, hosted "Introducing Jesus of Nazareth."

Information about the program is at http://www.ELCA.org/introducingjesus/ on the Web.

Two ELCA productions to be rebroadcast.

Hallmark Channel will broadcast "Davey and Goliath's Snowboard Christmas" Dec. 17 at 7 a.m. Eastern/Pacific and 6 a.m. Central. "Joy to the World" will air Dec. 24 at 9 a.m. Eastern/Pacific and 8 a.m. Central on Hallmark. Both programs are presented by Faith & Values Media.

The award-winning "Snowboard Christmas, which made its broadcast debut on Hallmark in 2004," was the first new Davey and Goliath production in 30 years. The one-hour special portrays the themes of unity and oneness among Christians, Jews and Muslims. Davey, a Christian, meets Sam, who is Jewish, and Yasmeen, who is Muslim.

Information is available at http://www.daveyandgoliath.org/ on the Web.

ELCA Communication Services produced the one-hour program, "Joy to the World," in 2005 for the National Council of Churches USA and the Interfaith Broadcasting Commission.

"Joy to the World" features Lutheran Christmas worship in various cultural traditions -- African American, American Indian, Arab and Middle Eastern, Asian and Latino. A Swedish Santa Lucia celebration introduces the mix of cultures recalling the birth of Jesus Christ through music and praise. Services of several ELCA congregations across the United States and Puerto Rico were recorded for the program.

Details are available at http://www.ELCA.org/joytotheworld/ on the Web.