INSTRUCTIONS FOR TAPING EUCHARIST
Aired
every Sunday at 5:00 A.M.
on
KONG-TV6/16 (UHF channel 16, cable channel 6)
Producer: The Rev. Michael Jackson
206-909-3336, email: comprose@earthlink.net
The celebration of the Holy Eucharist is fundamentally the same, no matter where or when it takes place. However, set in a sterile studio, with no congregation physically present, and having to be celebrated within certain time constraints, it is somewhat different than in a church setting. Couple this with the need to have some degree of liturgical uniformity (the viewing congregation is the same; celebrants and homilists are the “visitors”), and there is a need for some direction.
These instructions are not intended to intimidate or to raise anxiety levels, although at first brush this may happen. Relax. As you read these instructions parallel them to your own experience. Tape and view the TV Eucharist prior to your own taping. Use the timings as guides, (important, but still guides). The production staff are well experienced and work behind the scenes with you. Focus on what this is really all about, and relax knowing that this is really what you do.
Episcopal and Lutheran congregations jointly share in this ministry. However, as this new relationship takes hold the Episcopal congregation is asked to take the lead in making the following arrangements:
Getting There
King Broadcasting is located at 333 Dexter Avenue North (at Harrison). From I-5 heading south, take Exit 166, make a soft right at Stewart, turn right on Denny. From I-5 heading north, take Exit 166, turn right on Olive and left on Denny.
Once on Denny Way go west to Dexter, turn right, go three blocks to King Broadcasting. Limited (marked “guest”) parking is available in the King parking lot opposite.
When
All participants should arrive by 1:00 PM to be ready for the first taping at 1:30 PM. Allow approximately two hours for the complete two-service taping, as there are sometimes unforeseen production delays. Participants will need to sign-in with the receptionist, and will be met by the producer, or someone from the production staff, who will take the participants to the dressing rooms and the studio.
The Viewer
TV Eucharist, broadcast every Sunday at 5:00 A.M., reaches a cross section of people, a number of whom appear to have no church connection, are not Episcopalians, or Lutherans (many are Roman Catholic), and tend to faithfully watch the program every week. The viewing audience is estimated at 4,000 - 5,000. Eucharist is seen in all of western Washington, in the British Columbia lower mainland and Victoria, and in parts of central Washington. The focus of this ministry is the viewer, the approach pastoral. A printed service sheet is made available to viewers (over 100,000 copies have been mailed since 1973), and participants should assume that the viewer is following the service from this sheet.
The Studio
The studio is a foreign environment, and what comes naturally in a church setting is easily forgotten under bright lights on a sterile set. Acolytes, lectors, and preacher should be prepared to speak boldly with ‘Amens’ and responses; they are the only audible congregation! Also, rehearse when to sit (which is only during the lesson and sermon) and when to stand. The floor director will equip participants with microphones (it is very helpful if women participants have a pocket or a belt of some sort on which to attached the microphone transmitter - - the size of a large pager, under their cassock/alb). Everyone is briefed about processing in and out. However, very soon after the taping starts there will be no staff in the studio; cameras are all remote controlled.
The Entrance
As the service starts pre-taped music is played and the floor director directs the participants onto the set, following the cross. The name and parish of the presider and of the preacher are announced during the pre-taped opening introduction to the program.
Introductions
As the opening music ends, the floor director will signal the presider to start. The presider needs to personally introduce him/herself, even with the pre-taped introduction, making a more personal visual connection of name to person. The presider also needs to introduce all the other participants (it is helpful to have names written down). A suggested opening is:
“Good morning, and welcome to Eucharist. I am ......from ....., and with me today are ........ as preacher, ....... as lector(s), and ..... as acolytes."
The opening acclamation is then said.
Lesson
A lector reads the lesson from the lectern. One lesson, only, is used. The Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) is used. The ELCA lectionary also may be used.
Gospel & Sermon
The preacher both reads the Gospel (unless a deacon is present) and preaches, both from the lectern. Suggested sermon length is eight minutes. Timing is important as the service is specifically planned to fit into its 28-minute 25-second time slot. A digital clock visible “in” the camera counts down the sermon time.
Prayers
Following the Creed, a lector leads the Prayers from the lectern, first announcing (for the benefit of the viewing audience) which form is being used.
During the Prayers, the digital camera clock is put into use again, to count down the remaining ten minutes of the service, and the timing notes in the missal indicate where the service should generally be at any specific point. Checking the time becomes important as the service continues.
The Peace
The Peace is physically exchanged by the presider and all participants. No offertory sentence is used and the Peace moves directly into preparation of the elements. A pre-taped hymn is played during the Peace and preparation, and the Sursum Corda is started when the music stops (assuming the elements are prepared by then).
Communion
A pre-taped hymn is played during the ministration. Ablutions are deferred until after the taping.
Closing
The digital camera clock has been counting down the last ten minutes of the service and the timing notes in the missal indicate where the service should generally be at any specific point. checking the time becomes important as the service draws to a close.
The presider may need (and should be prepared) to insert a psalm, portion of a psalm, or a canticle between the post-communion prayer and the final blessing/dismissal in order to fill some time. If at the start of the post-communion prayer there is more than one-minute thirty-seconds still remaining, the filler will be needed. If less, close normally.
PROMOTION AND PUBLICITY
Church Bulletins
TV Eucharist is a ministry to those who are shut-in. Please publicize this program in your bulletin and newsletter, perhaps tying it to your own Eucharistic ministry program. In addition to this ongoing publicity, why not make special mention for those Sundays when your congregation is on.
Web Page
The program also has its own web site, http://www.tveucharist.org, which lists the schedule of congregations who are on the program, including who is presider and who is preacher. Please include this information in your bulletin.
The site can also be accessed from the diocesan web page http:www.ecww.org.
Thank you for being part of this important ministry.