Cloudy signal Portland-based radio-TV ministry confident it can overcome cash crunch

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In the heated TV news world, where strident talking heads dominate, the First Radio Parish Church of America is an oasis of love and hope.

Launched in 1926 on Portland’s WCSH-AM, the church made the transition in the early 1950s to television and in the 1990s to the Web.

It’s still heard on six radio stations and remains a fixture on WLBZ-TV 2 in Bangor and WCSH-TV 6 in Portland, where three-minute “Daily Devotions” air a little after 6 each morning.

According to ratings data, as many as 96,000 viewers see the daily minimessages in Maine.

But nearly 80 years after its beginning, the ministry is facing a serious cash crunch, and First Radio Parish is airing that problem, too.

The face and voice of First Radio Parish belong to the Rev. Peter Panagore of East Boothbay, who took over in August 2003. He succeeded the retiring Rev. David R. Glusker – the face and voice of the ministry for 18 years.

As expected, that change resulted in a drop in donations, and the ministry’s relatively small endowment – about $100,000, Panagore estimates – has been tapped to tide the First Radio Parish Church over through the lean times.

The annual budget is also about $100,000.

“In any church where one minister leaves after a long period of time, where loyalty and affections have grown up, there is a certain amount of attrition that occurs,” Panagore said in a recent interview.

Glusker faced the same problem when he began, Panagore said, and eventually worked to build a loyal following and a faithful donor base.

“He worked hard at that,” Panagore said. “There are folks who weekly, monthly and in some cases annually send in donations.”

The first week of November saw an increase in donations, but Panagore said the ministry isn’t out of the red yet. Its monthly newsletter from October shows a graph revealing expenses outstripping income 2-to-1. The operating deficit was $48,000 as of Oct. 1.

Still, Panagore isn’t discouraged, and the ministry is moving forward on several fronts. In addition to the 4,000-member mailing list that receives the newsletter, an e-mail list is being updated and used to connect with viewers who value the ministry.

Panagore, 45, has found that viewers are not shy about contacting him either by snail mail or e-mail.

“Those who correspond with us tend to be shut-ins, the elderly and young parents,” he said.

Some of those missives point out when Panagore’s tie is askew, but there are also more profound responses.

One recent message said, “Last night I was in despair and was contemplating suicide,” but the morning message reassured the viewer that God was everywhere and cared about the viewer’s plight.

Panagore most recently was minister at a Congregational church in Boothbay Harbor.

Originally from the Boston area, Panagore attended a Catholic high school, then earned an undergraduate degree in English from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Later came a divinity degree from Yale University.

Panagore and an administrative assistant are the only paid staffers. WCSH-TV donates use of an office in Portland as well as the work that goes into producing the daily segments, “which is a huge, huge cost.” The Web site estimates that the Portland and Bangor stations (owned by the same company) donate the equivalent of $800,000 a year.

Unlike most church preachers, Panagore must edit his message to two minutes. During Glusker’s tenure, the time allotted to the ministry was reduced from five, to four, and finally to three minutes.

“It’s definitely affected my presentation,” Panagore said, though he feels the format works.

“I try to make it real,” he said, “to remind people that God is with them and they’re not alone.” Messages might be historical or scientific in nature or relate stories from his own life or those of friends.

Panagore confesses that he had a lot to learn about appearing on TV.

“For the first three months, I looked like a doe caught in the headlights,” he said.

“We’re the only nonsectarian religious broadcast on television,” he said. “We try to be interdenominational or nondenominational,” though clearly Christian.

“We are definitely a Christian organization and I am a Christian,” Panagore said. At the same time, messages might be about Ramadan or other religious traditions, as well as those that encourage viewers to remember God as they start their busy days.

“We do reach lots of people who don’t go to church,” Panagore said. Some of those are people who have had bad experiences in church, while others are unable to get out of their homes easily.

Panagore is relying on faith for the ministry’s future.

“This is entirely up to God. Have we turned the corner? I hope so, but I don’t know,” he said.

Donations may be made from the ministry’s secure Web site, www.dailydevotions.org, or by mailing checks to: The First Radio Parish Church of America at One Congress Square, Portland 04101.