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Homeless Hospice/Leith Anderson/The Nativity Story (#1013)

Cover Story: "Homeless Hospice" - Founded in 1990, Joseph's House is a unique hospice in the nation's capital that comforts the dying with a mixture of Christianity and Zen Buddhism. First envisioned by Dr. David Hilfiker in the late 1980s as a medical recovery shelter for homeless men during the epidemic spread of AIDS into the poorest communities of Washington DC., Joseph's House has now opened its doors even wider in an effort to help serve the needs of the terminally ill. Lucky Severson provides a behind-the-scenes look at the many ways in which this special facility is providing comfort and spiritual end-of-life care to homeless men and women who are in the final stages of their life.

Profile: "Leith Anderson" - The National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) has been a powerful lobbying force in Washington, D.C. But the 30-million-member organization suffered a setback in late October when its president, the Reverend Ted Haggard, resigned amid a sex and drug scandal. Recently, Leith Anderson, senior pastor of Wooddale Church in Minnesota - a megachurch affiliated with the Baptist General Conference - was selected as the Association's interim president. This isn't the first time the 62-year-old has presided over the NAE. A few years ago, Rev. Anderson assumed charge of the group amid a financial crisis. In this interview with Fred de Sam Lazaro, Rev. Anderson shares his views on the issues important to the evangelical community and how he plans to provide continuity until a new NAE president is selected.

Film Review: "The Nativity Story" - In December, New Line Cinema will debut the first major theatrical release about a biblical story from a Hollywood studio since the 1950s. The feature film by evangelical Christian screenwriter Mike Rich, follows the life of the Virgin Mary and Joseph over the two-year period immediately prior to the birth of Jesus and several years afterward including the visit of the Magi and the vengeful rage of King Herod. Not only is it being aggressively marketed to Catholic and Protestant churches, but several Christian groups are promoting it as an evangelistic tool and the Vatican plans to host its own premiere of the film this Sunday. Kim Lawton takes a look at this new Hollywood offering and how it tries to add a new dimension to the familiar Christmas story. [26 minutes]

This episode has not aired in the past few months on Iowa Public Television.