Home : The Voice : August 2001 : Columnist Hosts Protestant Hour

Voice Columnist Hosts Protestant Hour

The Rev. Dr. Richard Dietrich began work on July 9 as interviewer on The Protestant Hour. Rick writes the Readings column in the VOICE (see page 9 this issue) and is Director of the Lay Institute of Faith and Life of Columbia Seminary.

A new era has begun for The Protestant Hour as the organization moved in mid-April from the Protestant Radio and Television Center building on Clifton Road in Atlanta, their home for nearly 50 years, to new offices on the campus of All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Midtown Atlanta. In addition, Peter M. Wallace assumed responsibilities as president and executive producer of The Protestant Hour effective March 15.

Now in its 56th year of broadcasting, The Protestant Hour is an ecumenical outreach to listeners from coast to coast as well as on the Internet at www.protestanthour.com. It is produced through the cooperation of The Episcopal Media Center, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the United Methodist Church. “Together we work to share the Good News of God’s love over the air and through our website, helping people understand the Bible and live by it,” Wallace explained.

Dietrich said his goal as host of The Protestant Hour is to ask the right questions. “I will have a chance to help some of the greatest preachers go beyond their sermon preparation to the study and commitments that live behind their preaching. I see that as a part of my love for life-long learning and lay education,” he said.

“Everyone associated with The Protestant Hour is thrilled at the new direction the ministry is taking—and each one is bringing new passion to fulfilling our mission,” Wallace said. “We have a rich and robust heritage on which to build. And because of that, the future is looking brighter than ever.”

Wallace brings a broad background involving theological training, broadcast production, writing, marketing, promotion and fund-raising to his new position. He worked as a newspaper editor in West Virginia before entering Dallas Seminary, where he received a master’s degree in theology. He and his family are members of St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church in Dunwoody, Georgia.

Just before the 1996 Olympics, All Saints’ Episcopal Church constructed a building devoted to children. The third floor remained uncompleted, intended for future expansion. When the PRTVC building was sold, The Protestant Hour and Episcopal Media Center needed new office space, they learned of this ideal location.