The D-C branch of a national bone marrow program is encouraging more minorities to become donors.

Jessica Forres reports...



[NAT: CHOIR]

A choir performs at the New Life Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland as members of the congregation line up to provide samples of their DNA.

Juliette Williams of the National Marrow Donor Program is recruiting two, young black men, Termayne Douglas and Stephen Yirenkyi...

THIS IS THE KIT YOU’RE GOING TO TYPE YOURSELF WITH. WE HAVE FOUR Q-TIPS, TWO IN A PACK. YOU ARE GOING TO SWAB EACH SECTION OF YOUR MOTH FOR TEN SECONDS.

- HOW ARE YOU FEELING RIGHT NOW
-HEROIC
-SCARED

Williams says more than 6-thousand patients…suffering from various blood cancers, such as Leukemia or Lymphoma...are in need of bone marrow transplants each year. Finding a match isn’t easy…. especially for minorities who only make up 8 percent of donors...

THE BEST MATCH FOR A PERSON COMES FROM THEIR OWN RACE OR OWN ETHNIC BACKGROUND. SO THAT’S WHY WE’RE TRYING TO ENCOURAGE. AND AS I SAID BEFORE, WE HAVE OVER 7 AND A HALF MILLION PEOPLE ON THERE AND MINORITIES ARE NOT ON THERE IN THE NUMBERS WHERE WE NEED TO BE.

There are 3 and a half million white donors... sevens times the number of blacks on the list...

ONLY 6 PERCENT OF THE AFRICAN-AMERICANS ON THE REGISTRY WILL GET A TRANSPLANT THE OTHER 94 PERCENT WON’T BECAUSE THERE’S NOT ENOUGH ON THE REGISTRY.

The next bone marrow drive in D.C. takes place on Thursday at Galludet (GALLA-det) University.

Jessica Forres WAMU 885 News

_____

A local church is trying to save lives this Easter weekend by encouraging minorities to become bone marrow donors.

Jessica Forres reports...

At the New Life Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland, Stephen Yirenkyi, a young black man, is about to swab the inside of his mouth with a Q-Tip...

HOW DO YOU FEEL RIGHT NOW?

-SCARED

He's hoping his DNA will lead to saving the life of a cancer patient some day...


- I’M GOING TO SUCK IT UP BECAUSE THERE’S A LOT OF PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO REALLY NEED HELP…


Juliet Williams...with the National Marrow Donor Program...says that's especially true for minorities... who make up about 8 percent of the registry...


THE BEST MATCH FOR A PERSON COMES FROM THEIR OWN RACE OR OWN ETHNIC BACKGROUND. WE HAVE OVER 7 AND A HALF MILLION PEOPLE ON THERE AND MINORITIES ARE NOT ON THERE IN THE NUMBERS WHERE WE NEED TO BE.


William's program hosts a bone marrow donor drive every week in the Washington, DC area.


Jessica Forres WAMU 885 News

More than a hundred parishes in the Archdiocese of Washington are helping local food banks that are struggling to keep up with increasing demand for their sevices.

Jessica Forres reports.......



[NAT: MUSIC]

It's Sunday mass at the Cathedral of St. Mathew the Apostle in Northwest DC...

[NAT]

Parishoners like Francisco Jojion are being asked to take brown paper bags as they leave so they can fill them with the food items that correspond to the first letter of their last name....

IT LOOKS LIKE PASTA AND SAUSAGE FOR J'S.

And for Agatha Gilles, it's 1-hundred percent Juices…

EVERYBODY TENDS TO GET EXCITED AND DO EVERYTHING FOR CHRISTMAS AND WHEN CHRISTMAS IS OVER, THE HUNGRY DOESN'T STOP. THE HUNGER IS STILL THERE.

Susan Gibbs with the Archdiocese of Washington says the "Epiphany Food Drive" will generate more than 60-thousand bags for the Capital Area and Southern Maryland Food banks and 60 parish-based food pantries....

SOME OF THEM ARE REPORTING AS MUCH AS A 40 PERCENT INCREASE IN DEMAND, THERE ARE PEOPLE MORE THAN A YEAR AGO WHO WERE DONATING TO THE PANTRIES ARE NOW COMING TO GET FOOD AND THIS IS SOMETHING WE'VE REALLY NEVER SEEN BEFORE AND WE ARE REALLY WORRIED.

1-hundred and twenty parishes will start collecting the bags during the first two weekends in January.

Jessica Forres WAMU 885 News

_____________________________________________________

The Archdiocese of Washington is among the organizations that are helping food banks and pantries cope with an increasing demand for their services.

Jessica Forres reports….

More than a hundred parishes are giving the gift of food this holiday season. Susan Gibbs with the Archdiocese of Washington expects 60-thousand bags of food to be donated for the benefit of the Capital Area and Southern Maryland food banks and 60 parish-based food pantries...

THE FOOD PANTIRES ARE EMPTY, WE HAVE PARISHES WITH A 40 PERCENT INCREASE IN DEMAND FOR FOOD AND THEY NEED HELP. THE FOOD PARISHES ARE SEEING THEY'RE SHELVES ARE EMPTY.

Francisco Janjion, a parishoner at the Cathedral of St. Mathew the Apostle, plans to donate pasta and sauces...
I THINK IT'S A GOOD THING TO HELP THE PEOPLE WHO CAN'T FEED THEMSELVES DURING THIS COLD TIME OF YEAR.

Participating parishes will collect the food during the first two weekends of January.


Jessica Forres WAMU 885 News

"Going to church" is taking on a new meaning for a growing number of congregatins in the U.S. and across the Washington region.

As Jessica Forres reports, one of these so-called "theater churches" is located in Alexandria, Virginia...

CHURCHES1-FORRESmp3'>LISTEN TO THE STORY THAT AIRED ON WAMU 88.5 FM

[NAT: HOSANNA, HOSANNA, HOSANNA IN THE HIGHEST]

At some churches, Sunday morning service opens with a hymn played on a pipe organ….but not at DC Metro Church...where a rock band provides the music.

John De Veny, who used to attend what he calls a traditional church, likes the change...

THE HYMNS ARE QUITE OLD. I STARTED LOOKING AT THE DATES OF THEM, SOME ARE FROM 1100, 1200, 1800 AND I WAS LIKE IT'S GOT TO BE BETTER THAN THIS.

He found his new church at the Potomac Yard Regal 16 multiplex in Alexandria, where David Stine is the Pastor...

THE MOVIE THEATER JUST LENDS ITSELF SO WELL TO BEING A VERY REAL, RELEVANT AND ENJOYABLE ENVIRONMENT ALREADY AND PEOPLE DON'T FEEL THREATENED BY A STEEPLE OR A CHURCH BUILDING.

"Theater churches" are growing in popularity. Stines' DC Metro Church, which opened a year ago with 70 members…now hosts 250 on any given Sunday...

WE'VE SEEN SEVERAL CHURCHES DO THIS ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND REALLY JUST KIND OF A POST MODERN PUSH TOWARDS MAKING CHURCH AN APPROACHABLE PLACE ONCE AGAIN.

There are approximately 180 "theater churches" now operating nationwide.

Jessica Forres WAMU 885 News

________________________________________________

Finding "God" inside a local movie theater is becoming a nationwide trend and as Jessica Forres reports, several local congregations are part of the movement...

CHURCHES2-FORRESmp3'>LISTEN TO THE STORY THAT AIRED ON WAMU 88.5 FM

At the Potomac Yard Regal 16 in Arlington, Virginia, approximately 250 worshipers are watching a scene from the movie Braveheart…in which William Wallace inspires his army to fight against the English....

[ NAT: JUST ONE CHANCE, TO COME BACK HERE TO TELL OUR ENEMIES THAT THEY MAY TAKE OUR LIVES BUT THEY WILL NEVER TAKE OUR FREEDOM]

The movie clip is part of David Stine's sermon. He's the pastor at DC Metro Church...

[IS THAT WE WANT TO HAVE THIS FREEDOM IN RELATIONSHIP AND NOT ONLY IN RELATIONSHIP BUT IN OUR OWN LIVES]

A growing number of churches hold their services inside movie theaters. Pastor Stine says it's part a post-modern push to make church "approachable" again....

WHAT WE FOUND IS THAT PEOPLE WHO USED TO GO TO CHURCH NO LONGER GO TO CHURCH AND THE SECOND REASON THAT CHURCH BECAME WEIRD AND THAT CHURCH BECAME BORING. AND SO WE ARE COMBATTING BOTH THOSE THINGS BY HAVING CHURCH IN A MOVIE THEATER.

Pastor Stine says his service attracts mostly young families and adults. People such as Andrea Clarke...

IT'S PARTICULARLY INTERESTING TO ME BECAUSE I GREW UP IN A TRADITIONAL, BLACK SORT OF METHODIST CHURCH. BUT I FEEL LIKE IT INCORPORATES A LOT OF PEOPLE HERE. YOU HAVE PEOPLE FROM CATHOLIC BACKGROUNS, OBVIOUSLY PROTESTANT EPISCOPALIAN.

National CineMedia, which works with :theater churches" says 180 of them now operate in the U.S.

Jessica Forres WAMU 885 News.

One local non-profit is trying to raise awareness about domestic violence in faith-based communities.

Jessica Forres visited a local church in D-C and spoke with a survivor turned activist.

Boomp3.com'>LISTEN TO THE STORY THAT AIRED ON WAMU 88.5 FM

[NAT, HALLELUJAH, I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT GOD HAS BEEN GOOD TO ME]

Rayshel Murphy is wearing a sharp, red suit. She is speaking to a group of seven people at a Catholic church in southeast DC.

ME SHARING WITH YOU MIGHT SAVE SOMEBODY'S LIFE, ME SHARING WITH YOU MIGHT HELP YOU TO SAVE SOMEBODY'S LIFE.

She's sharing her experience with domestic violence...and how the leaders of her church reacted when she told them about how her husband ...an aspiring minister... had physcially abused her.

THE LEADERSHIP OF THE CHURCH I FELT HAD SIDED WITH HIM. HE DIDN'T GIVE ME THE ANSWERS THAT I NEEDED. HE DIDN'T GIVE ME THE HELP THAT I NEEDED.

That's why Murphy started Women of Freedom Foundation...a faith-based organization that provides many services for abused women and raises awareness about domestic violence in Christian communities.

BECAUSE IN THE CHURCHES WHAT WE FOUND IS THEY REALLY DON'T KNOW WHAT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IS AND SO TO BE ABLE TO OPEN UP THEIR AWARENESS ABOUT WHAT IT IS AND WHAT IT ENTAILS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT FOR THEM TO UNDERSTAND IT AND TO BE ABLE HELP SOMEONE ELSE.

Murphy says one in four women are victims of domestic violence at some point in their lives.

Jessica Forres WAMU 885 News