The Rev. Thomas G. Long, a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) minister and professor of preaching at Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, Ga., is the featured preacher May 27 and June 3 — Pentecost and Trinity Sundays — on “Day 1” with host Peter Wallace.
The nationally syndicated radio program ― formerly known as “The Protestant Hour” ― is also accessible online at http://www.Day1.org.
A nationally acclaimed preacher, Long has taught at Candler since 2000. He is a graduate of Erskine College in South Carolina, and earned his M.Div. from Erskine Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary. Before coming to Candler he was professor of preaching and worship at Princeton Seminary, and earlier taught at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Ga.
Long is the author of 20 books, including What Shall We Say? Evil, Suffering, and the Crisis of Faith; Accompany Them with Singing: The Christian Funeral; and Preaching from Memory to Hope. He speaks frequently at conferences and in churches across the country.
Long’s message for Pentecost Sunday, May 27, on Acts 2:1-13, is entitled “What’s the Gift?” “The gift we get on Pentecost is the one gift we most desperately need and the world needs,” he says. “Strangely enough, the gift of Pentecost is the gift of something to say, a Word to speak in the brokenness and tragedy of the world that is unlike any other word.”
His sermon for Trinity Sunday, June 3, “The Start of the Trail,” is based on John 3:1-17. “To belong to God is to belong to the life of God, to the community of one God in three persons, and to be called to live our whole lives in the same manner that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit relate to each other—playing tenderly, playing with ecstasy, and playing with love.”
The programs include interviews with Long conducted by Wallace, who is also executive producer.
“Day 1” has been broadcast every week for nearly 67 years, until 2002 as “The Protestant Hour.” It is currently distributed to more than 200 radio stations across America and overseas. The voice of the mainline churches, “Day 1” is produced by the Alliance for Christian Media in cooperation with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, the Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the United Church of Christ, the United Methodist Church, and other denominations.