Welcome to the official website for American Religious Town Hall Meeting, Inc.
American Religious Town Hall Meeting is a non-profit organization dedicated to:
- The preservation of basic American civil and religious liberties including freedom of speech and freedom to worship God as one chooses.
- Fostering a spirit of unity among all religions and encouraging interfaith understanding in an atmosphere of cooperation without compromise.
- Educating the American public regarding varying viewpoints through weekly worldwide television broadcasts.
The American Religious Town Hall Meeting, Inc., was begun more than 50 years ago specifically to foster understanding between people of all faiths. Bishop A. A. Leiske, the founder, believed that when people talk to one another, they can come to understand one another.
He created the television program that was first telecast in St. Paul, Minnesota, on January 10, 1953. Bishop Leiske introduced the program and the subject, introduced the panelists, and then the debate began, followed by a summary. The program follows that format to this day.
Moderator of the program is Pastor Stephen Gifford. Most of his ministerial career has been spent in administration, where he was often appreciated for his skill in human relations. He uses that same skill today, because panelists can vociferously disagree with each other, although they almost always do so with a spirit of charitability.
Current panel members are
- Dr. Bert Beach, a Seventh-day Adventist minister who worked for years at the Adventist world headquarters as a specialist in religious liberty.
- Bishop Michael Duca, Catholic Diocese of Shreveport, Shreveport, Louisiana.
- Reverend Ray Flachmeier is a retired Lutheran minister living in Richardson, Texas. He serves in interim pastoral positions as needed.
- Bishop Othal Hawthorne Lakey presides over the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church for the state of Georgia.
- Dr. Allan Lane pastors the Fort Graham Baptist Church near Lake Whitney, Texas.
- Rabbi Jordan Ofseyer is rabbi of Beth Tzedec Congregation, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
- Reverend Tom Plumbley is senior pastor of the First Christian Church in Ft. Worth, Texas.
- Father Michael Olson, Rector, Holy Trinity Seminary, Irving, Texas
- Reverend Canon John L. Peterson, Center for Global Justice & Reconciliation, Washington National Cathedral, Washington D.C
The program is viewed over stations all over the world. Funded by the profits from the different facilities owned by ARTH, it continues to beam “brotherhood to the world” through the miracle of the air waves.