A Year of Exploring and Restoring The Sacred

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As we thank God for another exciting year at StoryTel Foundation, we also want to thank you for your generous support. Without your prayers and contributions, we would not be exploring and restoring the sacred and inviting millions of viewers to do the same. 

What a year we've had! We celebrated the completion of our fourth full-length documentary film, danced a jig over a burst of press coverage about StoryTel, celebrated as our online video views broke 24,000 and cheered madly as our Miles Christi documentary premiered on EWTN to 230 million homes around the globe!

Reminisce with us as you take a look at our 2014 film project highlights. These victories are yours as much as they're ours, but ultimately every inspired soul is God's victory. Plus, get a sneak peek at our plans for next year, including a new TV series format, a second partner TV station, and an exciting vocations project. 

Many of the people and organizations whose stories should be told don't have any money to pay us for our services. That's why we need your help to serve them and continue creating impactful media productions that will foster reverence for God and the things of God.

As a 501c3 nonprofit foundation, none of our work would be possible without God's help, and yours. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation today to help StoryTel in 2015.

We, too, are sanctified through the making of these films. Thank you for providing a vehicle for holiness in our own lives and the lives of our viewers. God's work is always worth it.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!

In Christ,

Don Carney and the StoryTel Team

Miles Christi: Soldiers of Christ In America International Broadcast Premiere

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Our latest film finally aired for the first time today in the U.S. and will continue to premier through the world this week on EWTN's various international stations. 

Thanks to everybody for their wonderful feedback and many DVD orders. We're so please that so many people are enjoying and appreciating our film. 

To learn more about our mission our films, check out this great article about StoryTel from the National Catholic Register that was published this weekend. 

StoryTel's Mission in 30 Seconds

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I couldn't wait to show off our new commercial.

We're working on the best way to make our films available to watch in their entirety online, as well as trying to find ways to more money. Adding a couple of commercials addresses both issues. 

Since part of our mission is to distribute these stories as far and wide as we can, making people pay to see them online did not make sense. However, we did not want to miss out on the opportunity to remind people that we are donation-based organization and to give them the opportunity to become a part of the mission. 

So we're working on a series of commercials advertising ourselves to drop into the full films when viewed online. Enjoy.

Remembering Dr. McArthur

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We at StoryTel Foundation mourn the passing of Dr. Ronald McArthur and celebrate his life. Dr. McArthur was a co-founder of Thomas Aquinas College. Below is a video of him speaking to the students on March 6, 1996. This was one of our early productions, long before we were called StoryTel.

Bonus Video: 25th Anniversary Founder's Dinner

We also had filmed the 25th Anniversary Founder's dinner, given for the students on March 7, 1996. In this video the college's founders tell the stories of the college's beginning.

 

Dr. McArthur's comments are at 49:00, 1:31:30, and 1:55:00.

Additionally, there are some wonderful comments from the late Dr. Thomas Dillon, the late Col. William Lawton, Jr., Dr. John Neumayr, the late Mr. Marcus Berquist, Mr. Peter Deluca, and Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz.

StoryTel Documentary Televised on EWTN for the 14th time in 4 years

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Our newly restored documentary about a dying parish miraculously restored to life is now available on DVD and will be broadcast to 230 million homes worldwide on September 25th. 

Watch our new trailer below to get a good feel for this newly restored and digitally remastered, time-tested documentary "Saint John Cantius, Restoring the Sacred".

"Saint John Cantius, Restoring the Sacred" on EWTN Wednesday, September 25 at 5:30pm CT; Also available to watch online and on DVD at storytel.org/cantius

Standing the Test of Time

In the years following this program's premiere on EWTN in May of 2009, the fame of Saint John Cantius Church has grown and people everywhere have connected with our presentation of this amazing true story of how an all-but-abandoned huge, old church, destined for the wrecking ball, became a thriving religious and cultural treasure again.

People are inspired by this production because it's well done and it's true; true to what actually happened and true to the spirit of those who worked with God to make it happen.

It's a great story that we have structured a bit like an opera using the music from the choirs of Saint John Cantius to set and change the mood and to help drive the story forward. The story builds almost by itself as the production elevates liturgical beauty, appreciates Sacred music, and demonstrates how little things like making confession available during Sunday mass can have a profound impact on parishioner participation in the sacrament.

Father Scott Haynes, SJC of Saint John Cantius has described this production as, "A powerful tool for our parish's revitalization and for the work of our religious community!" Father Haynes also called it, "A decisive tool for attracting vocations, a video that clearly proclaims who we are and what we do."

Restoring the Documentary

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During a review of this program, a few months ago, we began discussing how incredibly much video and audio technology has developed in the years since we originally shot this documentary, way back in the days of Betacam-SP video tape; and we decided it was high time we took advantage of our current technology to re-create this production in widescreen and bring all image and sound quality up a few notches.

So we set to work restoring and remastering. We re-edited the picture into 4x3 widescreen; enhanced and re-mixed the soundtrack; re-created the titles and sharpened the still images; close captioned the whole production for the hearing impaired; dubbed it into Spanish to reach untapped markets; and basically enhanced all the visuals and audio wherever possible throughout the entire program, without altering any content along the way.

It Takes Eight Satellites to Reach the World

After 14 broadcasts dates on EWTN's seven English-language satellites spanning Africa and India; Canada; the United States; Europe; the Pacific Rim; UK and Ireland; totaling 75 individual English broadcasts, viewers are still calling EWTN to praise "Saint John Cantius, Restoring the Sacred" -- proof that Catholics around the world are entertained by this production and inspired to see the Sacred elements of our faith restored.

In 2012, StoryTel released the Spanish-dubbed version of the Cantius story, "San Juan Cancio, La Restauracion de lo Sagrado", and since the Spanish program's premiere, "San Juan Cancio" has been televised on four separate dates to EWTN's worldwide Spanish-language channel.

The Spanish and English "Saint John Cantius" productions together are currently reaching over 230 million homes throughout the world with 94 individual broadcasts from eight different EWTN satellites. Both versions are now contained on one DVD in the newly restored and remastered; widescreen; closed captioned; English or Spanish language; and enhanced audio -- "Saint John Cantius, Restoring the Sacred".

September 25th on EWTN

If you haven't seen it, the story will delight you -- and if you have seen it before, you know you'll enjoy the experience of revisiting this timeless StoryTel story in the newly restored widescreen edition.

So be sure to tune in to EWTN on Wednesday, September 25 at 5:30PM central, for their 14th televised broadcast of "Saint John Cantius, Restoring the Sacred". (EWTN Channel Finder)

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What Kind of Priest Do You Want?

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A couple weeks ago StoryTel received an email from a seminarian saying:

Please send me the "Where Heaven Meets Earth, Restoring the Sacred at St. Peter's Church" DVD. 

I am excited to see the "Where Heaven Meets Earth" documentary as I have two years left in seminary formation and hope that this will aid me in my formation as a future parish priest and pastor.

-Chris

So we not only sent Chris his DVD, we were inspired to take this a step further and gifted 50 "Where Heaven Meets Earth" DVDs to seminarians who attended the Institute for Priestly Formation this summer.

The Institute for Priestly Formation (IPF), a non-profit Public Association of the Faithful, serves bishops by working directly with priests, seminarians, and seminaries so that spiritual formation is the center around which all other aspects of priestly formation are integrated. They have served close to 2,000 priests and seminarians from over 154 dioceses in the United States, 38 international dioceses, and eight religious orders.

The Institute for Priestly Formation states,

Every priest is ordained with a passion for Christ, a deep love for the Church, and a zeal for the priesthood. However, attention to the spiritual life can easily be lost in the midst of the many demands on a priest’s time. This results in a weakened priesthood, leaving the laity hungry for spiritual leadership.
None of us question the beauty of the priesthood. However, considering the contemporary challenges facing the priesthood, as well as Blessed John Paul II’s exhortation that a renewed priesthood is essential for the “future evangelization of humanity,” the question facing the laity is not, “Do you want the priesthood?” but rather, “What kind of priest do you want?”
What kind of priest do you want hearing your confession? What kind of priest do you want anointing your aging parents? What kind of priest do you want forming the souls of your grandchildren?

We want the story of Restoring the Sacred at St. Peter Church on "Where Heaven Meets Earth" to aid Chris in his formation and the formation of more future priests... inspiring them to restore the sacred all across America.

If you'd like to help defray the cost of this strategic DVD giveaway and other strategic outreach programs like it, designed to reach the influencers who will help bring about the restoration the sacred, you can give today on our donate page. If you can't give but would still like to support us, please pray for our work.

And finally, if you are a seminarian who attended IPF this summer and did not receive a DVD but you would like one please contact us at storytel.org/contact.

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