The weekly program is the result of over 18 months of conversations and planning between Bishop Peter Ingham (Catholic Bishop of Wollongong), Mr Jude Hennessy (Catholic Diocese of Wollongong) and Mr Josh Reid (Pulse 94.1FM General Manager). Bishop Peter Ingham's desire is to present the good news of the Christian faith to a broad audience.
Bishop Ingham said, "Faith in Jesus Christ is the most precious of all gifts and we want to share it with others in a contemporary way."
General Manager Josh Reid has long seen the need for Christian radio to partner with the local church for ministry and sustainability purposes.
Mr Reid said, "Never before has a whole church denomination decided to actively support and promote the local Christian radio station. We may get individual support from one church or another, but in this case you have a directive given from the top down to all the Catholic parishes and all the Catholic schools, encouraging them to tune in and actively support their local Christian radio – Pulse 94.1. - It's an historic event!"
Last week posters and handouts promoting The Journey and Pulse 94.1 were put up in all Catholic churches and Catholic schools in the Illawarra, South Coast, Southern Highlands and Macarthur regions of NSW, Australia.
Mr Reid said, "One of the ironic issues with Christian radio is that many church attendees do not even know we are on the air, which obviously affects our listening numbers. This past week many thousands of Catholic Christians are now aware that Pulse 94.1 is available, and what's more, they are being proactively encouraged to listen to us!"
The Journey airs weekly in the Illawarra and South Coast on Pulse 94.1FM on Sundays from 11am–12pm and repeated on Wednesday evenings from 10pm– 11pm. If you are outside the broadcast area you can still listen live via streaming at www.pulse941.com.au or listen/download past shows on the Pulse website's audio lounge, or via the diocesan website at www.radio.dow.org.au.
The Journey is hosted by "Dave and Doddsy" – Dave Collins, a Catechist, DJ and professional MC and Grant Dodds who is a Pastoral Support Worker with CatholicCare. The Journey contains a variety of weekly spots from Clergy, Sr Hilda Scott OSB (Jamberoo Abbey), Bruce Downes ("The Catholic Guy"), Byron and Francine Pirola (SMARTloving.org) as well as input for young people across the Diocese. The Journey also contains regular interviews highlighting the good things being done in the Church and its agencies.
Program Producer and Editor, Jude Hennessy, said, "The Journey is an exciting venture that enables the Catholic community to contribute to the wonderful Christian radio station, Pulse 94.1FM. We have been really overwhelmed with how positively the first show was received and hope that more and more people listen in live or via the website as the news about it spreads."
The signed agreement is a partnership between the Catholic Diocese of Wollongong, and Christian radio Pulse 94.1FM. The partnership benefits the Catholic church by access to airtime, and in exchange benefits Pulse 94.1 by the Catholic church proactively promoting Christian radio to their congregations and schools.