Western New York Religious Diversity

Kaleidoscope is a monthly TV program, “of and about the religious communities of WNY” which has been produced  by the Network of Religious Communities and broadcast over WGRZ TV 2 since 1995.  From 2008-2021 it was jointly produced by the Network of Religious Communities and the Canisius College Video Institute. Each half-hour program, hosted by Rev. Dr. G. Stanford Bratton, Executive Director/CEO contains two segments.

Kaleidoscope features segments on religious holidays and matters of concern to the religious communities of the local community.   Just as an optical kaleidoscope creates new patterns by reflecting images, this show reveals the radiance of the many faces of Western New York’s religious communities, letting them shine with their own lights and patterns. These videos illustrate the ways that these religious communities engage in the life and history of our region. 

Presently the program airs the first Saturday each month at 5:30 am on WGRZ-TV, Fridays at 6:35 pm on Time Warner 20 and uploaded to the NRC YouTube Channel.

The Network of Religious Communities is an organization of denominations, congregations and religious organizations located in and serving Western New York. Its members include Bahai, Buddhist, Christian (including Orthodox, Protestant, Roman Catholic), Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh and Unitarian. Its purpose is to promote understanding, foster cooperation, and facilitate collaboration among our member organizations and in the wider community.

This exhibit currently contains 24 videos, just a small sampling of the wide-ranging content explored by the hosts of the Kaleidoscope Project.  As the program is ongoing, we hope to add additional videos in the future. This exhibit will highlight five themes within the collection of episodes of Kaleidoscope. The themes that will be focused on here are Family, Health, Holidays, Justice/Service/Food, and Religious Groups and Congregations.