Minister lands TV gig

Lillian Daniel's one-time appearance on WTTW Channel 11's show, "30 Good Minutes," has turned into a weekly gig.

Daniel, senior minister at First Congregational Church of Glen Ellyn, will co-host a couple dozen episodes of the show, with the first one scheduled to air Sunday.

"I'm very happy about it," she said. "I've been on TV, but I haven't done something like this."

The show is a weekly interfaith program that features religious thinkers chosen from a range of denominations and faith traditions. The program explores topics of faith through short meditations, documentaries, interviews and commentaries. It's broadcast Sundays at 5 p.m., and Daniel will rotate with two other co-hosts.

Daniel plans to continue her work at the Glen Ellyn church in the same way she has for the past three years.

However, she realizes she'll have some new roles to experiment with while leading a show on TV.

As a minister, she's used to talking in front of large groups of people.

"So talking to a camera is kind of different," she said.

Instead of doing the talking, she looks forward to asking questions and trying to draw out discussions more deeply.

Her passion for the show's topics and discussions also run deep and hit close to home.

"I'm really excited to meet the guests on the show because they bring different voices along the religious spectrum," Daniel said.

"It's also a show that connects very well with the values of our church because it's very inclusive and very tolerant of different points of views."