Bertram starts Worship for Shut-Ins in 1965 in Ohio

By Lucy Moll
Worship Anew Intern

In 1 Peter 4:10 (NIV), the Lord commands to “use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” One man of God who made these words his mission was the Rev. Oswald Henry Bertram, the founder of Worship for Shut-Ins, now named Worship Anew.

Bertram was born in Iowa and attended Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Mo. In 1964, he was working at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Toledo, Ohio, and pitched the idea of a church service that would be recorded and broadcast to a local television station. Bertram had seen the need to make the worship of God accessible to the many homebound believers who were unable to attend church in person, calling his new program “Worship for Shut-Ins.”

The first service was aired by WSPD-TV in 1965 and continued weekly through the next decade. As Bertram worked tirelessly to spread God’s Word, he continued to care for his wife, Lorna Kern, and daughter, who blessed him with two grandchildren. Kern died in 1970, and Bertram later married Sarah “Sally” Martin.

After many years dedicated to spreading the Gospel through the program, Bertram died of cancer in 1979.

Bertram’s legacy endures today with more than 60 television stations proclaiming the Gospel all over the world.

Since 2007, faithful volunteers of Worship Anew are honored with the The Rev. Oswald Bertram Award. This honor is presented to volunteers who give of their time and energy to share God’s Word through this ministry just as Bertram did.

Above photo: The weekly televised worship service, then known as “Worship for Shut-Ins,” began in
Toledo, Ohio, with the Rev. Oswald Henry Bertram.