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The only Catholic radio station in the Albany Diocese will soon reach more listeners.

WOPG, which stands for Words of Peace and Goodness, will keep its 89.9 FM station and add the 5,000-watt 1460 AM, which WOPG owner Pax et Bonum, Inc., recently purchased from Radio Disney for $375,000.

The FM signal is strongest in Herkimer, Fulton and Otsego Counties, but currently reaches Utica to the west, the Massachusetts border to the east and Oneonta to the south. The addition will boost reception in cities like Albany, Schenectady and Troy and in parts of Greene, Saratoga and Columbia Counties.

It will also allow the station to operate at full strength at night, while enhancing the listening experience for travelers. Until now, "just when you're listening to something good," the signal would fade out, explained Laura Threlkeld, the treasurer of WOPG.

WOPG broke onto the airwaves in 2010 from a transmitter in Cherry Valley and a studio in the former St. Stanislaus School in Amsterdam. When the purchase of the additional station goes through early next year, the two stations will start operating out of the former WDDY studio in Glenmont. The FM station will still transmit from Cherry Valley.

Mrs. Threlkeld and her husband, Tom, who is president of the station, said WOPG's new home will have more room for equipment and space for prayer and gatherings.

The station is run by volunteer disc jockeys and engineers. Programming includes interviews with local Catholics, music recorded at parishes, pre-recorded speeches and retreats, recitations of the Rosary by children from St. Stanislaus and syndicated shows from EWTN.

There will likely be more live programming and local content in the future; the Threlkelds are seeking more volunteers and individuals to report news on-air.

"We're here to serve the interests of our bishop," Mr. Threlkeld said. "We've always taken that as our role. Our goal is to reveal the truth of the Catholic Church to the churched and un-churched. It is our hope that people will begin to explore the big questions of life.

"By listening to radio," he hopes, "people will think about these things that God has written on their hearts" and attend Mass or catechize others.

"Our evangelization is an invitation. It's not to proselytize," he added. "It invites people to explore a relationship with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. We've been thinking a lot about what Pope Francis has been encouraging people to do" to promote the Gospel.

The Threlkelds believe the acquisition of the new station - which was originally WOKO, Albany's first radio station - was divine providence. Regulations dictated the studio be within 25 miles of the city of license, which in this case is Esperance. The WDDY studio was exactly 24.97 miles away.

They say they wish they could have started out being heard in the cities, "but that's not what God wanted," Mrs. Threlkeld said. "He put us out into the wilderness. Now it's His time."

Mr. Threlkeld added, "I hope it's God's plan and we're just a part of that plan."[[In-content Ad]]

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