Miracle Movie Churches -- Lilies of the Field (1963)

The problem with talking about Movie Churches with miracles is it's hard to get people to agree on the definition of a "miracle." Does a miracle need to break the laws of nature? Or can a miracle just be an answer to prayer? How can you tell the difference between a miracle and a coincidence?

"Lilies of the Field" is a movie about a church built through a series of miracles -- or a series of coincidences. The Mother Superior of a small convent in the desert prays for someone to build a chapel. In their community, there is no church building. There is a priest that travels about in a camper performing mass. The priest, Father Murphy, also prayed in seminary for a beautiful sanctuary to serve, and was disappointed in his situation.

Sidney Poitier (in an Oscar winning performance) plays Homer Smith, an itinerant handyman who believes he is stopping at the house where the nuns live for water for his overheated car. The Mother Superior believes he has stopped to build a chapel; that he is sent by God. He knows that this is not the case because he is not planning on staying and that he's a Baptist.

He's willing to work for pay. But the nuns really don't have money to pay him for all the work that must be done, and they certainly don't have the finances to pay for the supplies to build the chapel. So the Mother Superior prays for the supplies as well. God answers those prayers when a local construction business supplies bricks out of guilt. Certainly, there seems to be nothing strictly supernatural in the arrival of a worker and supplies, but the Mother Superior has no doubt that it is God's work.

Evaluating this movie church, I should take a moment to discuss the clergy. Father Murphy does not have the best reputation among some in the community. The owner of the local diner believes the Father loves his wine too much. The Father himself believes he's unworthy of his position. He believes his seminary prayers showed disqualifying pride. But the beauty of the new chapel reminds Father Murphy that God's grace overwhelms our sins, and it seems he will be a good priest in it.

Homer doesn't only bring his architectural skills to the new church, he also brings his guitar. He teaches the nuns a gospel song, "Amen," which tells a theologically sound life of Christ. In fact, most of the theology in the film I found fairly sound. I did have a problem with one thing the Mother Superior said in the film. She says about Homer, "He is not of our faith, but he was brought to us by God; the God of all faiths." I have no problem with her saying that about Catholics or Baptists. But when you say all faiths, you're including those that had faiths that asked for infant sacrifices to Baal. I'm just not comfortable with that. (And I'll save my rant on Scientology inspired by the very good HBO film "Going Clear" for another week.)

Psalm 127 says, "Unless the Lord builds the house, they that labor, labor in vain."  The movie church in "Lilies of the Field" seems to be built by God. By definition then, that's not for nothing.

-- Dean

[Business detail: as of June 1, Movie Churches will have its own blog. More exciting details to come soon!]

Saint Joseph's, Tuolumne City

Life isn't like the movies (which is usually a good thing), so as we visit churches this month that were featured in movies, we deal with Movie Church expectations that  aren't met in real life. This week was no exception. St. Joseph's was used for the church exteriors in the Western classic, High Noon, but if you were hoping for any of the following things, you'll be sorely disappointed if you visit this small church in the foothills of gold country.

1. There were no horses tied in front of the church, and no buggies parked. I suppose this shouldn't be surprising as the film is set in New Mexico Territory in the late 1880's, sometime after the arrival of the railroad. The church was built in 1908, so it wasn't quite in the era of the Old West, but it was close. The pastor, Father John Fitzgerald, has been serving at this church for 23 years, and it was not until his tenure that heating and air-conditioning was added to the facility.
2. The church in the film seems to be a Protestant church of some variety, which is not the case here -- as you can see by a glance at the name of the church. Among the morning's hymns, though, was "I Sing the Mighty Power of God" by Isaac Watts which was sung in plenty of Protestant churches in the Old West.
3. The service was not interrupted by a sheriff asking for volunteers to face a vengeful killer and his brothers arriving on the noon train. In fact, I didn't notice anyone entering the church after the service began, which isn't that common. At the other Catholic services we've attended, a good number of people have come in late. We have no explanation for these facts (we didn't notice any train tracks in town, either, but we doubt these things are connected).

We were quite thankful not to be late for church. We'd  spent the night in Bootjack with friends (more than an hour's drive away), so we left their house around 7:00 in the morning. When we pulled up in front of the church, it was easily identified as the church from High Noon. We thought we were an hour early, since we'd thought mass started at 10:00 am. But we saw the sign reading "9:00 am Mass," and we heard the bells ring. We entered just minutes before the service began (so again, no movie reenactment here).

An elderly woman was lighting the candles at the front of the sanctuary. She turned to the congregation and said, "I need a man to help with these candles!" Knowing the sorry example of cowardly men in the film High Noon, men too cowardly to volunteer to help Gary Cooper, I volunteered immediately. I went forward and could see that the high candle she was trying to reach was, in fact, already lit, though the flame was small and blue. Though she couldn't see it, I assured her it was lit.

The service began. Soon I was experiencing a frustration I've experienced in every Catholic service we've attended this year. I really have a hard time following the order of service, the readings and the songs. Entering the service we were handed a folder with three different books in it. We switched off between those three sections without being told at any time which section we were using. You need to look up the day's date at the beginning of the book to know that on that day, November 15th, was the 33rd Sunday of ordinary time (I think). Father Fitzgerald reminded us it was almost the end of the church year (Advent is the beginning). The numbers of the songs could be found on a board on the wall. But finding the responses and songs still was a challenge. Even lifelong Catholics must get lost on occasion.

The Scriptures, especially the passages from Daniel and Mark, focused on the End Times, the Second Coming of Christ. Father Fitzgerald spoke of the tribulation Scripture foretold, "Once we thought persecution was just in the past, but today, particularly in the Middle East, it is quite upfront." He said, "The Second Coming has the warning of judgment, but greater is the promise of consolation that will come with Christ's return."

     

During this weekend of the terror of the ISIS attack in Paris, it was good to look at the hope found in the promise that history is in God's hands. Father Fitzgerald made a point that we, as Christ's disciples, must live in the present, but we are able to do so because of Scripture's promises for the future.

After the service I went to talk to the cantor, the woman leading the music. I needed to ask her what instrument she was playing. I thought it was a mandolin, but I have little experience with mandolins. It was. Then she told me I had given her an example of faith that morning. She hadn't been able to see the light of the candle either. But she trusted my word and later watched the flame grow.

The flame of St. Joseph's Church in Tuolumne City has been burning for over a century, and I trust it will continue to burn. I hope until Christ's return.

Statistics:

Service Length: 1 hour 2 minutes

Sermon Length: 13 minutes

Visitor Treatment: we were greeted and given the worship binder (with three different books in it) at the entrance. During the passing of the peace, the people around us greeted us, and after mass, Father Fitzgerald made a point of meeting us.

Followup by Tuesday Morning: none

Our Rough Count: 44

Probable Ushers' Count: 50

Snacks: donuts and coffee cake, coffee and hot chocolate (which was welcome on a chilly, rainy morning)

Musicians: three women singing (one with mandolin)

Songs: "I Sing the Mighty Power of God"

            chanting introit

            Psalm 85 chant

            "Glory be to the Father"

            "Lord Jesus you are the hope" chant

            "Lord Have Mercy"

            "Alleluia"

            "Lamb of God" chant

            There were several chants that aren't listed here, and I missed the name of the last song

Miles to place: 289

Total California Miles: 16,105

Church website: omnsanct.org

Miracle Movie Churches -- Agnes of God (1985)

"A miracle is an event without explanation" says the Mother Superior in "Agnes of God," giving one of the worst definitions of the word I've heard. For one thing, if you look up dictionary definitions of the word, often you'll see the word miracle is associated with positive outcomes and with divine purpose. "Events without explanation" happen on Twitter all the time.

Poor definitions are just the beginning of the problems with the Movie Church/Convent in Norman Jewison's 1985 film, "Agnes of God.  In the opening of the film, we see what looks like an old white church with a tall steeple. A scream brings the camera within its walls, and we see a bloody, terrified nun.

We then learn the nun (Agnes, played by Meg Tilly) has been accused of murdering her own newborn baby. A court appointed psychiatrist, Martha Livingston (played by Jane Fonda) is sent to interview Agnes. And yes, the mother superior (Ann Bancroft, a little ways from Mrs. Robinson) does indeed greet her with the words, "Dr. Livingston, I presume?"

Livingston is not greeted warmly at the convent. Some nuns, who seem to have taken a vow of silence, greet her only with dirty looks. We learn that the mother superior is opposed because she is opposed to psychiatry. Livingston accuses her of opposing science, and Mother Miriam doesn't deny it.

In fact, she seems to have quite the soft spot for ignorance. The nuns of the convent (excepting the mother superior and one other sister) are kept from any contact with the world. Agnes herself was raised in isolation by her mother and then sent to the isolation of the convent. Mother Miriam speaks rather approvingly of Agnes never seeing TV or a movie or reading a book, seeming to believe there is a connection between holiness and the lack of a sound mind. She says at one point, "Not all of the saints were good, in fact some were a little crazy." This would come as quite a surprise to Saints Augustine, Aquinas and Thomas More.

Agnes is even appears to be ignorant of where babies come from. She says that "good babies come from an angel whispering in a mother's ear" and bad babies come from "demons touching a mother there and then the baby comes out of the mother's body." There is a mystery running through the film about the father of the baby. Did Agnes have a lover? Was she raped? Or was there a supernatural occurrence?

Agnes claims that the Angel Michael was the father of her baby. This runs directly counter to what Jesus said in Matthew 22:30, "At the resurrection people will neither marry or be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven." But then, Agnes seems as ignorant of the Bible as she is of every book. Bible reading doesn't appear to have a place in the life of this convent.

A priest does come every week to take confession and to give the Eucharist. He stands off from the nuns behind bars as he blesses the bread and the cup. He is the only man that is supposed to have any contact with the nuns. At night, no man is allowed on the property. Mother Superior says that after dark "Jesus Christ himself would not be allowed in," and from what I could see, He wasn't allowed in at other times, either.

Dr. Livingston does witness one "miracle," stigmata: Agnes' hands spontaneously begin to bleed as Christ's hands did when pierced with the nail. This phenomenon has been associated with many saints through the years, but as Livingston points out, this phenomenon has been explained as having hysterical origin.

In the world of this movie church, though, natural explanations don't seem to hold. We see the stigmata break out, but nothing encouraging or holy comes from it. So I would think if it was of supernatural origin, it would be demonic rather than divine.

Do I have anything good to say about the Movie Church/Convent of this film? Well, they do have a very cool bell tower. And a secret passage. Secret passages are awesome. And at one point we see the nuns ice skating. Nuns ice skating are just adorable. Otherwise, the place earns a solid thumbs down.

-- Dean

Miracle Movie Churches -- Little Boy -- In Theaters Now!

A cinematic bomb is usually not a cause for celebration. An atomic bomb killing tens of thousands of people is an even more unlikely cause of celebration, except in the cinematic bomb that is "Little Boy."

Perhaps that's a little unfair.  But the film cost $20 million and looks unlikely to recoup its costs anytime soon. And as for the atomic bomb celebration, well, let's talk about that later, because really, we're here to discuss churches in movies; and there is a church in this movie along with a couple of priests. So we're in business.

I guess I should first let you know what the film is about. "Little Boy" is about a boy, Pepper (abnormally diminutive, thus the nickname, "Little Boy" which is also a title drop), growing up in a small California coastal town during World War II.  Pepper and his father are big fans of a comic superhero "Ben English, Magician," and after his father leaves with the army to fight in the Pacific theater, Pepper believes he possesses similar magical powers that can bring his father home.

When he hears a sermon at his local Catholic church about the faith of a mustard seed moving a mountain, Pepper takes it heart. The priest who preached that sermon is put off by Pepper equating the faith Jesus was talking about with a comic book character's magic powers, but another priest, Father Oliver (played by Tom Wilkerson), takes interest in Pepper's mission.

He tells the boy his faith must increase. The kid wants to know how and so the Priest gives him a card with "The List", which contains wisdom for growing his faith in God:

Feed the Hungry

Shelter the Homeless

Visit those in Prison

Clothe the Naked

Bury the Dead

And then the Priest adds one more, "Befriend Hashimoto." Hashimoto is a Japanese man in town, recently released from an internment camp. Pepper has learned from his brother that he should hate the Japanese that are fighting his father, so he sees this as the most difficult of the assignments.

I'm frankly undecided about whether Father Oliver is wise in presenting the list to Pepper. Most of it is simply the teaching of Jesus, which obviously a priest should provide for his people. But he allows the boy to look at the list as good works that will force God's hand, or even worse, works that will give Pepper special powers to change the world through his own will.

Though "Befriend Hashimoto" isn't to be found in Scripture, Jesus did teach, "Love your enemy;" it seems a good contextualization of the command. The priest himself has befriended the Japanese man who has been ostracized by most of the community. And Pepper eventually becomes very good friends with the old Asian man.

Pepper probably profits from considering how to fulfill the assignments on the list. Most Christians could give more thought and action to fulfilling the teaching of Matthew 25, to provide for the needy. The one strange thing on the list is the assignment to "Bury the Dead" which is not found in Matthew 25. In fact, Jesus said in Luke 9:60, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God." This seems to be added as a plot point to present Pepper with a dilemma that doesn't really involve Pepper's decision making at all. All in all, I'd commend the work of Father Oliver and give thumbs up to his movie church. He can't help it if Pepper proves to be a bit of a megalomaniac.

As for the mention above about the celebration of an atomic bomb -- though it has little to do with the movie church in the film, this is the thing the film will probably be remembered for. Historians among you probably realize that "Little Boy" is not only a mean nickname for the young boy in this film, but also the name of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

Pepper has taken to pointing his hands toward Japan and grunting and wishing in hope of ending the war. Everyone in town notices this strange behavior. But when the newspapers report that the bomb named "Little Boy" has killed tens of thousands of people, everyone in town celebrates. They lift Pepper on their shoulders and shout with joy.

It's understandable at the time why the devastation of this Japanese city would be treated with such festivity. But to see it now on film makes one feel more than queasy, especially in a film targeted toward people of faith. It's too bad, because the message of loving your enemy comes out clearly in much of the rest of the film. Sometimes it seems that to make a great film about faith would be a true miracle.

-- Dean

Funny Movie Churches -- Keeping the Faith (2000)

The comedy "Keeping the Faith" seems to answer the question no one had been asking: "What if Starsky and Hutch had taken vows in religious orders rather than becoming cops?" Like the S & H TV show and inevitable movie adaptation, two hip young guys try to change the world for the better -- in "Starsky and Hutch," with guns and badges, and in "Keeping the Faith," with clerical collars and yarmulkes. 

           

Brian (Edward Norton) and Jake (Ben Stiller) grew up buddies along with their friend Anna (Jenna Elfman). Then Anna moved away and Brian became a priest and Jake became a Rabbi, but the two guys remained good friends.

As always, I'm here to talk about the churches in the movies, not the movies themselves. I'm also, as a Gentile, going to exempt myself from talking about Jake's temple; except for two things.

1) Jake's bringing in a Gospel choir to help the congregational singing is very cool.

2) Jake dating and having affairs with a succession of women in his congregation is not cool.

So let's look at Father Brian's church with pros and cons. When we first see Brian in the church, it's a rather sad sight. He's an awkward screw-up, creating mayhem with the incense dispenser. But with a passing time montage we see the church grow, with great crowds coming to hear Brian preach. It's unclear whether the growth is due to people being attracted to the cool, contemporary spin Father Brian brings to his ministry or whether it's because women think he's dreamy or a combination of the two. (A concurrent montage shows the same growth in Jake's temple.)

Brian talks about his calling to the priesthood. His mother thought she couldn't have children and she prayed for God to provide. She saw Brian as a gift from God and was thrilled when he decided to go into the ministry (a story that has a Hannah and Samuel feel to it).

We see Brian taking the confession of a young Hispanic man, and I like several things about the way he handles the situation. Brian has learned enough Spanish to use it in his ministry. He's comfortable as a priest talking with the young man about sexual temptation, reminding him that his feelings are natural but need to be channeled in appropriate directions.

One of the major plot lines is Brian's unexpected temptation when Anna re-enters his life, and he feels attracted to her but talks through his feelings and priestly obligations with an older priest (played by film director Miles Foreman), which is healthy. It's really important for people in ministry to have other people who will hold them accountable.

I also like that Brian works with Jake on community projects. In the film, they're planning a karaoke-focused senior center. Though the world doesn't necessarily need more karaoke, it's good to see congregations working together to meet community needs. I believe this can be done on many projects even when congregations have doctrinal differences.

My one big problem with Father Brian is his abhorrent theology, at least as demonstrated in the one sermon we hear.  He talks about what a good thing it is that so many people are coming to church because it shows they have faith. He then makes a distinction between faith and religion. "Faith is a feeling, a hunch, that there is something bigger connecting everything together and that feeling is God." There is a definite pantheistic ring to that idea, rather than Christian. God is not a feeling or a hunch but our Creator, who desires to have a loving relationship with us, as a loving Father with His children.

I do appreciate the desire of the makers of this film to show members of the clergy as real people who pursue God's work for the betterment of others rather than themselves. I just wish Father Brian, in his rush to be relevant in the 21st century, hadn't left behind the best thing about the legacy of the church, the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

-- Dean

Funny Movie Churches -- Sister Act (1992)

I admit that I like, on occasion, to hear profanity in prayers. The occasions are when a new believers are praying with the only vocabulary they have.  If a seasoned pastor, on the other hand,  uses such language to show how edgy he or she is, that's really annoying.

A new believer, or even someone who doesn't believe, can be an unsettling presence in the Church. Such a person can also allow a sedate congregation to get a fresh perspective of God and his work.

The movie church in the 1992 comedy "Sister Act" is in great need of a fresh perspective, of being shook up. St. Katherine's is a church and a nunnery in San Francisco. The nuns stay cloistered behind their walls because their Reverend Mother is afraid for their safety. A small handful of people attend the Sunday services, which seem to be rather sad affairs.

But then the plot happens. Whoopi Goldberg is a casino lounge singer named Deloris who witnesses a gangland murder and must hide at St. Katherine's disguised as a nun (I'm pretty sure this is fairly standard law enforcement procedure). And as can happen when a new person enters a church, there is some disruption, good disruption. With the arrival of Deloris, the church and convent change in two major departments: music and outreach.

In my opinion, there are three important components to music in the church:

1)  Lyrics that honor God

2) Musical quality

3) Worship from the heart.

If any one of these components are subpar, then worship can be painful. We've visited churches that had excellent musicians, but the lyrics were insipid, and the people in front seemed to be performers rather than worshipers.

The choir of nuns pre-Deloris in "Sister Act" seem sincere-- far be it from me to complain about the lyrics to "Crown Him with Many Crowns." But they sing boring musical arrangements of classic hymns, not in harmony or even on key. One is under the impression that the torturous tunes from the choir play a part in keeping people from attending the Sunday morning services.

Deloris contributes her musical skills to the choir, taking over as director. Initially she uses traditional hymns with more jazzy arrangements. She also demands more rehearsal time for the women and gives them proper training. People in the community hear the improvement in the music and begin to flock to the services. The Reverend Mother is upset by this "blasphemous boogie-woogie," but the Monsignor is too happy to have people at his service.

Deloris also introduces songs that are adaptations of Motown pop. "My Guy" becomes "My God," and "I Will Follow Him" capitalizes the male pronoun in the lyrics. Sadly, these lyrics are not very profound, but they do attract people to church. And the lyrics really aren't much dimmer than those found in your average song on K-Love. Overall, the music of the church is much improved post-Deloris' arrival.

Prior to Deloris' arrival, the Reverend Mother kept the nuns "safely" within the walls of  St. Katherine's. But Christ's Great Commission (found in Matthew 28) calls His disciples to go out into the world. The only true place of safety is in God's will, and it's questionable whether the nuns doing arts and crafts separate from anyone not wearing the white and black is either safe or profitable to the Kingdom of God.

Deloris sneaks off to a bar across from the nunnery and is followed by two of the nuns. The nuns are inspired by the lively atmosphere and the jukebox. Apparently in 1992, Motown was all that could be found in jukeboxes in San Francisco bars.

Over the objections of the Reverend Mother but with the support of the Monsignor, Deloris encourages the nuns to go out and serve the community. They go out to serve, painting over graffiti and repairing vehicles with musical accompaniment (Motown, of course). The nuns' ministry to the community attracts good publicity (which is a swell thing, unless one is hiding from criminals who have access to newspapers and television news programs).

"Sister Act" is at times cute ("That nun is dancing like a teen!") at times funny ("Whoopi Goldberg in a habit? Get out!") and at times dumb (nuns chartering a plane from San Francisco to Reno is quicker and more practical than making a phone call to the Reno police). But as always, I'm not here to review the film. The church at the beginning of the film might not get a thumbs up, but St. Katherine's at the end of the film certainly does.

-- Dean

Funny Movie Churches -- Raising Helen (2004)

"A Sexy Man of God"

Sure, this thing is called Movie Churches, but we do stretch sometimes and talk about Movie Clergy. I guess there is a church in this film, but in the film it's only used as part of St. Barnabas Lutheran School, of which Pastor Dan Parker is the principal. Unlike the Catholic priests in so many of the churches we look at here, Pastor Dan is the love interest for the title character in "Raising Helen."

Kate Hudson stars as Helen (of course), a rising young executive at a modeling agency. Her sister and brother-in-law are killed in a car wreck, and Helen is left with their children (nothing gets a romantic comedy moving like vehicular death leaving behind some orphans). Helen moves the kids to New York City, where she discovers the sad state of the public schools. She then happens upon St. Barnabas (which is often called "St. Barbara's" in the film for reasons I never discerned).

Helen and the kids meet with the school principal. Helen, under the impression that the school is only for Lutherans, assures Pastor Dan that, "Lutheranism has been in our family for a long time. We all want to be Lutherans, right kids? Lutheran education is the best, right, Father?"

Comic hijinks ensue as Pastor Dan explains he's not a Father but a Pastor. Pastor Dan jokes that Helen and the kids (Audrey, Henry and Sarah) will need to take a blood test for Lutheranism, a joke Helen takes seriously. She says the kids are hemophiliacs and can't take the the blood test. Pastor Dan reminds Helen they're in Queens and couldn't possibly keep a school going with just Lutherans.

As Pastor Dan is giving them a tour of the school, Henry asks about the Lutheran position on the afterlife, do you believe in "heaven, hell and purgatory?" Pastor Dan says, "Yes, we're pretty old school that way." It's kind of a funny response, but Lutherans aren't Purgatorians. And Henry has just lost his parents and really does have serious questions about the afterlife, but Pastor Dan never digs more deeply into the subject with the kid.

I do appreciate Pastor Dan's sense of humor and ease with newcomers; they're good pastoral qualities. But then we get into the dating life of Pastor Dan; because Pastor Dan is interested in Helen.

Pastor Dan invites Helen and the kids to come to the zoo where he's doing a "Blessing of the Animals" (and a rather pedestrian blessing it is). After the tour (accompanied by Simon and Garfunkel's "At the Zoo"), Pastor Dan asks Helen out.

She at first refuses, because it's "weird" to date a pastor. She tells him she won't be responsible for taking him away from God and his "vows". Pastor Dan explains that Lutheran pastors can marry, have kids and watch dirty movies. ("Well, not watch dirty movies, but we're working on that.")

Pastor Dan seems like a good guy, but neither he nor anyone else seems to figure out that there are more problems with his dating Helen than the straw man that pastors, like Roman Catholic priests, shouldn't date. Here are some things Pastor Dan and Helen don't seem to think about:

1)      Helen probably should be concentrating on taking care of the kids rather than her dating life.

2)      The principal a school should probably be quite cautious about dating the parents of students, particularly parents or guardians of new students.

3)      The religious background and spiritual life of a person a pastor dates does matter. Helen lies to Pastor Dan about being a Lutheran, but never tells him what she believes about God, faith or Jesus. He does say he has had problems dating women who are intimidated or put off by his being a pastor. But it seems like he would want to be with someone who would understand and support his ministry. After all, the world of ministry can be even more all-consuming than the world of modeling.

4)      The actor playing Pastor Dan, John Corbett, was born the same year I was, 1961. The actress playing Helen, Kate Hudson, was born in the year Corbett probably graduated from high school, 1979. The internet rule to avoid creepy dating is to divide your age in half and add seven. The other person should be at least that age. By that measure, their relationship is creepy, but not Gary Cooper/ Audrey Hepburn creepy. One begins to wonder why this charming, good looking pastor is single in his forties.

5)      Pastor Dan and Helen get caught smooching by the kids. This happens just after Pastor Dan describes himself as "a sexy man of God".

I was a big fan of the TV show "Northern Exposure". On that show, Corbett played the local DJ. I think I'd rather have Corbett as my DJ rather than as my pastor. If he pastors a church like he runs a school, Pastor Dan's church would probably get a thumbs down from me.

-- Dean

City Churches in April

Recently, while researching for the Movie Churches section of this blog, I watched 1984's "Footloose". The preacher in the film sermonizes on the moral superiority of small towns. There are many people who feel this way. I'm not sure where this idea comes from, because it sure doesn't come from Scripture.

Perhaps the reasoning behind this thinking is that God made nature and people made buildings, ergo: Rural > Urban because there are more buildings and fewer trees in the city. They also might think that cities have lots of evil stuff: bars, strip clubs, universities teaching humanism and art galleries with naked pictures; whereas small towns just have food markets, one room school houses and, of course, churches. People in cities are too sophisticated for church but everyone in small towns goes to church.

Roger Finke and Rodney Stark's book "The Churching of America" says the theory of small towns being more churched than cities is hooey. What do you need for a church? If I'm not mistaken, people are necessary. And cities have more people than small towns. Big cities are more likely to have a variety of churches and often have a greater percentage of church attendees in their population.

More importantly, the Bible seems to take a different view of cities. Jesus spent time in small towns and the country, but He also spent time with the cities. He cared about cities. In Luke 19:41, Jesus weeps for Jerusalem upon approaching the city.  Sure, Sodom and Gomorrah don't come out well in Scripture, but the first sin is in a garden, and the first murder is out on the farm. Heaven, on the other hand, is describe as a city -- the New Jerusalem.

God loves the city, and through the month of April, we'll be seeing what God is doing in four different churches in four different cities.

-- Dean    

Kingsman: The Secret Service -- In theaters now!

For quite a few years now, Hollywood has had a villain shortage. I’m not saying there aren’t bad guys in movies anymore. But the screenwriter's challenge has been to find villainous groups.

    

Back in the day, Westerns had Indians (no, they were never called Native Americans then) as the bad guys. So there could be action sequences where dozens of Indians were shot off their horses by our heroes, the Cowboys, with reasonable assurance the audiences would cheer their deaths. But now that we think of them as Native Americans (and, you know, people), cheering their deaths just doesn’t seem like the American thing to do.

The Nazis made great villains, from a little before World War II to well beyond. When the Dirty Dozen (made in 1967) attacked a ballroom full of Nazis, no one was too concerned that some of them were pretty women in gowns. As Indiana Jones said, “Nazis, I hate those guys.” But Nazis now are a little pathetic; sure they’re villains in The Blues Brothers, but comic, mockable villains.

    

Communists provided fine villains throughout the Cold War, but that’s been done for decades now. Terrorists would be the go-to villains, but since the terrorists we’re concerned with are Islamic terrorists, that causes a problem. Hollywood has a concern about not portraying all Muslims as bomb-happy; a reasonable concern.

         

 So what does a screenwriter do when they want to have a set-piece with a lot of human carnage that won’t upset audiences unduly? The makers of the spy film, “Kingsman: The Secret Service” found their solution in the church.

         

SPOILERS, SPOILERS, SPOILERS

         

To talk about the movie church in this film, we need to give away major plot points. This shouldn’t greatly disturb some of our readers because “Kingsman” is hardly a film that will be used on a church’s family movie night. There is extreme violence and gore in the film, but some of it is animated and stylized to show it’s all in good fun. There is a crude gag used at the end of the film that might lead James Bond himself use the word "misogynist."

         

But as always, we aren’t here to review the film, but the church and clergy in the film.

         

As I said, the filmmakers had a problem. The arch villain in the film, Valentine, has developed technology to make people viciously attack and kill each other. He must find a group of people to test the tech on. Since he sees himself as a sweetheart (played by Sam L. Jackson) he’s not going to test it in a kindergarten class.

         

So we are introduced to the South Glade Mission Church. This fictional church is obviously based on the sadly real Westboro Baptist Church, which gained fame by protesting at military funerals with the twisted rationale that the government supported homosexuality.

         

In the film, South Glade Mission Church is preaching against Jews (the preacher uses this word), workers in the sex industry (he uses a different word), Catholics (he uses this word), gays, and African Americans (alternate words for the latter two). The super spy, Galahad, played by Colin Firth attends this service as part of his investigation.

         

During the service, Valentine activates his device and everyone in the congregation attacks one another. Apparently, knives and even guns are brought to this church only a little less commonly than Bibles. Bloody chaos ensues, but since Galahad has more experience at hand-to-hand combat than the average usher, he eventually stands alone over a sanctuary full of corpses.

         

It seems that filmmakers are saying, in this world full of division, isn’t this a group we can all hate together? In the past, there have certainly been individual clerical villains (Robert Mitchum in Night of the Hunter comes to mind), but now apparently whole congregations can be the bad guys.

         

If this hateful congregation, far from the teachings of Jesus, is the image anyone has of the church of Christ, then it seems Christians have some P.R. to do.

         

(Bonus clergy bit in the film. One can see a tabloid with the headline, “Naughty Nun Touched My Bum.” And theological bonus, Valentine argues that he isn’t a villain for wanting to cull the world’s population any more than Noah or God in the story of the Flood.)

-- Dean

2014 Christian Movie Churches -- God's Not Dead

2014 was a banner year for Christian and Biblically themed films. Most impressive were the films made by independent Christian producers that earned sizable amounts of money. One would think such films would certainly get the details of church right. One would be sadly disappointed.

"God's Not Dead" stood out as one of the show business wonders of the year. On a budget of $2 million, it took in $62 million, not a bad return on an investment. I like the premise of the film, the conflict between a Christian student, Josh, and a professor with an aggressive atheist agenda. The religious liberty issues on campuses are real and could provide an interesting story. But this movie deals with these issues in the most ham-handed way possible, with Kevin Sorbo (TV's Hercules) playing the professor with Simon Legree subtlety.

But once again, the focus here is to look at the church in the film. And this film does have a church, with a pastor and stained glass and all. As is often the case in such films, the name of the church and its denomination is difficult to discover. There are clear shots of the exterior of the church, but no signage is visible. In fact, one object that looks like it should be a sign in front of the church is bricked over. But a sharp eye will spot parking spaces marked "St. James."

Since we see no sign for the church, we don't see the denomination, and no one mentions it. But Pastor Dave wears a clerical collar, and the interior trimmings appear to be high church. Since we never see a worship scene in the film, it's even more difficult to know.

It's also puzzling what Pastor Dave does with his time. We do see him advise Josh when the young man visits the empty sanctuary. Pastor Dave sees Josh sitting in a pew and asks if he's waiting for someone. "Seems he's out for the moment," Josh replies. "Maybe that's why he sent me," Pastor Dave responds.

Josh presents his dilemma: should he stand up for Christ in the atheist's class? Pastor Dave tells Josh to read Matthew 10: 32 & 33 ("whoever acknowledges me before men, I will acknowledge") and Luke 12:48 ("everyone who is given much, much will be demanded"). Then he leaves Josh, without taking time to pray with him. He does text him shortly after that, but doesn't, apparently, follow up again.

Much of the time we spend with Pastor Dave is time spent with the Rev. Jude visiting from Senegal. The two make many attempts to drive to Disneyworld. When Dave's car won't start, they try to rent a car. But not a single rental car brought to them works. (They live in an amazing place where, when renting a car, you don't have to present a credit card or driver's license.) They make no effort to get Dave's car repaired until they pray for it at a crucial moment toward the end of the film.

With time to kill while Disneyworld is out of reach, Rev. Jude asks Pastor Dave what they should do with their time. Pastor Dave says they can meet with the choir director to discuss songs for the upcoming concert, or they could meet with the women's club to discuss details on the upcoming craft bazaar. Pastor Dave comments that back on the mission field, Rev. Jude is winning souls for Christ every day. Pastor Dave's strategy seems to wait for people to call him.

And a person does! A woman calls Pastor Dave to meet her for lunch to discuss her problems with her boyfriend (her boyfriend is none other than the atheist professor). A little clergy tip, though nothing scandalous comes of it in the film, it really is best not to meet someone of the opposite sex you don't know well in a restaurant to discuss romantic relationships. This has often led to not good things.

We also see Pastor Dave meet with a young woman whose Muslim father tried to beat her when he discovers she had become a Christian. He encourages her to be strong, but perhaps he should also have called the police.

But back to that crucial moment when the car finally starts. Pastor Dave and Rev. Jude start on their way to Disneyworld, but get caught in the traffic for the big Newsboys concert in town. And wouldn't you know it? They come across Professor Hercules who has been hit by a car. A quick visual exam by Rev. Jude shows them that the Prof is dying, so instead of calling 911, Pastor Dave shares the gospel with the man bleeding out on the street.

The adamant atheist trusts in Christ, and then kicks the bucket. Rev. Jude assures Pastor Dave that though there is sorrow now, there is celebrating in Heaven. Pastor Dave really hadn't seemed too

upset. It looks like they're about to high five for the conversion over the dead body. I'm cool with praying with the dying, but it seems that they might be concerned about whether the man left behind a widow and/or orphans.

So, as the more perceptive reader may have guessed; St. James with Pastor Dave doesn't get a thumbs up in our movie church rating system. It's a pretty strict system.

-- Dean

Movie Churches - Oscar Division: "Mrs. Miniver"

"Mrs. Miniver," winner of the 1942 Oscar for Best Picture, is one of the most overtly religious winner of an Academy Award ("Going My Way", "Ben Hur" and "Chariots of Fire" would be the other contenders).  It tells the story of an average middle class English woman and her family in a small English town in the first days of the Second World War. An important character in the film is local vicar, and an important location is the local Anglican church. As to whether it is a Christian film, well, that's another thing.

The film has one fan that certainly wasn't about to be trumpeted by the MGM publicity department. Joseph Goebbels, Adolf Hitler's Reich Minister of Propaganda, said he couldn't help but admire "a masterpiece of propaganda, a first class production which no doubt will make a certain impression upon the broad masses of the people in enemy countries." Note he didn't say the film led him or would lead others to repentance.

There are four obviously religious scenes in the film, and I'll use them as the basis of the answer to this column's question, "Would I go to this movie church?"

The second conversation Mrs. Miniver (Greer Garson) has in the film is with the local vicar. Her first conversation was in the city (London?), between Mrs. Miniver and the milliner who sells her a rather silly hat. She then happens upon the vicar in the train on her way home.

She tells him about the hat she bought, and admits to feeling guilt about the extravagance of buying this unnecessary item. The vicar then confesses to buying expensive cigars he really can't afford. They both then laugh about their "lovely guilty feelings." Mrs. Minniver says that's why she's sure the vicar can do much good in their town because of his understanding of the people.

I'm not sure whether the vicar is doing much good here. It can be a fine thing to buy a silly hat or good cigars. But if a Christian feels guilt about the purchase, I believe examining one's own heart is important. Perhaps the purchase isn't a good use of what,  really, is the Lord's money. I'm not sure a blanket endorsement of consumerism is really good ministry. Throughout the film, the vicar always feels at one with the culture of the world.

The "religious" scene in the film is in the local church. Everyone in town seems to be there, including Lady Beldon (played by Dame May Whitty) the rich town aristocrat. She has her own pew, which has a door with her name on a brass plate. I couldn't help of think of James 2, where the writer tells readers not to show preference in church to the rich.

A nice little boys' choir opened the service, and the vicar then led the congregation in a prayer of confession. Then the service is interrupted when someone brings the vicar a message. The vicar announces that the nation is at war. And then the vicar says a rather amazing thing. He says, "Many of you have other duties to perform," and he dismisses the congregation. Now it's true that some people have other duties to perform, but it seems like he's discounting the importance of prayer and worship at such a time.

There is a nice little scene in the film between Mrs. Miniver and station manager and church bell ringer Mr. Ballard (played Henry Travers, Clarence of "It's A Wonderful Life"). Mrs. Miniver's husband has gone off in his boat to aid in the retreat at Dunkirk. Ballard encourages her by quoting Psalm 107, "Some went out on the sea in ships... They saw the works of the Lord." That says something about the church (and perhaps the schools) of the time and the teaching of Scripture. Ordinary people could quote Scripture. In fact, in "The Miracle of Dunkirk," England was notified of their need with three little words, "And if not." People of the time knew that was a quote from Daniel 3, the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and the rescue was on its way. An amazing thing.

My big problem with the film comes in the finale. There is a memorial service in the church for those who died in a German air raid (including two characters that were quite dear in the film).

At the service, the vicar asks the question that all are thinking at such a time, "Why?" -- always a difficult question, particularly when the young and innocent die. A minister at such a time must wrestle with Scripture (perhaps looking at Luke 13 when people ask Jesus about people killed in the fall of a tower and by Roman soldiers).

But after reading a Psalm, the vicar ignores the Bible altogether and recruits the dead into the war effort, for this is "not just a war of soldiers in uniform, but of all the people." Abraham Lincoln was asked the place of God in the  American Civil War, and he was not quick to claim God was on his side. But the vicar jumps right to it: God is English.

Perhaps it's not an accident that the church in this film is a state church. It is at one with the English culture and government. So if I was in the world of this film, I'd probably go to the church because it's the only one in town. But the vicar would be hearing from me on a fairly regular basis.

-- Dean

Why Do We Have Fake Churches Along With the Real Ones?

If you're a curious (or should I say inquisitive?) person, you may have asked this question. We’ll try to be as faithful every week posting about a church from a movie as we are posting every week about a real church we visit. And there’s a reason for that.

In the Western world, it's pretty easy for a person to go through life without going to a church or meeting a member of the clergy (for better or worse, you've met me), and it's also easy for a person to think they know all about the church and pastors and priests and nuns because they’ve seen it all in the movies. But all some people know about church is what they get from the media, and more often than not, the movies do a lousy job depicting churches; not just the negative portrayals, but inaccurate portrayals as well. 

It isn’t necessarily a bad thing when churches are portrayed negatively. It isn’t necessarily a bad thing when a member of the clergy is portrayed as crook or a fool or a pervert. Because there are bad churches. There are members of the clergy that are pretty awful. 

But often these negative portrayals are created by people who seem to have no idea what they are talking about. They get all the little details wrong, leading to getting the big picture wrong. And if all the churches and clergy are shown in a negative light, then they aren’t getting things right. Because though Richard Dawkins would not agree, there are some really good churches and really good clergy people out there. Seen it for myself.

If we are a part of the church, and want to introduce people to the real church, we may find it useful to deal with the expectations people have from seeing Bing Crosby as a crooning priest and Robert Mitchum as a homicidal preacher and even Whoopi Goldberg as a phony nun if we consider these things for ourselves.

So we’ll keep traveling to churches at work in the real world. But we’ll also keep visiting the fake ones, because they’re working in the imaginations, hearts and minds of people who need the God who is worshipped in real churches.

Movie Churches, Oscar Division -- "Going my Way"

Is there anything more riveting than church finances? I guess there are a million things or so. But really, that's what Best Picture Oscar winner "Going My Way" (1944) is all about. Like every melodrama of the 19th century, the film is about paying the mortgage.

The film opens with Father Fitzgibbon (Barry Fitzgerald) begging the president of Knickerbocker Savings and Loan for an extension on their mortgage AND money for a new furnace. Fitzgibbon established the church 45 years before and yet still has a mortgage, which the church is six month behind in paying.

There are subplots in the film only tangentially related to the money thing. Bing Crosby, as hep young priest Father "Chuck" O'Malley, comes to the church to help out. He turns a gang of young turkey thieving, slang spouting hoodlums into a boys choir (with happening tunes like Three Blind Mice). Both priests try to counsel an 18 year old "runaway" woman that she shouldn't pursue a career in show business, but rather settle down as a wife and mother (spoiler, she eventually takes their advice). And there is a gossiping elderly woman in the church named Mrs. Quimp. The priests never give her biblical counsel about the sinful nature of gossip, but instead listen to the gossip, then call her a biddy behind her back. But really, the film is about the Benjamins.

To start with, not knowing the history of the finances of St. Dominic's, a church hasn't paid off the mortgage after 45 years has probably been irresponsible with their resources. In fact, though O'Malley insists that "every respectable church has a mortgage," there are many congregations that with planning, wisdom and foresight, and God's grace, avoid debt.

I've been in churches in financial straits. They usually take the following steps:

1) Pray. This has always been the first thing done; bring the church's cares to the One who "owns the cattle on a thousand hills". Doing this never discussed by the priests in the film.

2) Look for places to cut. But no, when O'Malley comes to the church, he starts spending. He takes his boys' choirs to movies and ballgames (To be fair, the baseball tickets are free. For some inexplicable reason, the New York Yankees seem to give unlimited tickets to Chuck because he used to work out with the Cleveland Browns).

3) Look for other sources of revenue. This could include things like renting out the facilities or selling off property. Father O'Malley does this. He tries to sell a song he wrote to music publisher. This is a financial act roughly on the level of buying lottery tickets to get out of debt. I can just imagine if I'd gone to church trustees saying, "I've got a plan for making the budget work! I'm going to write a best-selling novel." But since this is a movie, the selling-a-song thing (spoiler) works.

4) Bring the problem to the people. At the beginning of the film, the Savings and Loan president suggests to Fitzgibbon that he should do a sermon encouraging giving. The priest scoffs at the idea, saying he's not going to preach the mortgage agreement. (The president also suggests he could speak on being a "cheerful giver", a reference to II Corinthians 9:7, which may be more reference to Scripture than either of the priests makes during the film.) At the end of the film, Fitzgibbon does preach about giving, and O'Malley tricks him into thinking the sermon works --even though it's money from the song that saves the church. Deception is a fairly regular practice for these priests.

The thing that annoyed me most in the film is the way the money lenders are portrayed as bad for wanting to the church to meet its payments. This kind of arrogance and assumed privilege is what gives the church a bad name in the world.

But let me conclude on a more "spiritual" note. We learn that Father O'Malley became a priest so he could show that religion isn't a drag, but can be fun. His theology can be found in the lyrics of the title song, which he writes as his testament of faith. In conclusion, I invite you to exegete the lyrics:

            This road leads to Rainbowville

            Going my way

            Up ahead is Blue Bird Hill

            Going my way

            Just pack a basket full of wishes

            And off you start

            With Sunday Morning in your heart

            Round the bend you'll see a sign

            "Dreamers Highway"

            Happiness is down the line       

            Going my way

            The smiles you'll gather

            Will look well on you

            Oh, I hope you're going my way too.

May I just say to that, "Amen" or "Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo" or something.

-- Dean