Moving Picture Age (Jan-Dec 1922)

mill in ii i'- What does the other fellow think? Here is a collection of reactions from workers in various denominations FILMS in the CHURCH Compiled by the Editor DURING the last two years a number of notable contributions have been published in this magazine from the pens of religious workers who employ motion pictures in their activities. It seems fitting that special attention be accorded these noteworthy writings, and to that end a number of especially pertinent paragraphs are here reprinted for the assistance of the newcomer in this field. Rev. George E. Stickxey, Associate Pastor, First Congregational Church, Appleton, Wis. — Our Community Night program is in no wise a religious meeting. We neither open nor close the meeting with prayer, nor do we sing any of the church hymns. On the other hand, it is not simply a five-cent movie. We try to make it a time when the entire family can come and thoroughly enjoy themselves at a good, wholesome entertainment. We do not give season tickets, nor do we have any system of registering those who come. We already have more calling and follow-up work than we are able to do. There are no strings whatever to these Community Nights. Anyone, whether he has money or not, whether he is pious or otherwise inclined, is welcome as long as he is in harmony with the spirit of the entertainment. The trustees give us free use of the church, so our weekly expense is not large, and is easily taken care of. Now, what are the results ? They are hard to tabulate, and yet here are some significant facts. Not for years has there been such a tide or undercurrent in favor of the church. In our calling we find people taking pride in the fact that they belong to this church and that they can invite their friends to these Community Nights. We find many eager to join, and, in fact, new members come in almost faster than we can assimilate them. The Boy Scouts are eager for their work (ushering) each Friday, and we are training up in this way a good corps of ushers for the church a few years hence. Last Sunday our Sunday school broke all recent records for attendance. The people of the community know that they can see a good clean movie any Friday, and whole families by the score take advantage of the fact. Rev. Roy L. Smith, Pastor, Simpson Methodist Church, Minneapolis, Minn. — The criticism which comes from people outside any church originates usually with some professional critic who would complain that the church "was not doing anything" if it did not use pictures. In a few instances a complaint will come from some theatre manager whose business is being affected. This does not happen often, though there are a few of the tribe of Alexander the Coppersmith still living. The amount of friendly praise and interest that comes will more than counterbalance the criticism a hundred times, my experience indicates. The First Congregational Church, Los Angeles, In Which Rev. Carl S. Patton Has Employed Motion Pictures with Marked Success 13 The criticisms from people in other churches usually originate in jealousy, in which case there is nothing to do but ignore the critic. There may be an honest objection to the use of pictures with the feeling that the church using them is lowering the general tone of church influence and thus making it harder for all the rest. In such a case it is necessary to educate the critics to the genuine purpose involved and the methods used. This requires time and patience, but it is worthwhile. On the other hand, there may be a genuine cause for complaint. The criticism which comes from without is not so difficult as that which comes from within. Much of the objection from our own people may seem to be pure obstinacy, but it usually begins in an honest conviction. Convictions, misguided, soon become obstinacy. I have always asked the critics to judge the issue on the basis of actual results and facts as revealed in practice. It is of the greatest advantage to take the people into our confidence. I steadily avoid the appearance of "trying to put something over." In every case where it is possible I have tried to get the critic to take some responsible part in the work. In some cases I have made a personal call on the objector and undertaken to reason the matter out. Under no circumstances do I allow any show of bitterness or irritation. I proceed upon the assumption that the critic is as much interested in the work as I am and that the criticism arises from an anxiety to see the work prosper. I try to secure some sort of consent, even if it is a grudging one, and then build upon that foundation, however narrow. By giving the critic credit for honest motives I have been able to thaw out much opposition that I could never have battered down. Rev. R. Ernest Akin, Pastor, First Unitarian Church, Louisville, Ky.—l was pastor of a church in Detroit, going the usual rounds without accomplishing much — preaching, teaching, calling, marrying, burying. And it may have been the consciousness of not really reaching the folks through the regular methods that helped me toward the use of movies. And yet before leaving Detroit I had not considered their use in a religious program. Then I went into the army. I tried to adapt my religious message to the boys, and had better than the average attendance at my meetings ; yet the fellows who needed the religious touch most were the ones who never came. I served in the "Y" huts, and so had to use the sort of arrangement to which they were accustomed. After eight months I took over the Y. M. C. A. religious work for the camp (Camp Dix, N. J.), and had under my supervision the religious program for a dozen huts. My workers sensed our failure to reach the boys most needing our work. We tried