Gary Moskowitz
The Rev. Rob Calderhead is hoping that his fascination with Christian
themes in cinema will breathe new life into the faith of his
congregation.
Calderhead, 57, is hosting a "Film Fest" series at La Canada
United Methodist Church this month, during which he shows clips from
contemporary films to help illustrate the importance of faith in God.
The film series began with "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,"
"Terminator" and "Saving Private Ryan." Calderhead will continue the
series by showing clips from "The Matrix" on Sunday and either "Wide
Awake" or "Marvin's Room" on Aug. 31.
All services are at the church, 104 Berkshire Place, and are open
to the public.
Calderhead became the church's new pastor last month. He hosted a
similar film series as a pastor at Westlake Village United Methodist
Church, using "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" and
"Pinocchio." August is typically a down time for church service
attendance, so Calderhead figured he would give it a shot at his new
church.
About 80 members attend Sunday worship services, and about 10
additional people showed up last week, a church official said.
Calderhead has received mostly positive feedback about the films from
church members.
"There is a scene in 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade' where he
looks into a great chasm and has to take a step of faith to cross
it," Calderhead said. "It's a great example of how important faith
is. [The film series] is a way to do something different with worship
and help show people how to watch films from a theological
standpoint. People walk in [to the sanctuary] and see a screen placed
in front of the cross, which is different, but I'm brand-new here,
and I want people to get to know me and learn more about their
faith."
The closing scene of "Saving Private Ryan" shows an elderly Ryan
crying because soldiers died to save his life, and Calderhead uses
that to draw a parallel to the sacrifice Jesus Christ made for
mankind.
"We as Christian people should be coming in here every week and
saying we earned [what we have], just like the scene in the movie,"
Calderhead said. "We had a few people raise an eyebrow or two,
especially during 'Terminator,' because there is a lot of killing in
the movie. But I'm trying to make worship more relevant and timely."
The plot of "The Matrix," according to Calderhead, relies heavily
on Christian themes like salvation and that one man can lead people
to redemption.
"I found it to be a bold, new approach to worship," said Michael
Keating, a church member. "It's certainly livened up our services.
God is as applicable in 2003 as in biblical times. God is with us as
much now as ever, and faith is reinvented every day."
Calderhead said he wants to incorporate more music into worship
services this fall, from musicals like "Man of La Mancha" and "Guys
and Dolls."
For more information, call the church at 790-3605.
