Letter to the Church

This was an assignment for my Reaching Young Adults in the Media and Digital Age  and was a written response in our watching of M. Night Shyamalan's "The Village".


(Disclaimer: In this letter, think church as in the church of the world.  Not just PC (USA), not just Catholics, and not just anyone else you would name.)

October 17, 2011

Dear Greater Church:

I recently watched a film called “The Village” that spoke to me on numerous levels, specifically on the role of the church within our world.  One might ask, “What does a suspenseful flick awaken within ones’ self in regards to the church?”  I would respond the issues presented to the church as far as religious leadership to the people and the actions it takes in living out the teachings of Jesus Christ.

What does it mean to open our doors?  Does it mean to live in fear and anxiety of the evils in the world?  Does it mean to look beyond ourselves?  Or does it mean to clearly and fully look at ourselves in the broad daylight of the world?  In a world of injustice and injury, the church’s doors should be opened with no if, ands, or buts.  We (those in the church) sometimes limit ourselves in what role the church plays.   We say it’s only on Sunday mornings the doors are open; we allow ourselves to provide open judgment and share our commentary on what our fellow believers are wearing, reading, or doing. If the church were truly living out Christ’s teachings, we would listen to his words, “Judge not lest ye be judged.” (Matt. 7:21)  Later on in that verse we are reminded the actions we show to others, in this case passing judgment, will come back on ourselves.

This lesson is shown especially in the actions of the Chief Elder Edward Walker who has let his judgment of the world skew his reality.  In creating his farce of a society and trying to keep the evils of the world out, he creates a false sense of security.  It seems within the movie that evil or sin is not just of the outside world, but is human nature.  Chief Walker himself is seen tempted in sinful ways.  The scene of him whispering with Alice Hunt seems to suggest an attraction between the two and while yes, they do deny themselves touch; it doesn’t take away from their thoughts towards each other.

The job of the church is not to scare believers into behaving.   Sin is human; evil is always at work.  It is how the church takes a stance against it.  The church should set the example of trying to live a life free of sin; the church should be opening doors to evil in a sense to show and share the light.  To some, it seems the church is not honest in displaying its character.  The church is built on Christ, yet humans are the ones running it, and humans often fall short of perfection.  As the church we should embrace that and come together in our imperfections.  The grief support group that all the Elders were a part of started in the right direction; it was recognizing the hurt and anger in the world.  Their intentions seemed to be perverted somewhere along the way in thinking they were better off without the rest of the world.   This attitude can be seen in some aspects of the church and if we are to work for the greater good and for the Glory of God, this needs to change.

The church of the future looks beyond imperfections.  The church of the future takes place not in a building and not on a Sunday morning.  The church of the future recognizes sin in the world and takes a stand to acknowledge sin.  The church of the future does not condemn but embraces; the church of the future is one of action verbs and not stuck in past tense.  The church of the future is a living thing, among its people, not deserting them in times of need.  If our church is to be this church, we could take some lessons from “The Village” and recognize actions needing to be taken.

In Him,

Katy Walters