Stephanie Duarte
Arts Editor

A lazy afternoon after Sunday’s church service provided the perfect setting for a series of short films hosted by the La Verne Church of the Brethren for Young Adult Sunday.

“The goal is to get the group together to talk,” said Ryan Harrison, who organized the movies for Young Adult Sunday. “It’s all about communication. It gives them the opportunity to talk about spiritual issues
without the framework of church.”

But before the big questions could be tackled, the young adults, some in school and some married with degrees, dug into provided pizza, snacks and casual introductions.

“Julie tries to put on one of these events every month—we usually do something—last month it was broom ball,” said Janelle Krug, ULV alunmna.

The events are planned to be fun and convenient for everyone’s schedules.

Rochelle Lovelace, member of the Pomona Fellowship Church of the Brethren, came to see how a different church handles young adult programs.

“I want to get to know more people and just hang out,” Lovelace said.
She was also hoping to gather ideas for her church to bolster their young adult program.

The movies consisted of four short films ranging from 10 to 35 minutes. Each had its own artistic flare and message.

The first, “In the Mirror in the Sky” won the Mexican Academy Award for best short film and was about a little boy trying to catch an airplane. Though the film had no dialogue, the 10-minute piece sparked a bit of conversation. A variety of opinions were discussed such as the fine line between reality and fantasy and how one’s imagination can and will affect life.

The second film, “A Feeling Called Glory” was more comical than the first, but offered ideas of spirituality, death and young friendship.

“Full Circle” displayed a romance of two strangers in Ireland. The plot was somewhat typical. A girl works daily at a lonely food shop and admires the security guard across a busy street, which she described as a rushing river.

She does not know that he is also secretly admiring her. After much anticipation which ends in an accident for the girl, the two finally meet. One movie-watcher commented that the movie really showed how fear wastes a lot of time.

The final film, “Does God Play Football” was a story of a boy growing up without a father. His mom explained to him that God is the father of everyone, and he therefore concludes that he must be like Jesus if God is his father. The movie poked fun at religion and its ability to impact the life of a child who blindly accepts religion at a young age.

“Hollywood doesn’t always produce films that challenge people to ask the big questions,” La Verne resident Janelle Flory said. “There are so many perspectives out there and the more I can learn, the deeper my connection is to humanity as a whole.”

The films came from a collection gathered by The Spiritual Cinema Circle. Harrison, a 1998 alumnus of ULV and member of the organization, has been gathering his collection for a year now.

He tries to pick movies that engage the viewer and usually contain a character who the audience can identify with. The theme usually touches on a spiritual topic.

“It’s important to have an open space in a church where young adults can relate to people their age,” Flory said. “This is the age when you’re dismantling everything you’ve learned and trying to put it back together in your own way.”

Stephanie Duarte can be reached at duartes@ulv.edu.