Common ground and civil conversation can be challenging to find in these divisive times. With its free film series, Faith + Justice + Film, St. John’s Episcopal Church in Sylva hopes to offer space to consider the intersections of faith and action within a peace and justice framework.
The first of the four films, The Philadelphia Eleven, will be screened Thursday, March 13, at St. John’s Episcopal, 18 Jackson St., Sylva. The remaining three movies — The Best of Enemies, The 13th and Bad Faith — will be shown on Thursday, March 20; Thursday, April 3; and Tuesday, April 8, respectively, all at the Jackson County Public Library, 310 Keener St., Sylva.
The festival’s presenters hope the series will allow community members to “come together to explore how their faith can lead them to greater depths of empathy, compassion and love,” says the church’s Rev. Erin Maxfield-Steele. The films, she continues, were chosen because they tell stories of faith in action against sexism, racism, bigotry, criminalization and the misuse of religion to promote fascism.
The screening event will be followed by refreshments and discussions with special guests, including Dr. Andrew Krinks, author of White Property, Black Trespass, and the Rev. Dr. Jennifer Copeland, executive director of the N.C. Council of Churches. All films begin at 6 p.m. avl.mx/prym
