Film festival entry features New York congregation
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"One Body, Many Parts," produced by Alice Rose of Christ Church
United Methodist in Troy, N.Y., is one of 10 films screened during the
Oikumene Film Festival. UMNS photos courtesy of Alice Rose.
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A UMNS Report
By Linda Bloom*
Aug. 1, 2007
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The cast of the four-minute film are members of the congregation.
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It started with a winking eye, a toothy smile and two sneakers "the size of a Mini Cooper."
Alice Rose, a member of Christ Church United Methodist in Troy, N.Y.,
was looking for a subject for an entry in a film festival at an event
marking the 50th anniversary of the U.S. ecumenical movement.
She remembered the adult-size body part puppets left over from a
parade a few years earlier. And she thought of the message on diversity
and unity from 1 Corinthians – about the church being one body and many
members – and it seemed to fit.
The resulting four-minute film, "One Body, Many Parts," was one of 10
films screened July 20-21 during the Oikumene Film Festival at Oberlin
College in Ohio. The festival was part of a conference sponsored by the
Faith and Order Commission of the National Council of Churches.
Another entry, "For Those Who Stayed," was submitted by the United
Methodist Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns and
produced by Hilly Hicks for United Methodist Communications. That entry
focused on African Americans who chose to stay within the denomination
despite discrimination. The commission led the 2000 United Methodist
General Conference in a liturgical "act of repentance for racism."
Media as a worship tool
"One Body, Many Parts" is just one example of an intentional focus on
media at Christ Church. "We’ve been experimenting with using media in
worship for a long time now," Rose explained.
Two years ago, the small but growing congregation, which averages
about 100 people at Sunday worship, decided to make a major investment
in media technology, installing plasma screens, purchasing cameras and
updating the sound system.
But Rose, 43, wasn’t happy with the religious video content available
for sale. She found most videos either had high-end production values
with light content or meaningful content with bad camerawork.
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A church member is among performers delivering the message on diversity
and unity from 1 Corinthians.
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"Between cost and trying to find pieces that matched what we were
looking for in worship, we decided to create some of our own stuff," she
said.
Rose is trained as an engineer but lately has been doing some video
production for her husband’s small software company. Topics of previous
pieces for the church include the authorship of St. John’s gospel, the
human cost of war and the story of Moses.
She’s also passionate about using puppets, particularly with her
Sunday school class, so it wasn’t surprising that the body-part puppets
were put to good use.
The giant ears, eyes, hands and other parts meshed with the reading
of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, which points out that "the body
does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot would say,
'Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,' that would not
make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear would say, 'Because I
am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,' that would not make it any
less a part of the body.'"
Mirroring the message
The performers in the film, all volunteers from the congregation, are
ages 8 to 80 and represent "the breadth of our church family,"
according to the Rev. Nina Nichols, the pastor at Christ Church. Maria
Zemantauski, a flamenco guitarist who has played at the church, provided
the music.
"The actual creation of the piece was a reflection of its message,"
Rose said. "It was really a moving experience for a lot of us."
Nichols agreed. "The message, certainly, is in line with who the church is trying to be," she said.
Anyone interested in "One Body, Many Parts" can contact the church at (518) 272-8392 or visit the church Web site at http://www.christchurchtroy.org.
More information about the Oikumene Film Festival and a link to video
of "One Body, Many Parts" and the other films can be found at http://www.ncccusa.org/faithandorder/oberlin2007/oikumene.html.
*Bloom is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in New York.
News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
Video Clip
Scenes from "One Body Many Parts"
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Oberlin 50th event | 
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