Life on the road with film screenings has not been dull. From an armed robbery in Benton Harbor of one of the film subjects and her parents to trying to get to a screening around the annual Santa Claus parade in Toronto, we’ve had a lot of adventures this month. Seven screenings in five states (one international) has left us a bit breathless but also very grateful.

Five of those screenings were completely full with long wait lists, and each audience continues to surprise us with how warmly they respond to the film, from Texas to Toronto, even if there are people there still wrestling mightily with this topic. It’s been absolutely our biggest blessing to get to witness audiences respond to the film’s stories.

I’m going to just share seven highlights. This Thanksgiving, we’re grateful for:

1) Students! We’ve had four screenings on this trip near major Adventist colleges/universities, and the student energy is just awesome to behold. Students not only laugh heartily at all of the great Adventist (and other) humor in the film, which gives everyone else permission to guffaw too, but they are beyond eager to engage in this topic. After our screening in Chattanooga, several Southern students and professors wrote saying that pretty much all their classes had wanted to do the next day was talk about the film. Every screening with students leaves us so encouraged for the future of the church-if only all of you stick around to actually make your voices heard!

2) The older gentleman in Atlanta whose profound comment after the film brought tears to many, many eyes. He said, “I wish I could just reach into the film and hug every person in it to say that God loves you. And I wish I could tell every gay and lesbian person who has been hurt by the church, ‘I’m sorry.’”

3) Texas! I haven’t been to Texas except driving through on our way East since I was a kid, and several people told us versions of, “This is as red as red gets around here, and I just don’t know what’s going to happen.” Well, you absolutely have a special place forever in our hearts, Keene/Burleson! It was a smaller screening (around 90), but the discussion after was one of the most beautiful experiences I’ve witnessed. It started with a woman sharing that she hadn’t been to an Adventist church in 30 years since she came to terms with being a lesbian. She started to cry, and the moderator-a retired Adventist physicist from the area-invited her to his Sabbath School anytime. And then he embraced her. Then a pastor from a local church spoke up to say that she was welcome at their church anytime, and he and most everyone else would protect her from the few who might not be thrilled about that idea. And someone else spoke up to say that while their church really wasn’t an option yet, they personally would love to fellowship with her. Turns out they live on the same street! Another woman broke down talking about how she only found out after her best friend committed suicide that he was gay. He hadn’t thought she’d be a safe person to share that with. She just wanted him back so she could tell him how much she loved him. Stephen and I noted later that the audience hardly needed us there to talk-they talked to each other. And that was completely what needed to happen. The film and that space was clearly the first time this topic had been broached publicly for many, and the sharing, connecting, forgiving, connecting was grace in action.

4) For the seminarian who tracked me down between screenings at Benton Harbor to share how much the film had impacted him. He said he felt one of the highest duties of a Christian is to learn to grow in love, and his heart had expanded greatly in love that night.

5) The Babcocks’ calm heads and loving hearts-even with a gun in Dr. B’s back. Our Andrews area screenings happened at a local theater in Benton Harbor (Celebration Cinemas). The theater was great (wonderful management), and the turnout was exceptional. We’d added a second, late-night screening because the demand was just so high-and the screenings and discussions were wonderful. Sherri (featured in our film) and her parents, Dr. George and Fern Babcock, who are lifelong church educators and administrators, all came to be part of the evening’s discussion. That was a great treat for the audiences.

The only big problem was that Benton Harbor isn’t very safe late at night, and it was almost 1 AM before everyone was done talking. As the Babcocks (Sherri and her parents) pulled out of the parking lot, a young man ran to their car. They assumed he was an Andrews student who had just been at the screening and wanted to talk. Instead he asked for a ride to the nearby Motel 6 as it was a very cold night. They let him in, and when they got a little ways, he said to stop. Then he pulled out a gun, put it in Dr. Babcock’s back, and demanded money. He started getting agitated when they told him to calm down, and when he realized they didn’t have as much money as he wanted. Fern started praying for him. Only true saints like this family (who have been missionaries in Pakistan and other places that require genuine hearts and calm nerves) would pray for their mugger! He started crying and apologizing-but still took their money. I am so grateful that they are all okay! This could have ended very badly. They went to their motel and read Psalm 91 together and say a prayer of gratitude (and another for the mugger). And, they actually feel truly grateful that the mugger chose them instead of us (we left the theater last with some students who had helped run the evening). Students and faculty had contributed over $900 in cash to help with the extra expenses of the night and with future screenings, which was very generous. I had all of it just in a popcorn bucket and would have made an easy target. (They also feel the mugger might have been more aggressive with a younger driver like Stephen instead of someone like Dr. B, who is in his mid-70s.) All I know is that I’m grateful nobody was seriously injured and that the larger theme of the night was love, grace, compassion, and a listening space.

I think it would be great to say thanks to the Babcocks for coming all the way from Columbus and Chicago if we all made a small (or large) donation to the Worthy Student Fund at Hinsdale Adventist Academy where Dr. Babcock is currently the principal-and Fern is the librarian-in their retirement. We just made a contribution. Please do consider making one as well. (Just use the PayPal link on the front page and add a note saying it’s a contribution to their Worthy Student Fund to help make up for their loss in the mugging after the SGA screening in Benton Harbor.)

6) For a beautiful venue in Toronto and an extremely warm discussion. I’ll especially remember the feeling in the room after an older pastor shared his thoughts. He started his comment by saying, “This afternoon and seeing this film has really been an eye-opening experience that has really shifted my perspective.” He went on to talk about how he felt that he needed to be more open to people that he has often made assumptions about. After all, who did Jesus hang out with?

7) For all of you. Last year at this time we’d only had two small screenings (the first being for the benefit of the people in the film), and we still had final color and sound to finish. I remember sitting down to write a newsletter update about the next phase. It suddenly dawned on me that making the film had only been half of the job. The other half was screening the film and getting the conversation started. When I realized that we’d want to do the first screenings ourselves, I suddenly felt overwhelmed and exhausted! It seemed like such an enormous task. And how would we ever have enough money to make all of the screenings happen? At that point, we were set to run out of funds in January of 2012. And yet, somehow it happened! Witnessing audiences respond to the film, engaging in conversations, hearing your stories, attending film festivals, feeling people commit to change the status quo regardless of theological differences-that’s been a huge, huge blessing this year. Thank you! (I do think the Divine kinda likes to keep us on our toes and wondering if and how it will all work out until the last minute, as regularly happens, just so we don’t forget we need to send our thanks upward!)

La Sierra and New York in December

We’re extremely grateful to announce that the next screening will be in less than two weeks at the La Sierra University Church on Sabbath afternoon (3 PM) on December 1st. You can read more aboutwhy the church board and pastors decided to plan a screening-it’s a beautiful articulation of why we are called to the sacred act of listening.

And we’ll be in New York City for a take 2 screening on December 15th! There are even more screenings planned for early next year already, so do check out our screenings page as we announce details.

We are also working hard on a plan to have many of you host your own community screenings and discussions. I’ll have specifics soon, but let me know if you’d like to be help lead out in a screening and discussion in your community, church, or school. (And we are planning to start work on the DVD in the new year once our travel allows it.)

A very happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!