New Liturgical Film Premieres in Seattle
Episcopal News Service. February 28, 1985 [85044]
Christine Dubois, Diocese of Olympia
SEATTLE, Wash. (DPS, Feb. 28) -- For the first time in 17 years, a new film on Eucharist is available from the national church.
"Do This for the Remembrance of Me," produced by the Executive Council for the Standing Liturgical Commission, premiered here Jan. 29. Approximately 150 people attended the showing, including the Rev. Canon Charles M. Guilbert, custodian of the Book of Common Prayer and a member of the Standing Liturgical Commission; and the Rev. Clifford Gain, immediate past president of the Association of Diocesan Liturgy and Music Commissions.
The film is the brainchild of the Rev. Peter Moore, president of the Council of Associated Parishes for Liturgy and Mission and rector of St. Paul Episcopal Church, here. Two years ago, Moore was asked to develop models for workshops on liturgy and mission.
"In thinking about the project, I just felt we had to have something that would get us out of using words -- written or spoken," he says. "We had to provide a visualization of what it's all about and how it might be done."
Moore consulted Seattle film maker John Hill, a member of his congregation. Hill developed the concept, wrote the script, and directed the movie.
The half-hour film is not, as some have feared, a "how-to" piece on the Eucharist. Rather, it is an attempt, as Moore says, "to relate the experience of liturgy to the experience of life everyday."
The film expresses this relationship by focusing on the lives of four people in the congregation: a street person, a Vietnamese refugee, a Hispanic single mother, and a well-to-do businessman. Scenes from their lives are woven through the liturgical celebration.
A highlight of the film is the Prayers of the People, where shots of Deacon Ormonde Plater leading the congregation in the intercessions cut to multiple images of war, poverty, natural disasters, and other scenes of the world for which we pray.
"One of the reasons the film succeeds is that the film doesn't confine you to a particular kind of response," explains Moore.
The film was shot in June at St. Paul, with the help of local Episcopalians. The Executive Council provided the funding -- approximately $60,000.
Others contributing to the success of the film were: the Rt. Rev. Vincent K. Pettit, chairman of the Standing Liturgical Commission; Howard Galley, liturgical consultant; Kip Anderson, director of photography; Steve Marts, second cameraman; Dick Buckley, lighting; and Richard Gentner, editor.
"Do This for the Remembrance of Me" will be available for rent or purchase this spring from the Office of Communication, 815 Second Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10017.