Erskine United Reformed Church in Belford (North Northumberland) is one of this year’s winners in the prestigious Community Projects Competition organised through the denomination’s monthly magazine Reform.
On Monday January 30th Belford minister Dave Herbert travelled to London to receive a certificate and a cheque for £2000 for the church from the Congregational & General Insurance Company, alongside the other award winners from Glasgow and Ashton-under-Lyme. Also present were Reform editor David Lawrence (look out for the photos in the next edition) and URC General Secretary David Cornick.
Speaking at the ceremony, Dave Herbert was able to tell the organisers how important the award was as an affirmation of a small church in a fairly isolated rural community. “We all hope” he said “that this award will inspire lots of other churches to consider setting up similar projects in their own communities.”
The cinema is described as a project designed to make connections with the wider community across age groups, and in different ways. It is free admission (though donations are welcomed), and provides a tuck shop for children's films. The cinema equipment is made up of a fixed PA with mixing desk, an electric screen which unfurls down a gable end wall, laptop and digital projector, along with a video/DVD/CD player. Clockwork Audiovisual who originally supplied the equipment have continued to provide technical support.
For young people, older people, and generally people on a limited income, it is impossible to go to the cinema from Belford. There is no public transport for the village in the evenings and the nearest cinemas are a long way away. And, as Dave Herbert himself says, “It's great to sit down and watch something in the company of others, rather than on your own in your own home.”
The church originally raised funds for the Project through an appeal for donations, and successfully applied to a range of funders such as The Countryside Agency, the Lottery's Awards for All, and Northumberland County Council. Money raised has helped provide better seating and other facilities for the hall, and has benefited the whole community, not just the cinema-goers.
Going to the cinema in Belford is a social occasion. For some it’s a bit like a luncheon club. Children and older church members too help to operate the equipment and staff the tuck shop. And the experience in Belford has encouraged their sister Church in North Sunderland to start their own mobile cinema.
For older people in the community there is a silver screen, where £2 buys tea and home baked cake, and the chance to watch a film together. Apparently in this case the audience chooses the films – and they’re usually white knuckle adrenalin filled!
But Dave clearly sees the project as an extension of his own ministry. As he explains, “After some films we discuss faith and life issues that have been raised: for example after Bruce Almighty there was a lot of chat around our understanding of the meaning and purpose of prayer, and of God's sovereignty, and after The Mission there was plenty of reflection on whether pacifism is the only way for Christians, or whether it is sometimes right to fight for right. The film also deals powerfully with the themes of penance and forgiveness.”
But what about the other things that today’s muliplex cinema goers have come to expect? “Our tuck shop helps offset overheads, and people can be spontaneously very generous with their donations. For example, one lady arrived with a shopping bag full of Cornettos and proceeded to give one to everyone sitting there watching the film that evening!”
The church in Belford has discovered through the Project a great way of working with children and teenagers, and indeed a great way of relating to people of all ages. They know that there's a plethora of material out there to help discuss issues raised by contemporary films, including the Bible Society's Reel Issues programme.
It looks like something that will run and run.