Easter focuses ‘Passion’ message

Go see “The Passion of the Christ.”

That’s the message that churches in the District, Maryland and Virginia are sending their parishioners and others this Easter to increase focus on Christ’s death and Resurrection.

Church officials are setting up banners outside their places of worship, running radio ads or sending out postcards and fliers urging members of their congregations to see Mel Gibson’s “Passion” in movie theaters.

Others are leading group discussions, daylong seminars and holding special church services to explore what they are calling “the movie’s claims.”

“We are trying to arouse a focus on the Easter story, which is what Mr. Gibson’s movie portrays,” said the Rev. Gary Scarborough, pastor of Ashton Baptist Church in Montgomery County, which is hosting a four-part Easter series that began March 28.

Mr. Scarborough’s church is one of many places of worship that have put up large banners on their lawns, encouraging passersby to see the movie and afterward join a discussion group.

The red banner that stands on the lawn of Ashton Baptist asks: “The Passion of the Christ: True of False?” A similar sentiment is displayed on a black banner that stands about a mile away, in front of Immanuel’s Church in Silver Spring, adding, “Jesus loves us.”

National Evangelical Free Church in Falls Church erected a banner that included an image of Christ, portrayed in the movie by actor James Caviezel.

McLean Bible Church, which purchased more than 11,000 movie tickets during the movie’s first week, planned to host Sunday workshops called “Personalizing the Passion.”

And National Community Church, which holds its services inside the theaters at Ballston Common Mall and Union Station, has used the film as part of its series called “God at the Box Office.”

Mr. Scarborough said he thinks Mr. Gibson’s R-rated movie, for the most part, is true to the Scriptures.

“Christ was born to take away the sins of the world, and He did that. That point is well put in the movie,” he said.

He said the film raises the same questions as the Bible.

“When people read the Bible, the immediate question is, ’Is this true or false?’ If it is true, we need to take action,” Mr. Scarborough said, adding that the “action” involves developing a trust in Christ to forgive sins.

Many church leaders also are referring to the movie in their weekly sermons to make it easier for parishioners to understand the day’s Gospel readings.

The Rev. John Riley of St. Louis Catholic Church in Alexandria mentioned the movie in discussing last Sunday’s Gospel reading about Christ preventing the stoning of the unidentified adulteress — who is Mary Magdalene in Mr. Gibson’s movie.

“You see it from her view,” Father Riley said of the scene in “The Passion,” which he called an amazing film. “The crowd of Pharisees is out of focus. And it’s seen as if through her tears.”

Father Riley, a former film student, also led a seminar on “The Passion” last month at the John Paul II Cultural Center in Northeast. He says he has mentioned the film frequently in his Lenten homilies and has had “to try not to do it every week, since it’s so close to where we are in the year liturgically.”

He said his parish has sponsored several trips to see “The Passion,” the largest, a youth group of about 40 people.

Following its Feb. 25 nationwide release, “The Passion” led the box office for four consecutive weeks and by March 28 had earned more than $305.8 million.

The Rev. H. Wallace Webster said his congregation at Mount Airy Bible Church in Howard County mailed out postcards to everyone in the church’s ZIP code inviting members of the community to attend special services devoted entirely to the movie.

Mr. Webster said the invitations have been attracting new guests long before the special “Passion” services, set to begin today, Palm Sunday.

Church leaders also said the anticipation of celebrating Easter on April 11 further continues to fuel discussions about the movie, which is about the final 12 hours of Christ’s life.

“The discussion is everywhere,” Mr. Webster said. “[Parishioners] say, ’Did you see the movie?’ No one is even using the name. We all know what they are talking about.”

Most of the postcards that have been sent out to the community include the names of the local theaters that are showing the movie and a locater map for the church.

Mr. Webster’s postcards invite members of the community to four services on Palm Sunday and Easter, when the movie will be discussed.

“How do we know what is true and what is false?” the postcard asks. “The questions are crucial, the documentation abundant, and the answers surprising.”

Meanwhile, the discussion at Harundale Presbyterian Church in Glen Burnie is less evangelical and more theological. The church is leading a series of classes called the Lay Academy that is devoted to discussing the movie.

“The story of ’The Passion’ is not just a story of a person dying, but it is God dying,” said Ronald Thomson, who works with the church’s academy, which began meeting about the movie on Feb. 29.

Mr. Thomson said the academy has drawn a larger crowd since it began its discussions on “The Passion.” He said most courses offered by the academy draw about 18 persons. The course about “The Passion” has attracted about 40 persons in the past five weeks.

“We saw an opportunity to use this movie to bring in people who don’t want to be involved in other [theological discussions],” he said. “The movie has drawn people to think.”

The discussions about the movie, however, have not been exclusive to churches.

NeedHim Ministries in Dallas has created radio ads that invite people who have questions about the movie to call a hot line to talk about beginning “a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.”

Tom Andersen, the ministry’s director of operations, said the ads have generated an additional 33 calls from the D.C. area this month.

• Victor Morton contributed to this article.