Holy box office: Bible stories make huge comeback
The Bible is back in a big way as movie studios and streamers sign big-budget deals to develop more faith-based content after the huge success of movies like King of Kings and The Sound of Freedom.
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Winnipeg Free Press
29-05-2025
- Winnipeg Free Press
Who are the Sacred Harp singers using a more than 180-year-old hymnal today
BREMEN, Ga. (AP) — 'The Sacred Harp' hymnal is beloved by those who sing from it, carrying on the Christian songbook's more than 180-year-old legacy. They are young and old — and all ages in between. Some have been singing from the hymnal all their lives, just as their parents and grandparents had done before them. Others became immersed in the shape-note singing tradition as adults and found fellowship as well as music. As the Sacred Harp community awaits the latest edition of their songbook, here's a look at who these singers are and why this a cappella group practice is important to them. The sacredness of 'The Sacred Harp' for many singers For Isaac Green, Sacred Harp singing is not a hobby — it's spiritual. 'Sacred Harp singing is my church,' said Green. 'I get much more out of listening and thinking about the words I'm singing than I do anybody preaching to me.' Green grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee, singing out of a different shape-note hymnal. He discovered 'The Sacred Harp' much later, while living in Alpharetta, Georgia. 'There are definitely some people that have very different beliefs than me, have very different upbringings, have very different day-to-day lives, but when we come together and sing … that can be our one thing that we are in unison over,' he said. Finding singing in the 'backwoods of Alabama' More than 20 years ago, Bridge Hill Kennedy was burned out by music ministry when he joined his sister-in-law at a Sacred Harp singing event. Unfamiliar with the tradition, they looked up YouTube videos beforehand. 'We went into the backwoods of Alabama, and there it was, some of the most beautiful music that I've ever heard,' he said. Today, it feeds his soul and boosts his mood. 'This community means the world to me,' Kennedy said. 'I've met people that I never would have met … and that has given me a greater opportunity to love, even difficult people — opportunities that I would not have had otherwise and I'm grateful for that.' An inherited family tradition Sacred Harp singing is a family tradition for Reba Dell Windom. Growing up, it's how she spent her weekends. 'I don't remember learning to sing. I just thought, well, I could always sing,' said Windom, who has stuck with it throughout her lifetime, loving the fellowship and the practice. She views 'The Sacred Harp' hymnal as a special book deserving of respect, like the Bible. Windom has her grandfather's and her dad's old songbooks. Singing makes her feel close to them, especially when she leads a group of singers through a hymn they used to lead at singing events. 'I like to lead them, and sometimes it makes me cry, but it's just memories,' she said. 'There's quite a few that would be considered my favorite.' A young girl's songbook Eleven-year-old Riley McKibbin received her copy of 'The Sacred Harp' from her family with its long line of Sacred Harp singers. At the front of her songbook, a handwritten note dated Aug. 6, 2017, reminds her of that. Riley, who likes how 'everybody comes together and they can just sing Godly songs for God,' has attended Sacred Harp singing events since she was a baby. For a few years now, she's served as a song leader, taking her turn guiding the group and keeping time. Riley's mother, Lisa Webb, said her daughter has always loved to sing, and it was important to have her share in the family tradition. Songs remind singer of special people in his life Specific hymns in 'The Sacred Harp' remind Oscar McGuire of singers in his life, including those no longer living. He'll often lead those songs at singing events. 'I'll get hung up on two or three songs and lead the same songs every Sunday,' he said. 'I'll sing them kind of in their memory.' There's No. 485 'New Agatite' and No. 573 'Harpeth Valley' that remind him of the late Hugh McGraw, an influential Sacred Harp singer, and several that make him think of the late Charlene Wallace, another stalwart singer. No. 515 'Joyful' is his wife's favorite. 'I get a message out of the songs. Most all of them come from verses in the Bible,' he said. 'I would rather go and sing all day, rather than going to church and listening to a preacher for 30 minutes.' Reluctant singer now immersed in the tradition Today, Nathan Rees is immersed in the Sacred Harp community. Not only is he a singer, he also is the curator of the Sacred Harp museum in Carrollton, Georgia, and a member of the revision committee working on the upcoming 2025 edition. Sundays Kevin Rollason's Sunday newsletter honouring and remembering lives well-lived in Manitoba. But Rees didn't start out so enthusiastic; he was skeptical when his parents introduced him to it while he was in Utah during college. 'They had to talk me into going to this weird thing they were doing and loving with strange adult friends of theirs that I had never met and had zero interest in whatsoever,' said Rees, who remembers well that first singing he attended. 'I just got into it and loved it.' ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Winnipeg Free Press
16-05-2025
- Winnipeg Free Press
Stroke by stroke, Winnipeg paddling enthusiast became a master of his crafts
Myron Sawatzky has two reasons to be thankful for canoeing. For starters, Sawatzky is the owner of Paddle and Hum, a home-based venture that turns out lightweight solo canoes in a variety of bold colours. Secondly, the married father of four can't say for certain whether he and his Winnipeg-born wife Cyndi would ever have tied the knot, had it not been for a soul-searching canoe ride he took almost 30 years ago. Sawatzky grew up in Abbotsford, B.C. In the summer of 1997, the then-21-year-old was camping with friends at Kenyon Lake, in the lower mainland. Unable to sleep the first night there, he went for a paddle by himself under the stars. BROOK JONES/FREE PRESS Paddle and Hum owner Myron Sawatzky builds lightweight solo canoes in a backyard shed he converted into his workshop. The 49-year-old is pictured doing a J-Stroke with a paddle as he sits in a 27-pound Soupspoon shaped fiberglass canoe with a free hanging seat he built in his North Kildonan backyard workshop in Winnipeg, Man., Monday, May 5, 2025. Sawatzky also builds Freeboard shaped canoes. BROOK JONES/FREE PRESS Paddle and Hum owner Myron Sawatzky builds lightweight solo canoes in a backyard shed he converted into his workshop. The 49-year-old is pictured doing a J-Stroke with a paddle as he sits in a 27-pound Soupspoon shaped fiberglass canoe with a free hanging seat he built in his North Kildonan backyard workshop in Winnipeg, Man., Monday, May 5, 2025. Sawatzky also builds Freeboard shaped canoes. 'I had reached a point in my life where I was feeling like I really needed a change of scenery and even though I wasn't yet an avid canoeist, I guess I figured hopping in a canoe would be a good way to collect my thoughts,' Sawatzky says, seated in the kitchen of his North Kildonan bungalow. Much of what he was dealing with was weather-related. He'd always enjoyed the outdoors, hiking most of all, but life in the Fraser Valley during the winter usually means rainy conditions for days on end, he contends, and he wasn't sure he wanted to endure that again. Sawatzky had previously travelled to Winnipeg with his parents to visit family. As he was paddling past a moonlit island that evening, he recalled how it had always been sunny here whenever he visited, even in December and January. Also, he had gotten to know a few Winnipeggers, Cyndi among them, at a Bible school retreat he attended in Saskatchewan the previous year. 'The next morning I woke up and was like, 'Guess what everybody? I'm moving to Winnipeg.' Cyndi and I started dating a short time later and the rest is history.' Paddle and Hum — a play on the 1988 U2 album Rattle and Hum — was founded in 2019, but its roots trace back to the early 2000s, when Sawatzky worked as a program director for an Alberta Bible camp. There was a small lagoon close to the property. Almost every morning during the spring, summer and fall, he'd hop into a camp-owned canoe and shove off for an hour or so. 'As I moved along I would look down through the clear water and feel like I was in a different world… I just loved it,' he remembers. Sawatzky eventually became so adept at the activity that by the end of his term, he was teaching students some of the finer points of canoeing. Not that he didn't continue to learn a few new tricks of his own. On one occasion he was sharing a canoe with Cyndi — by then they were married — when he told her if she wanted to help steer, she should turn her paddle in such-and-such a manner. Oh, he meant a J-stroke, she retorted, referring to a manoeuvre that keeps one's boat moving in a straight line while maintaining momentum. BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS Paddle and Hum owner Myron Sawatzky offers two types of light but sturdy canoes — a 14-inch-deep freeboard model and a soup-spoon design, which is two inches shorter for a more open feel. 'A J-what?' Sawatzky asked quizzically. The couple returned to Winnipeg in 2006, the year their first child was born. Telling himself he wanted to get into canoeing 'big time,' he began by renting a canoe from a local supplier. That served his purposes for a few years but by 2010 he was desiring a specimen of his own. Being that he's a handy sort — he maintains a number of investment properties in his 'real life' — he decided to go shopping for a used canoe, one perhaps in need of a little TLC. 'I was primarily interested in cedar-canvas canoes, whose look I particularly admired, and I finally found one I called the Planter, because it was sitting upright in a field near Grand Beach,' he says. 'It was a cedar-canvas canoe, but at some point somebody had taken the canvas off and replaced it with fibreglass. Except because it was left out in the elements, the wood had rotted. I ended up gutting it and putting in my own wood, seats and gunwales until it looked practically brand-new.' More restoration projects followed. This included a model originally built by the late Bill Brigden, the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame inductee who was responsible for the three-seater Winnipegger Don Starkell employed on his famous 20,000-kilometre canoe trip to Brazil, which resulted in the 1987 bestseller Paddle to the Amazon. Sawatzky relished the process of bringing old canoes back to life, though as he got further involved in the hobby, he started to contemplate building one from scratch — a fibreglass sort that would better suit his individual needs. Mainly he wanted something lighter and shorter than the 15- and 16-footers he'd been refurbishing, he explains. By 2018 he had settled on a personal design. And because the backyard shed he would be building it in was only 10-feet wide to begin with, he was locked into how long it could be, which turned out to be 9½ feet. Sawatzky's original plan was to use a mould to construct a few for himself, Cyndi and the kids, ones they could use to explore preferred spots such as the Seine River, south of Provencher Boulevard, and Silver Springs Park, near East St. Paul. BROOK JONES / FREE PRESS Paddle and Hum owner Myron Sawatzky crafts his lightweight solo canoes in a converted shed in his North Kildonan backyard. However, outsiders began expressing an interest in his light but sturdy vessels — each one weighs less than 13 kilograms, about as much as a can of paint — and soon he was on the receiving end of orders from parties as far west as Alberta. Don Reimer owns one of Sawatzky's early models. He and Sawatzky struck up a friendship in the late '90s, when they used to hike the Whiteshell's Mantario Trail together. Reimer owned a number of canoes through the years, and he was intrigued by what his pal was up to, in the beginning stages of Paddle and Hum. 'I'd tried my share of solo canoes from namebrand outfitters, only they were still almost as long as the tandem canoes I'd been in — in the range of 14 or 15 feet — so if you were trying to nose into a little rocky crag or dismount on the side of a rocky shore, it could be somewhat challenging,' Reimer says. 'When Myron started making his, I thought hmm, that might suit me a lot better.' Reimer, whose favourite destination is Ontario's Experimental Lakes Area, says one of the advantages of a solo canoe is that it's much easier to carry on a conversation with a fellow paddler when you're side-by-side versus having your back to them for hours on end. Plus, if he or his partner ever wish to explore an area the other isn't interested in, away they go. 'I do get the odd comment when I'm on the water, but most of the questions about Myron's canoe come when I'm portaging,' Reimer goes on. 'I'll be throwing it over my head or carrying it on the side with one arm and people will be (asking) 'What is that? Where the heck did you get it?' When it comes to canoes, you want something that's durable, affordable and light, and what Myron's doing checks all three of those boxes.' Sawatzky's canoes, which have a suggested weight capacity of 400 pounds, are available in a pair of styles. Most popular is a freeboard model that is 14 inches deep, but he also offers a soup-spoon design that, at two inches shorter, delivers a more open feel. (Besides the colour, interested parties can also choose the finish they want — dark or natural — for the oak decking.) BROOK JONES/FREE PRESS Paddle and Hum — a play on the 1988 U2 album Rattle and Hum — was founded in 2019. 'For the first five years I was only making two canoes a year, mostly because with four kids life can get pretty busy, right?' Sawatzky says. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. 'That said, this spring I started doing public markets for the first time, as a way to determine how much mileage the business has in it if I was to invest a little more time and effort.' Then again, there are ramifications to be wary of, if Paddle and Hum truly sets sail, he acknowledges. 'The Canadian Shield is one of my favourite places on Earth — I take people there all the time — so yeah, I'd never want to get so busy building that I'd lose the opportunity to get out there myself.' For more information go to David Sanderson Dave Sanderson was born in Regina but please, don't hold that against him. Read full biography Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
CBC
20-04-2025
- CBC
Biblical box office: How productions like The Chosen are bringing Christianity to a screen near you
Wave of Christian programming is changing tenor and culture of TV and Hollywood, experts say Last weekend was something of a Sunday school special for the box office. In a surprise show of strength, the Dickens adaptation King of Kings, telling the story of Jesus Christ's life and crucifixion, exploded with a $19-million US debut. For an animated movie in April, this was surprising — given the fact it was a biblical blockbuster, even more so. Dreamworks' The Prince of Egypt set the opening-weekend high water-mark for a faith-based animated film back in 1998. But in terms of scriptural media, the success of King of Kings is far from a one-off. The recent fifth season of The Chosen also outperformed expectations. Plus, the Christian series saw its first three parts premiere in theatres to a combined total of more than $36 million US, helping cement religious programming as an appetizing genre for studios and audiences alike. "People are hungry for something. They're hungry for change. They're hungry for positive. They're hungry for light," explained The Chosen 's Jonathan Roumie, who plays Jesus, during an interview with CBC. "They're hungry for the light that the gospels ultimately provide." Earlier this year, Amazon Prime Video's House of David — charting the rise of the biblical shepherd boy — had more than 22 million tuning in for the first 17 days after its February release. According to Amazon MGM Studios, that placed it in the top 10 of U.S. series debuts. Lionsgate's The Best Christmas Pageant Ever — the proselytizing, Pete Holmes-led Christmas movie — managed an already impressive $40 million US, which was made even more impressive by the fact it was competing with heavyweights Wicked and Moana 2. Meanwhile, Christ-derived stories from Martin Scorsese (The Life of Jesus), Terrence Malick (The Way of the Wind) and Mel Gibson (two sequels to The Passion) are all reportedly in the works. According to Roumie, that interest and the recent successes speak to a widespread fanbase with a variety of beliefs. "I think ... about 30 per cent of our audience globally does not identify as religious or churchgoing, whether that be agnostic or atheistic," he said of The Chosen. "To us, that's just an increasing proof that the power of this series is in its storytelling." It's far from the first time Christianity has buttressed the box office. In Hollywood's early efforts to differentiate itself from the new invention of television, studios shifted away from creating a lot of productions to funnelling their money into fewer but more big-budget spectacles, according to University of Bologna associate professor Marco Cucco. The hope was that they would convince audiences a trip to the theatre was worth it. To further cement the appeal, those early precursors to the modern-day blockbuster largely drew from historical stories, legends and fables that people were already aware of. That included biblical tales, like Ben-Hur, The Greatest Story Ever Told, 1961's live-action King of Kings and The Ten Commandments. It wasn't until the stunning success of Jaws fundamentally shifted the cinematic landscape toward action films in the mid-1970s that that biblical formula started to fade. 'It's supposed to speak to the human experience' Catholic priest and film critic Eric Mah said the wind had more or less left the sails for faith-based films. The reason for their return to prominence, he argued, is in the updated way in which these stories are told. "The thing about religion just in general, if it's lived authentically and is taught authentically, it's supposed to speak to the human experience," he said. "Before, the focus was on making Christian films with the purpose of catechesis or evangelization. And now I think people are just focused on making good films, which I think actually is the way to go, right?" But there's more than just faith at play. Many of these productions — including The Chosen and King of King s — got their start with Angel Studios. (After an initial association, The Chosen and Angel Studios parted ways in early 2024.) The studio was founded by brothers affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and has since pumped out a multitude of Christian and Christian-adjacent content. That includes 2023's Sound of Freedom, the seemingly secular film about child trafficking starring The Passion of the Christ 's Jim Caviezel. It would eventually become embroiled in a culture war, and found itself connected to religiosity despite having no overt link to it. LISTEN | Sound of Freedom's box-office success: Media Audio | Sound of Freedom's unlikely box office dominance Caption: Film critic Nick Allen and journalist Justin Ling explain how Sound of Freedom, a small independent film released by a faith-based studio, became the surprise movie success story of the summer — and how it's become a lightning rod in the divisive culture wars currently raging across North America. Open Full Embed in New Tab Loading external pages may require significantly more data usage than loading CBC Lite story pages. "Even though Sound of Freedom wasn't perhaps an explicitly Christian film, the fact that [audiences] made that connection between 'OK, this is the guy who played Jesus there,' that almost, in a certain sense, was enough to satisfy the religious longing," said Mah. But that connection went deeper than just a familiar face. Part of the association, Wall Street Journal entertainment reporter John Jurgensen says, is a cultural one. "Here was a movie that had zero to do, on the surface, with religion or God. But because of the story it was telling about child trafficking, it was kind of ringing a bell for people who identify as Christian or identify as religious who care about that as a subject," he said. Art in general, Jurgensen said, has become a "huge battleground" in the culture wars, where ideology is hashed out through the success of productions that come to represent those ideas. Jurgensen says if audiences believe that a culture or political bent has been historically underrepresented, it can motivate them to vote with their dollars to support it. From Josh Ross to the DNC, country music is officially back. Here's why How young men are changing what conservatism looks like in Canada "These things are emotional triggers for us, whether it's the music we listen to or the stories on screen that move us. And if audiences feel they come from a place that is native to these folks or to these fans and familiar, that just makes their following more passionate," he said. That's paired with an increased desire from audience for uplifting, positive content and a desire for independent productions — like The Chosen — separate from the "bubble of Hollywood." Jurgensen said the genre's rise is also at least partially tied to the pendulum of cultural trends that isn't likely to swing back anytime soon. "What we spend our money on, what we show to our families, has really become a point of contention for people who are staking out just different ways of thinking, and who want to see their viewpoints represented on the screens that they sit in front of," he said. "It's not necessarily the reason someone is buying that ticket. But I have a feeling that when pressed to talk about how it fits into their broader views of the world, they really see this as part of who they are."
