Lent course to look at how movie’s can help reflections on Christ

Church Times critic Stephen Brown, who has also reviewed for The Yorkshire Post, will discuss his view that film can have a transformative effect on emotions and can be used in the context of Christian enquiry and debate over four weekly sessions, beginning on Thursday February 26. The course, Love Actually: How movies help us walk the Way of the Cross, takes place on Thursday evenings throughout lent at the Minster’s North Transept, and is free to attend.

The Chancellor of York Minster, Rev Canon Dr Christopher Collingwood, who will host the events, said: “The idea that a popular art form like cinema can enrich the Christian understanding of faith and sacrifice, may be new and perhaps controversial for some people.

“This Lent Course will hopefully introduce the audience to a new way of engaging with faith and the story of Jesus in the period leading up to Easter. We also hope that it will generate some passionate debate, disagreement and great humour.”

The first session will look at examples of sacrifice in films, and the second, on March 5, will focus on the theme of atonement, based on the 2007 film starring Keira Knightley. The third, on March 19, will use The King’s Speech as a starting point for a discussions on overcoming suffering, while the final session, on March 26, will look at biblical epics.

For full details or to book, visit the Minster website www.yorkminster.org