Clergy buys into 'Passion' plan

By Mary Kaye Ritz
Advertiser Religion & Ethics Writer

Partly because of the efforts of concierge Pono Shim, thousands of tickets for advance screenings of "The Passion of the Christ" have been sold to local churches. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

Today, Shim says that someone must have been him, since much of his dream "actually has transpired."

Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," a film that tells the story of Jesus' last 12 hours of life, up to and including his crucifixion, is the means that Shim has found to bring clergy together. The film is rated R for its graphic depiction of violence.

Shim helped persuade Consolidated Theatres and distributors of "The Passion of the Christ" to hold advance screenings of "Passion" and to place the film in multiple movie theaters, and helped spread the word to clergy that tickets for the film could be purchased in blocks.

Thanks in part to Shim's organizing efforts, thousands of tickets for the movie have been sold on O'ahu. Three advance screenings on Tuesday are sold out. Tickets for the Wednesday movie opening have also sold out at some of the nine theaters on O'ahu where "Passion" will show.

Dan Chun, First Presbyterian's senior pastor, says he is using the film as sermon fodder for a four-part Lenten series. Other clergy — mostly from evangelical denominations — are also vocal about plans to use Gibson's depiction of Jesus' story as a tool for furthering their faith.

Signature's Ian Anselmo, general manager at Dole Cannery, said "The Passion of the Christ" is generating notable interest within Christian congregations — though it's not selling tickets at the rate of a blockbuster such as "Lord of the Rings: Return of the King."

"It's big," Anselmo said. "Churches are buying out whole shows." However, "it's all scattered" for seats to shows Wednesday and beyond.

Some national Jewish critics decry the movie as anti-Semitic. However, response in Hawai'i's Jewish community has been more muted.

Rabbi Itchel Krasnjansky of Chabad of Hawai'i said people in his temple have talked about it, but he has no plans to see it soon.

"At some point, I may need to address it," he said.

Roman Catholics nationwide have been urged by the U.S. bishops to not view any group as responsible for Jesus' death. Hawai'i's diocesan newspaper has printed a similar admonishment.

The most recent Hawaii Catholic Herald quoted a 1988 statement that said: "Any presentations that explicitly or implicity seek to shift responsibility from human sin onto this or that historical group, such as the Jews, can only be said to obscure a core Gospel truth."

A national marketing effort for "Passion" included advance screenings for select audiences, primarily from the Christian faith. At a December advance "rough cut" screening, Honolulu moviegoers, primarily pastors, were asked to sign a confidentiality agreement saying they would not discuss the movie or their reactions to it. At the screening, however, a representative from Gibson's Icon Productions told viewers they could pass on positive impressions of the film.

For the screenings of "Passion" set for next week and beyond, some churches bought blocks of tickets that have been resold to parishioners at a discount; others rented theaters so they could be assured of prayer time afterward.

Calvary Chapel bought up capacity seating for two shows Thursday and is offering its members tickets at $2 off.

"People are inviting friends," said Jake O'Neill, Calvary's assistant pastor. "We've reserved the theater, and will have prayer time after."

Carrie Miyahira, extension director at New Hope Leeward Campus, said the church sold out three showings at Signature's Pearl Highlands — two evening shows Wednesday and one Thursday evening, for a total of more than 1,000 seats.

"Tickets went fast," Miyahira said. "We're hoping to do some praise and worship ahead, and have a short discussion and explain afterward how to use the movie as an evangelizing tool."

Other evangelical Christians are encouraging members of their faith groups to see the movie by other methods.

Glory Yoshida, an administrative assistant at Hope Chapel in Kane'ohe, said for every ticket stub members bring in for "The Passion of the Christ" for any show Wednesday through Feb. 29, the church will refund $3.

"It's hard to make everybody go (at a pre-arranged time)," Yoshida said. "We're actually trying to encourage people to take their non-Christian friends."

Shim, the concierge who has helped to promote ticket sales and private screenings of the film, believes his unusual position was part of a grand plan.

"Because I'm independent, my faith could be revealed," he said. "Somebody from Consolidated couldn't do what I do."

He said he suggested to the general manager at Ward Theatres that "Passion," originally slated for the Varsity Theatre near the University of Hawai'i-Manoa, would draw a greater audience if it played at Ward.

Shim sent out e-mails in early January "offering support from an insider's perspective" to Gibson, then more e-mails to his database of clients, inviting them to see it.

"Never had I declared my faith through my business," Shim says now. "It was a huge risk."

But it paid off when people forwarded his e-mail to churches, with pastors responding, and he "leveraged that with the decision makers in L.A. ... They're heroes. L.A. got the message: It's playing on four islands, in 13 theaters."

Shim says he is not the one who deserves credit for the religious communities' interest in "Passion."

"It's the people who created that, not Pono," he said. "I'm not it. I know who 'it' is — it's not me."

Reach Mary Kaye Ritz at 525-8035 or mritz@honoluluadvertiser.com.