Master of Arts in Visual Anthropology

Set in the outskirts of the filmmaker’s hometown in rural Pennsylvania, We Are a Garden explores a Lutheran congregation’s relationship with the increased use of media that followed the coronavirus pandemic. From their current residence in Los Angeles, the filmmaker guides the audience into the world of contemporary worship within and outside their hometown church, St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church. When the pandemic prevented members from gathering in person, the congregation began implementing livestream and asynchronous worship service options. Although St. John’s had been broadcasting their worship services on a local cable network since the 1990s, social media websites like YouTube and Facebook now provided a more instantaneous connection to church services. As congregants adapted to new ways of attending worship, the increased dependency on digital media resulted in other new media implementations in worship services after the church reopened for in-person services in 2021. The film asks how community remains alive in a time when congregations do not necessarily need to be together physically but can gather in digital spirit.

 

Running time: 23 minutes