Tuesday, July 26, 2011

"Paradise Recovered" and Ohio's Well Spring Retreat Recovery Center



 Many people have been so scared by abusive religion that they have no idea on where to turn.  There is a facility in Ohio that is geared to helping those recovering from abusive churches, religious systems and other abusive thought systems.  Their work can either be secular in base or pastoral.



Many who come from abusive religious systems are not able to rationalize what has happened to them with what their faith promotes as truth.  When that is ripped away, many fall into a spiritual void. Many still long for something deeper that brings meaning to their lives but do not know what to do.  Others, have had enough and leave faith based systems.  However, they still need to deal with the rejection, the loss of every thing they had been rooted in, the familial ties that broken, and more.

The Wellspring Recovery Center is also sponsoring a screening of "Paradise Recovered".

Paradise Recovered, the film made by a former WCG member has been making the rounds of numerous film festivals.  It has been getting rave reviews.

Synopsis:
Esther Harris, a young woman praised for her virtue and devotion to Warren F. Vanderbilt’s Prophetic Watchman Ministries, has been given the opportunity of a lifetime – to attend Vanderbilt’s Kingdom Bible College. 
When the fundamentalist Christian sect falls on hard times, Esther looks for employment at a local health food store to supplement the group’s income.
At the store, Esther gets a chance to share her faith with her new manager, Gabriel, a devout skeptic and preacher’s kid, and his roommate, Mark, a college drop-out who finds Christian television to be great entertainment.
The friendship with Gabriel and Mark help Esther determine her human worth while helping her reframe her faith in a whole new light.
Shot entirely on location in Southern Indiana and Austin, Texas, Paradise Recovered attempts a modern-day retelling of the parable of the Good Samaritan while addressing hard questions involving faith, tolerance, and spiritual abuse in modern culture. 



Paradise Recovered Trailer from Storme Wood on Vimeo.

1 comment:

Byker Bob said...

I'd like to look into this place a bit more. It sounds like a work that might occasionally be worthy of tithes!

BB