Film company offers free horror short on stewardship

‘Freezer Burn’ describes one woman’s approach toward giving

by Mike Ferguson | Presbyterian News Service

LOUISVILLE — For some pastors and for many budget committee members, there’s nothing scarier than Stewardship Sunday.

In the spirit of giving during this stewardship season, InLighten Films is giving away one of its original short films. Click here to view “Freezer Burn,” a three-minute take on a less-than-faithful approach one woman takes to supporting her church.

“Every church leader is annually faced with the difficult task of talking about money and giving to the church,” states a news release from InLighten Films, founded by Scott Galloway, the son, grandson and great-grandson of Presbyterian pastors. “This film can help spark conversations about what we give and how we make decisions about our giving.”

In the spooky spoof, a woman descends into her dark basement, peers into her freezer and screams. She removes what she’s discovered from her freezer and takes it to her local butcher, asking for his advice on what to do with it.

“Where did you find this?” he asks her, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

“Basement freezer,” she whispers.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” he says. “2003? A 16-year-old frozen turkey?”

“Is it safe?” the woman asks.

“It’s not going to taste very good,” the butcher tells her. “It’s going to be almost rubbery. You may toss it.”

“No,” she says. “Let me have it.”

“You sure?” he asks, handing it over to her.

“Yes. I’ll give it to the church,” she says, clutching the turkey almost lovingly and exiting the shop wearing a satisfied smile as the film concludes.

According to the news release, InLighten Films is producing high-quality, dramatic short films for use in worship, small group study, Sunday school, youth groups and more. Each week, the company releases an original film. Each film is under four minutes long and comes with discussion questions. The films are matched with the upcoming lectionary reading and are produced to illustrate a sermon or lesson. Additional sample films can be seen here.

“Pastors tell us that they love saving time by having a new film every week that is perfectly matched to the lectionary text,” Galloway said. “Christian education leaders love the fact that they can easily share the films with small group leaders, Sunday school teachers and youth group leaders.”