LONDON — Four churches in England are turning to the movie business to try to boost attendance at their services — by offering free tickets to Mel Gibson’s film “The Passion of the Christ.”
The quartet of Church of England parishes, in the southeast corner of the country, have booked $38,000 worth of tickets for the controversial movie. The tickets are being offered to “those not attending a church, or those who attend and wish to bring a guest,” according to a Web site operated by St. Luke’s Church in Maidstone, Kent.
Other churches buying up the 3,000 cinema tickets at $12.35 each include All Saints and Loose Baptist, in the village of Loose, and St. Peter’s in Broughton Monchelsea.
The effort is likely to generate its own controversy, whatever the success. The film, which opened in Britain in March, depicts the last hours of Jesus and has triggered uproar in the United States amid accusations it is anti-Semitic.
Churchgoing audiences also have been warned “The Passion” contains scenes of an extremely violent nature.
That doesn’t deter Russ Hughes, the director of worship and prophecy at St. Luke’s.
He told reporters, “This is the greatest opportunity for the church in 30 years, and if we did not use it, we may not get such an opportunity again.”
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