St. Charles filmmaker is executive producer for 'Paul, Apostle of Christ'

It seems that Eric Groth of St. Charles could easily relate to St. Paul's efforts to lay the groundwork for the foundation of Christianity as an Apostle of Jesus Christ.

After all, Groth had a shovel in hand as a 9-year-old boy in 1978 to participate in the foundation groundbreaking for St. John Neumann Church in St. Charles - and he's been one of the more active members of the parish ever since.

His interest in St. Paul has translated to his role as the executive producer of the movie "Paul, Apostle of Christ," released through Sony Pictures nationally last weekend and earmarked for worldwide releases over the next several weeks.

In that regard, the days leading up to Easter Sunday took on even more meaning for parishioners as Groth and actor James Faulkner, who plays Paul in the film, held a presentation about the film at the church earlier this week. The film also stars Jim Caviezel as Luke.

Making movies is not a new experience for Groth, who has operated the not-for-profit "Out Da Box" film company for 12 years.

"We produced our first feature film that went straight to DVD and on-demand video a few years ago called 'Full of Grace' about Mary's last few days of life on Earth," said Groth, who added his company has made more than 200 short films for Catholic teens.

The story of Paul struck Groth as one that had to be told on film.

"His life was pretty amazing, when as Saul he was the greatest persecutor of the early church," Groth said. "His devout love for God and his faith made him view this thing called Christianity as a threat."

Those who know the story know that God came down and straightened out Saul, ultimately converting him into Paul, an apostle who traveled more than 10,000 miles over 30 years spreading the word of the church.

"We're very happy that a small not-for-profit here in St. Charles had a major company like Sony come along side of us as a partner to make this film," Groth said. "It's just been a treat, and we are very happy with the film and entire process."

Interim and involved:

The Rev. Jane Courtright has the tag of "interim" pastor at Congregational Church of Batavia, a role she began in January after moving here from Moline with her husband.

But 28 years of ministry, and having the "interim" tag a few times before, has taught Courtright an important part of leading a congregation for likely what will only be 18 months or so.

"I have had interim training, which is transitional ministry training," Courtright said. "This is specific training to bring a congregation together to explore who they are and what they want to be."

During this time, Courtright will help parishioners determine what they want to work on during her interim period before a new pastor is named for the church at 21 S. Batavia Ave.

And she relishes the role of being a new person in town.

"The church is a town itself, too, and I enjoy getting to know the people in the church and about their work lives, which is my main function," Courtright said.

"But it is important to learn about the other people in town," she added. "I'm one who likes to make cold calls."

Acknowledging that many churches are getting smaller, Courtright views Congregational Church of Batavia as one that is thriving because so many people are involved in its ministries.

"We have a lot of people stepping up and getting involved," she said. "There is a lot of creativity and programs, and a really good attitude going forward into the future."

Regardless of whether "interim" or "permanent" is in front of a pastor's title, a congregation with members rowing in the same direction is a key accomplishment.

That's a sandwich:

There have been a fair number of positive comments in this column about Deane's Market & Deli in downtown Geneva over the past few years. It's a fine sandwich shop, so it is not surprising that many readers have heaped praise on the place.

The roast beef sandwich at Deane's is already one of my favorites, but we have to mention this: The turkey sandwich I had last week, topped with house-made vanilla, spiced rum, cranberry sauce, stuffing, lettuce and tomato - all on French bread - was tremendous.

It won't be the last time I order that one.

Why still littering?:

Through the "Adopt a Highway" program, area service clubs and organizations are assigned specific stretches of Kane County highways to clean up at certain times of the year.

In that role, I spent a fair number of hours helping clean the parkways of our streets.

So, I know what you throw out of your cars.

Of course, not everyone is a litterbug. And some of the plastic and other scraps all over our streets come off recycling and garbage trucks, or from nearby retail strip businesses, partly because of windy days.

There's a lot of more stuff that qualifies as litter these days as well, as most everything we carry out to eat or drink comes in plastic or cardboard, and plastic or paper bags.

But a lot of what I saw was your typical "toss it out" stuff - empty cigarette packs and beer bottles, fast-food containers with some food still in them, and plastic bags from any number of local stores.

Remember the 1960s anti-littering public service advertisement on TV with the Native American looking over the land, and a tear rolling down his eye as he saw people throwing stuff out of cars?

Well, the 2018 version of that commercial would be a Native American looking over the land and saying, "I give up. You people just don't get it."

A fool's farewell:

It's time to move onto whatever life has in store for me next, so this will be the last column I file for the Daily Herald.

But don't fret or rejoice too much over this revelation.

I couldn't help it. After all, in addition to Easter Sunday, it is April Fools' Day.

So there it is. A lame April Fools' joke for you. See you next week.

dheun@sbcglobal.net