In ‘Elio,’ we can see a call for churches to be spaces safe for vulnerability
‘Elio’ film poster by Walt Disney Animation Studios via Wikipedia. Fair use.
Rev. Dr. Michael Woolf
When I took my seven-year-old to see Pixar’s “Elio” in July, I expected an entertaining kids’ movie with space themes. What I found instead was a poignant reflection on loneliness and the desire to belong — in short, an exposé on the human condition. My question is, what are religious communities doing to respond to that need?
The film’s eponymous protagonist, Elio, is obsessed with extraterrestrial life. That makes sense, because his home in this world is very challenging. Both of his parents have passed away and he is in the care of his aunt Olga, a young major in the armed forces who specializes in tracking space debris. While Olga makes an effort to connect with him, there is no question that it is difficult for Elio to adapt to his new circumstances. He gets in trouble and pushes her away — normal behavior for a kid who has experienced a lot of trauma.
Elio spends all his free time seeking out aliens through ham radio frequencies and offering himself up for abduction. About a quarter of the way through the movie, his dream comes true and he is offered the chance to stay with aliens in their paradisical spaceship drinking glurp. While plenty of adventures ensue, Elio is eventually faced with a series of choices — does he want to stay with his new extraterrestrial friends, or should he give his new family a try?
Throughout the movie, Elio struggles to connect with peers and adults alike, pushing them away in order to focus on his dream of escaping Earth. That strikes me as a pretty basic desire. Who hasn’t wanted to push the eject button on their life at some point? I know from my experience as a pastor that it’s an all-too-common desire. As I counsel parishioners, I walk alongside people as they experience truly heartrending experiences, many of which are dealt with in private. For many, I might be the only person they tell about the pain that they are experiencing.
But the church really shines when we can be open and vulnerable with one another. It’s hard for a pastor to provide the support that is needed in these situations. Sure, we can schedule meetings, and I can listen for as many sessions as is necessary, but true spiritual care is community care.
When I took my seven-year-old to see Pixar’s “Elio” in July, I expected an entertaining kids’ movie with space themes. Instead, I found a poignant reflection on loneliness and the desire to belong. What are religious communities doing to respond to that need?
From my perspective, the problem is that we are often so preoccupied with projecting wholeness and competence that the last thing we want to do is to share that we are truly struggling. That is a mistake, because vulnerability is where the magic happens. The problem is that churches often do not make it safe for people to actually talk about mental health struggles, even though many parishioners and pastors say they want to both discuss these issues from the pulpit and have a community that is safe enough to be vulnerable in.
There are many unsafe narratives about spirituality and mental health in our ecosystem. One that I hear often is that “Christians don’t need medication; they need prayer.” This statement comes in a variety of different formulations, but the intent is the same. “If you are having mental health struggles, it’s a moral and spiritual failing on your part”; or “Those who are close to God will never require medication.” Such narratives are exceedingly harmful, and are based on judgment, not desire for wholeness. Jesus says that he came so that we might have life and have it more abundantly. For some, medication is part of the abundant life.
In all, the church has to be responsive to the very real needs that congregants have. Statistically, it is overwhelmingly likely that there are people in our communities who, like Elio, are struggling with trauma, pain, anxiety, depression, and may find all other humans pretty objectionable right now.
In the film, Elio finally is able to see the love of his extraterrestrial friends and his aunt. It is a wonderful moment, and one that represents the abundant life that Jesus talked about. The church is blessed when it gets to be present for such a moment, and it is just as blessed to walk alongside those who suffer. The question is whether we will lean into this call by making our sanctuaries true places of refuge — or not.
Rev. Dr. Michael Woolf is senior minister, Lake Street Church of Evanston, Illinois. He currently serves as the co-associate regional minister with the American Baptist Churches Metro Chicago. His book, published in 2023 by T&T Clark, is titled “Sanctuary and Subjectivity: Thinking Theologically about Whiteness and Sanctuary Movements.” He is also the co-founder of Challenging Islamophobia Together Chicagoland, an initiative that brings together people of all faiths to counter Islamophobia from a religious perspective.
The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of American Baptist Home Mission Societies.
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