We finally got around to watching the film A Complete Unknown, the biopic about Bob Dylan's early years as a musician starring Timothy Chalamet. We didn't seek it out in the theatres because neither of us was ever a Dylan fan and the honour of the Nobel Prize for Literature he chose not to show up for didn't change our opinion. We were young in the 1960s but old enough to be aware of the strong statements some of his songs such as Blowin' in the Wind represented during a turbulent time.
Rolling Stone magazine fact-checked the movie and came up with 25 significant departures from actual events in Dylan's life. I was intrigued by the scene of an all-day folk festival that took place at Riverside Church in New York City, an event that helped put Dylan on the musical map. The 1961 hootenanny -- what a blast-from-the-past term! -- did happen at Riverside although in their theatre space, not the sanctuary, and the scene was not filmed in the church.
Through the decades I've been impressed by the presence and witness of Riverside with it's cathedral-like structure and progressive outlook. This is from their website:
Welcome toThe Riverside Church in the City of New York
We are an interdenominational, interracial, international, open, welcoming, and affirming church and congregation. Whoever you are: You are safe here. You are loved here. You are invited into full participation in our life together. We welcome, affirm, and celebrate all God’s children, LGBTQIA+. We actively work to become an anti-racist congregation.
While the hootenanny scene (I just had to use the term again) was fleeting it was good to be reminded of the ministry of the congregation. Perhaps it is a sign of hope that downtown churches don't all have to be converted to condos. Some can still survive and thrive in a changing religious climate.
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