Esther Carey, left, and Noah Gerber look at paintings of stained glass on the wall during the grand opening for Sanctuary Comics & Games in Oklahoma City, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. (Photo by BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN)
By John W. Coleman
Editor-at-large
Theology and comic books have for decades shared at least a passing acquaintance, well-known to enthusiasts. But now they are cohabitating at a church-owned comics store in Oklahoma City.
Each week the Village United Methodist Church's aptly named Sanctuary Comics & Games store, which opened in August 2024, appears to be gaining new customers—and possibly new believers—who enjoy comics, conversations, creative games and events full of heroic adventures and fantasy. Visitors wander among shelves and stacks poring over a cornucopia of graphic literature each week. But the store halts retail transactions on Sundays to host an innovative, faith-adjacent group encounter, where they have attracted close to 20 or more people so far.
“I have a group that offers a blend of Bible study, music and conversation, with a comic/pop culture discussion that I help narrate,” said Nash Carey, 49. He is the store’s self-described “AlphaNerd/Owner” and the Village Church’s new community engagement pastor. “So, for instance, I might use comics and different depictions of Superman through time to help explain differences in the gospel.”
Blair Davis, a DePaul University communications professor and comics scholar, also explores the evolving, religion-influenced depictions of comic book heroes and their stories over the past 80 years. His new book, Christianity and Comics: Stories We Tell About Heaven and Hell, was published in August by Rutgers University Press. With biblical content appearing in Western art and literature for centuries, it makes sense that Christian iconography, characters and stories are also replete in comic books.
Influential Christian publishers like Catholic Comics, Kingstone and Spire Comics are many. But secular comics publishers—the three biggest being Marvel, DC and Dark Horse—also have faithful fans of their religiously inspired characters, themes and narrative imagery in Daredevil, Hellboy, Preacher, Ghost Rider, Archie, Batman, and many more.
Davis charts how comics have both reflected and influenced Americans’ changing attitudes towards religion from the 1940s till today. “The influx of new titles using religion as the basis for their storytelling,” he writes, “whether they reinforce Christian beliefs or tear them down, are a sign of the continuing influence Christianity has on Western civilization.”
Beyond the comics at the Sanctuary Comics & Games store, the most influential attraction might be the Dungeons and Dragons tabletop fantasy game, rich in storytelling and role-playing. “We focus a lot on D&D as a version of narrative/play therapy, and we are always getting great tales and adventures at our location,” said Carey.
‘Gospel in a different literary context’
Carey is working on a D&D adventure that takes players on a caravan of Mark’s Gospel touring around the Sea of Galilee in 67 CE. “The attempt is to offer the Gospel in a different literary context through some fun, historical fiction.”
Carey (at right) and his wife Esther opened their first, independent Sanctuary Comics & Games store in nearby, suburban Edmond, Oklahoma, in August 2023. It quickly began fostering community and spiritual nurturing around the intersection of faith and fantasy. Their hard-earned success at that prototype store and the interest of United Methodist partners inspired the new site.
Those partners included not only the centrist downtown Village Church, just a block away, but also the supportive Oklahoma Conference. Both donated major outreach mission funds to the unusual enterprise, including about $50,000 to help acquire inventory and renovate the store’s facilities.
Meanwhile, about 60 church members supplied hundreds of hours of arduous labor to get the store open and operational. Vivid murals in stained glass depict Captain America and Superman—a nod to the Marvel and DC Comics empires—each flanking a centered United Methodist cross and flame window.
"In this space, we are all champions, we are all the alpha nerd, and we are all children of God," Carey said in his prayer of blessing at the grand opening. "This is a safe place designed to open up people's minds, a place where they can come together to build a community, to support and lift up each other and even to slay dragons together.”
True to its name, the store does provide sanctuary to people who are uncomfortable in traditional church settings, especially during worship. That includes many who are neurodivergent, like Carey, a disabled Army combat veteran, who said he himself prefers the store’s milieu to church. He describes it as a community hub with a heart.
‘A powerful tool for God’s work'
“The Bible studies and games have led to many conversations at home with my wife and children on our journey of understanding of the Bible, religion, tolerance and inclusiveness; and we’re better for it,” Chuck Murphy commented on the store’s Facebook page. “Who would have thought that a comic and game shop could be such a powerful tool for God’s work. I’m grateful you have built a place to belong with a community of people that love the same things I do.”
“Our mission is to create a vibrant, inclusive space where everyone feels like they belong, especially young folks and those in the neurodivergent and LGBTQIA+ communities,” Carey explains. “We’re here to mix the fun of gaming and comics with a strong dose of community spirit and civic engagement. From game nights to comic book discussions, we host events that bring people together and spark creativity.”
And it’s working. Friendly staff model supportive respect and understanding to help customers feel welcome. “Our Google reviews are starting to offer testimony of our existence,” said Carey. “People come and settle in for hours to engage with each other. It is only natural that you begin to see the pride and excitement in the community as we grow. I hear all the time, ‘I won’t go to church, but this is ok.’”
When it comes to worship, Carey uses the term loosely, he says. “My effort is to create a dialogue/worship environment the neurodivergent can feel comfortable in.”
Neurodivergent, a term coined in the 1990s, is a nonmedical description of people whose brains process information atypically; but it avoids judgmental terms like "normal" or "abnormal." Various conditions are associated with neurodivergence, including autism, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), learning disabilities, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and Tourette's syndrome. However, neurodivergent people can have diverse strengths among their challenges, such as: better memory, observational and pattern recognition skills, and the ability to solve complex mathematical calculations.
“Ultimately, if this is going to be a worship that works for the neurodivergent, we have to let that expression develop naturally,” said Carey. That could mean dealing with diverse brain functions in different ways, like having no music or offering headphones for people with auditory sensitivities. “I feel there are plenty of ways to serve an underserved community in a safe-space setting. Comics and games are just the intersectional place to reach a group that is typically not in the church.”
Meanwhile, navigating customers’ demands and meeting operational costs for this second, retail start-up has been challenging, Carey admits. And many plans don’t turn out as intended. He recently had to close the Edmond store to focus on the new site. “But I am fortunate that I have the Village Church and my family here to be the calming force and stability I need to keep things going,” he wrote in a candid Facebook post. “This year the aid and community we need is here.”
‘New ways to reach the unchurched’
The Rev. Elaine Robinson, lead pastor of Village UMC, noted that the church and comics store partnership seemed unnatural at first. But more churches are learning to emulate Methodism’s founder John Wesley’s creative outreach tactics of engaging with people outside the church to make new disciples of Jesus Christ.
“Our people caught the vision early,” said Robinson, who describes the store as a Fresh Expression, part of a growing movement that is forming Christian discipleship communities away from churches. “There were no opponents, as they understand that we need new ways to reach the unchurched. They love Nash and the community-building vision, and we’re already seeing a harvest.”
A professor of Methodist Studies and Christian Theology at Saint Paul School of Theology in Oklahoma City, Robinson says the store is “Wesleyan in the best sense of his creative genius. Wesley understood his 18th century Church of England wasn’t reaching a swath of the people. So, he went where they were. He was reluctant at first; but he quickly saw the fruit of those labors in disciples being made. It was controversial, but effective.”
With the support of Oklahoma Conference leaders and church volunteers, the store expects to start sponsoring some hands-on mission projects soon in its quest to encourage and help customers to become Christian disciples.
“Our sign makes it clear that this is a ministry of Village United Methodist Church,” said Robinson. “Unlike most comic stores, it’s clean and inviting. We enforce Safe Sanctuary policies, just as we do in the church building, including background checks on employees and volunteers, and the rule that two unrelated adults must accompany kids and vulnerable adults. And (sexually) explicit comics are not sold here. So, it differs from your typical comic bookstore.”
D.C. Pastor to Start Comic Book Ministry
Church-related efforts to attract and engage comic book enthusiasts may become a new trend whose time has come. The Rev. Jonathan Brown, associate pastor of Foundry United Methodist Church in Washington D.C., plans to launch an experimental Fresh Expression ministry titled Comics X Theology at the Fantom Comics store in D.C. in November. He and his wife have been toying with the idea of combining church with comics for a decade.
They know the two worlds typically don’t view each other kindly. Many Christians see comics as lowbrow entertainment steeped in a sinful culture, while many comics lovers recoil from that rejection.
Brown, a self-professed nerd who has published articles on comics-related topics, will complete a Fresh Expressions Academy training offered by his conference in November. With some start-up funds and partners, he hopes to launch Comics X Theology as a “discussion of fans from various faith traditions about how comic books relate to things that we experience in our faith life and everyday life.”
– John W. Coleman
SOURCE: “Bam! Pow!: D.C. pastor to soon start comic book ministry” Baltimore-Washington News & Views, September 15, 2024
The Rev. John W. Coleman, a longtime United Methodist communicator, serves as editor-at-large for United Methodist Insight.