Union Theological Seminary Archives - Come Before Winter Movie

Director Ekvall Sees Common Trait in Courageous Lead Characters of His Two Films

April 28, 2017

April 8, 2017… Jet lag is keeping me up so I thought I’d jot down something on my mind today. Yesterday marked 23 years since the beginning of the 1994 Rwandan genocide and tomorrow marks 72 years from the day Dietrich Bonhoeffer was hanged. Both dates, April 7 and April 9, tragic days. Both days, to…

Come Before Winter Given High Marks at Union Screening

April 11, 2017

Noted church reform leader and intellectual force regarding ethics in business, politics, and science, Dr. Wolfgang Huber listens to the discussion following the screening of Come Before Winter.

Presenting Come Before Winter at the Union offered the opportunity to connect with individuals such as Dr. Wolfgang Huber, a prominent German theologian, educator, church leader, and ethicist. In addition to being former Presiding Bishop of the Protestant Church of Germany, Huber has also served on the central and executive committees of the World Council…

Fast Forward to Future at Day Two of the Bonhoeffer Lectures

April 10, 2017

Prof. Larry Rasmussen, Niebuhr Professor Emeritus of Union Seminary and author of Earth Honoring Faith, Religious Ethics in a New Key, spoke about “Eco-Reformation—What’s Happening and Why” on the second day of the conference. He appears in Come Before Winter as an interviewee.

The second day of presentations at the Union was given the theme of “Reforming the Church of the Future: Bonhoeffer, Luther, Public Ethics.” The conference organizers sought to explore “how Bonhoeffer’s theology and ethics can contribute to creative new movements in the Christian community’s public presence. Not only were the speakers and panelists thinking…

Come Before Winter Arrives at Union Theological Seminary

April 9, 2017

Jurgen von Schlabrendorff (left) and Wolfgang Huber, Ph.D, (right) talk during a conference break. Schlabrendorff is the son of Fabian von Schlabrendorff, the key figure in Valkyrie, the assassination plot to kill Hitler. Fabian succeeded in placing a time bomb on the aircraft flying Hitler back to Germany, but the bomb failed to detonate, most likely because of the cold in the luggage compartment. He managed to retrieve the bomb, disguised as bottles of cognac, the next day. Jurgen is also the nephew of Maria von Wedemeyer, Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s fiancée. Dr. Huber, former Presiding Bishop of the Protestant Church of Germany, is Chair of the German Bonhoeffer Werke Editorial Board.

Producer Gary Blount and Director Kevin Ekvall joined scholars, theologians, and others who were registered for the 19th Annual Bonhoeffer Lectures in Public Ethics at the New York City campus of Union. Come Before Winter was screened two evenings of the conference. Blount appreciated the very high energy and easy audience interactions as well as…

Packed April for Come Before Winter

March 10, 2017

April will be a big month for this independently produced docudrama making its way through the first months of distribution. First, the Smithsonian Magazine will call attention to the film in its April issue. Secondly, the 19th Annual Bonhoeffer Lectures at Union Theological Seminary in NYC will host a screening on April 7/8. Furthermore,…

Go See This Movie!

March 2, 2017

“First read Bonhoeffer’s ‘After Ten Years’ in his letters from prison. Then read the Bonhoeffer Society’s Statement about post 9/11 American politics. Then go see this movie!” — Clifford Green, Chair Scholar, Union Theological Seminary