ALL SAINTS & Immigrants

When Rev. Michael Spurlock came to All Saints Episcopal Church in Smyrna, Tennessee, his job was to shutter it.

At the time, All Saints was struggling, with 25 members.

The film ALL SAINTS, based on a true story, shows us what happened when 70 ethnic Karen show up one Sunday to worship.

All Saints Church was on the brink of closing. Then in 2007 Ye Win, a refugee from Burma, showed up at the church asking if he and other refugees who had settled near Smyrna, could join them for worship.

Ye Win and about 70 refugees (who are ethnic Karen) had lived in Burma and had been run out of their village by the Burmese military.

Historically, during WWII the Karen, who were in the minority, had aligned themselves with the British. The ethnic Burmese, in the majority, had aligned with the Japanese. So after the war was over there was intense animosity between the two groups.

In fact a civil war has been happening since the early 1950s, making it one of the world's longest-running civil wars.

Ye Win

Currently there are about 140,000 Karen refugees living in about a dozen refugee camps along the Thailand border. Mae La, the largest camp, has 43,000 residents living in it.

People living in the camps are not allowed to leave. In order to be resettled, they need to register with the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR). It's estimated that over a third of all refugees in the camps are not registered, and therefore ineligible for resettlement. The vast majority of individuals living in the camps are ethnically Karen.

According to a story in the Washington Post, Ye Win was 16 years old when his mother was threatened at gunpoint by the Burmese military, being accused of treason (because of helping Karen families). She was taken away and Ye Win didn't see his mother again for 10 years.

ALL SAINTS picks up Ye Win's story after his arrival near Smyrna with a group of other Karen households, numbering around 70 in all.

They begin to worship at All Saints Episcopal Church. Rev. Spurlock (played by John Corbett) explains that the church is in financially bad shape - in fact he'd been sent to shutter it so the land could be sold to pay off the mortgage.

Ye Win makes a counter offer. Let the Karen, who are excellent farmers, work the church's 16 acres of prime bottomland. They'll use the vegetables to feed their families and sell the rest to help pay off the building's debt.

ALL SAINTS documents the resulting trials, featuring lack of rain, a gift of a truck and a water pump that breaks down.

Rev. Spurlock's wife, Aimee (played by Cora Buono), worked alongside her husband as they met the various trials head on. Meanwhile, the film shows us Ye Win's own struggle to serve as the Karen group's interpreter/social worker/advocate/pseudo-pastor.

All Saints Church, Smyrna, TN

In real time, All Saints Episcopal Church remains open, paying off its mortgage. (Rev. Spurlock and his family are currently serving at a church in New York City.)

In a Washington Post interview the real Rev. Spurlock noted that he hoped the ALL SAINTS film would inspire other groups to open their doors to refugees.

During a time when the immigration and refugee debate has become increasingly heated, the example of ALL SAINTS and the faith-community of All Saints Episcopal Church in Smyrna stands as a testimony of how love overcomes fear. To the mutual benefit of everyone

Here's the trailer to ALL SAINTS.

Here's a link to the book upon which the film is based.
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John Corbett does a fine job of portraying Rev. Spurlock, but it's Cora Buono who offers the more compelling performance as his wife, Aimee. Nelson Lee (who is actually from Taiwan) is simply riveting as Ye Win. Barry Corbin does a great job as Forrest, a grizzled farmer and original member of the All Saints congregation, initially reluctant to help, but with a heart of pure gold.

Several members of the real All Saints congregation - including ethnic Karen - played themselves in the film. The producers and director of ALL SAINTS are to be commended for this casting decision which lends authenticity.