ALTON - St. Paul’s Episcopal Church will host a presentation on exorcisms.
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At 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, community members are invited to attend “Deliver Us: What Hollywood Gets Wrong about Exorcism.” Father Andrew Hook, the diocesan exorcist within the Episcopal Diocese of Springfield, will talk about his experience with exorcism and how exorcisms are represented in media.
“The reality is that everyone’s heads aren’t spinning around and puking pea soup. It’s a little different from that,” explained Father Garron Daniels, the priest in charge at St. Paul’s. “Father Andy is going to be talking about some misconceptions of exorcisms, what it looks like to a lot of us in movies, and what it really isn’t.”
Daniels referenced “The Exorcist” as an example of a movie where exorcism is “very theatrical.” He also noted that an actual rite of exorcism is “very rare.”
“Most of the people who come to you looking for an actual exorcism, about 95% of them if not 97% of them, it’s more of a mental health issue or maybe something entirely different than the need of an exorcism,” he said. “What’s more common is cases where people are afflicted by something that is of the demonic.”
For example, people might be living in houses that are considered haunted, Daniels said. An actual demonic possession, which is typically what is represented in television and movies, is much rarer.
He said exorcisms are a taboo topic for most people because it’s “a little out there” or frightening. But Daniels believes there are benefits to having these conversations. He noted that people are curious about exorcisms, so Daniels and Hook feel it’s better to talk openly about these topics and answer people’s questions.
“One thing about the Episcopal Church is we really believe in asking all questions and any questions that you have about your faith and wanting to dive more deeply into your faith, so this looks like a great opportunity to dive into this topic,” Daniels added. “Rather than let people wonder with their minds or go online and look at all sorts of resources that are inaccurate or maybe even harmful, why not actually have a presentation from a source that they can dive into it more? And certainly it doesn’t hurt that it’s close to Halloween.”
“Deliver Us: What Hollywood Gets Wrong About Exorcism” takes place at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 30, 2024, at St. Paul Episcopal Church in Alton. There is a $10 entry fee for attendees. To RSVP, call 618-465-9149.
St. Paul Episcopal Church will also host their annual chili dinner fundraiser from 5–7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. For more information, visit their official website at EpiscopalAlton.org.
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