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“Oh customers, how I hate them.” – “The Simpsons” Comic Book Guy
Are you familiar with the Comic Book Guy meme? It started in “The Simpsons”—the long-running animated TV series. Comic Book Guy is a recurring character who runs Springfield’s local comic book store. Comic Book Guy has a deep passion for comics and fictional memorabilia. He also has a deep disdain for anyone lacking his level passion in his areas of interest. Unfortunately, Comic Book Guy is the impression many of us hold to in regards to comic book fans and their stores. We assume it’s a bit of a hostile space and hobby.
So a church investing in a comics and gaming store as a form of outreach and community intervention seems unreasonable. Yet Village United Methodist Church in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, doesn’t believe the stereotype, and they invested in Sanctuary Comics and Games as a location for community-building and spiritual nurturing.
Best. Comics store. Ever.
Nash Carey is the founder of Sanctuary and Village UMC’s minister of community engagement. As a neurodivergent veteran dealing with symptoms of PTSD, Nash is well-aware that there are whole groups of people who need to encounter specialized communities in order to build nurturing relationships.
During the days of COVID isolation, Nash began playing around with an online gaming space called Second Life. “I am going to build this really cool church that everybody will come to church at in Second Life. It was kind of like a place where people who all kind of have similar backgrounds all come together.”
The Second Life church did not take off as planned. But it got Nash asking some important questions: “Where do our nerds hang out? Where do we exist? And in the real world: the comic shop!”
A vision was born for providing a nurturing point of connection where Nash and others could live into their unique powers of community building. The first Sanctuary Comics and Games was born in Edmonds, Oklahoma. Less than a year later and with the help of Village United Methodist Church, a second Sanctuary came to life in Oklahoma City.
The store is not merely a business, it is a ministry providing pastoral care in a unique way—especially for those who may find it tough to connect in traditional church settings. “I’m trying to create a third space that’s also a church community that they can thrive in. This is kind of like a chaplaincy,” said Nash. The vision of Sanctuary is to meet people where they are through a non-intimidating third space and provide community and spiritual growth.
Go where they are
Rev. Elaine Robinson, lead pastor of Village UMC, noted that the partnership of church and comics store seemed unnatural at first. But, also, that communities of faith are called to move towards the people they want to invite, “just like John Wesley (the founder of Methodism), you can’t expect people who aren’t going to come to church to be disciples—you have to go where they are.”
Nash claimed to be one of those people needing a new space in which to belong. “But I don’t fit in a regular church. I really didn’t” he said. “So I stayed with [the comic store] -- I believed in my mission and calling enough.”
The church began to believe in the calling, too. Volunteers from the congregation—most of whom had little experience with comics—provided over 670 hours of labor in one month’s time in order to prepare the new store in Oklahoma City for opening. They also provided $50,000 in funding to help acquire inventory and renovate the store’s facilities. The preparation was part of the community-building aspect of Sanctuary, and it was noticed in the surrounding community.
It’s a God-thing
One of Sanctuary’s first employees was Jeramie Cartwright, a fellow veteran suffering from PTSD symptoms. Before Sanctuary opened, Jeramie had noted that the store’s future location “would be a great spot for a comics shop.”
As Jeramie drove by one day, he noticed some activity happening at the location. “I thought, ‘those look like comics in the window.’” Jeramie stopped and happened upon Nash in the parking lot. They quickly related over their fondness of comics and their experiences as veterans.
“It’s just it was weird because at that time in life I needed someone to talk to about that kind of stuff. It was like God put Nash there,” reported Jeramie.
Oren Williams had a similar serendipitous introduction to Sanctuary—finding the store only a few hours after moving to Oklahoma. “I met Nash and he told me about Sanctuary being a safe place and there’s a place for (role-playing game) Dungeons and Dragons,” recalled Oren. “And he said he’s looking for dungeon masters right now, and that’s funny, because I am a dungeon master.” Oren started running Dungeons and Dragons games immediately.
The game is an important part of Sanctuary’s nurturing, community-building DNA. Oren notes that his chief job is to be a story teller, involving people in situations where they creatively overcome challenges together. Rev. Elaine noted “everybody has to work together if you’re going to win.”
Rev. Elaine also has a story of a positive chance meeting with a woman taking her grandsons with her to a neighboring business. Instead of taking her grandsons with her to the nail salon, she asked if the boys could join in a game at Sanctuary. Afterwards, she offered that she was raising her grandsons and was excited to encounter this place for them to connect and be safe.
A new outreach
A model of ministry resembling Sanctuary Comics and Games requires the church to rethink involvement and membership. “It may not ever put them into the church, but there are lots of people who don’t go to church who are part of that community,” noted Nash. Both Village UMC and Sanctuary work to overcome a sense that the two entities are separate communities. On Sundays, Sanctuary closes retail operations, but is open for a Bible study and fellowship time.
In many ways, Sanctuary provides an opportunity for church members to put their practices of discipleship on display. Rev. Elaine described the process, “Look: here's what it is to be a follower of Jesus who loves people and who wants to connect--and you're welcome here.” She continued, “it's this gradual process of connecting with people as the starting point for discipleship and to show the love of Jesus Christ to people and meet them right where they are.”
Rev. Ryan Dunn is a content curator and editor for United Methodist Communications who emphasizes the innovative ways the church meets the world. Ryan hosts the Compass and MyCom podcasts.
