“Youth does not think into the future far enough,
therefore we must encourage them to dream of
great tomorrows." - HENRIETTA MEARS
The Wedgwood Circle exists to nourish the good, the true and the beautiful in the 21st-century, focused on the crucial role of stories and storytellers, of novelists and playwrights and musicians and filmmakers, podcasters and more. From its beginning our mission has been to nourish the imaginations and vocations of artists of all kinds to ask and answer the perennial questions of the human heart— who are we? why are we? what will do with our lives?
In our fifteen year history, songs and stories, films and plays have come forth from good work that have been seen and heard throughout the world.
We are excited to serve as the Fiscal Sponsor for Rob Loos' documentary on the life of Henrietta Mears.
Billy Graham called her the most influential woman in his life after his mother and his wife. How could one woman, who never preached a sermon or went to seminary inspire the founders of some of the largest ministries in the world?
Henrietta Mears (1890 - 1963) was a profound influencer on the ministries of the Protestant church in the 20th Century. In a feature length documentary we’ll talk with the people who knew her, were affected by her, and the scholars and theologians who will help us understand her impact that continues to inspire today.
Vision for the Project:
Audiences are inspired by real stories, by people who do amazing things and change the world in positive ways.
We want to share the story of how a school teacher from Minnesota revolutionized the modern church and helped to create the first mega-church in the United States (Hollywood Presbyterian had over 10,000 members in 1950 with more than 6,000 in Miss Mears Sunday School classes).
As Dr. Mears, who liked to be called simply “Teacher,” would be the first person to tell you, it wasn’t her, but it was God working through her.
There would be no Cru (formerly Campus Crusade for Christ), Young Life, Navigators, Gospel Light, Forest Home, or dozens of other ministries without this woman with big vision, big dreams and big hats (Miss Mears was instantly recognizable by the large, varied, and flamboyant hats she wore).
As we have spoken with many who were with her during her years, we’ve heard stories about Miss Mears “and her boys” and her famous “College Department” at the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, but now we’ll be traveling the country to follow her impact as we assemble a 90-minute feature documentary on the life of this extraordinary, groundbreaking and inspiring woman.
We’ll tell her story through interviews with over two dozen of her colleagues and students, rare audio recordings, an incredible trove of photographs, and special material from the archives at First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, Forest Home Christian Conference Center, Azusa Pacific University, and the publishing company she founded, Gospel Light Publications. We’ll also hear from scholars like Dr. Arlin Migliazzo, author of Mother of Modern Evangelicalism: The Life and Legacy of Henrietta Mears, winner of The Award of Merit, Christianity Today 2022 Book Awards.
Our hope is to understand the person she was and how her life and her work continue to inspire many people today, more than 50 years after her death.
Rob Loos - Director/Producer
Rev. Tim McCalmont - Associate producer
Christopher Ekstein - Director of Photography
