October 2022: Join The ConVersation
Jim Carson 1946 - 2022
A true father and father figure who cherished the wellbeing of others over himself – has left us. It may be true that Jim Carson, who embodied for so many survivors and those of us blessed to be his friends, may be gone from our midst, but it is equally true, that his efforts at safeguarding the vulnerable and loving those exploited, will not cease! “We gotta finish what he started!” said Oree Freeman. Jim left this battleground garden on October 25 at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach after joking with the nurses and spending a week in the company of many of those he loved most on this earth and those who loved him. A piece of my grateful heart has gone with him to be with the architect of love and service. God be with you Jim Carson, my warrior brother and friend.
Jim Carson and Maui Chacon at Father-Con’s screening of Angie: Lost Girls July 27th at the LOOK Dine-In Theater in Downey.
Let the Conversation begin
We live in a world in which terms like “throwaway kids,” “aged out” and “trash” are used to describe human beings. I believe we are each irreplaceable and priceless. As one young former gang member told Fr. Greg Boyle of Homeboy Industries, “I’m the me I always wanted to be. Without Homeboy, I wouldn’t have known this guy exists.” We are, or are not, “that guy we always wanted to be,” and we are that guy not for ourselves alone. We are each part of the other and part of the “Whole Language” of life. At Father-Con we see you. Battling demons or blessed, we are each critically significant and worth the effort to be “that guy” we sense is within.
Please don’t miss our next film screening and discussion on the theme of foster care which has become a pipeline for the 400,000 displaced children to be targeted for exploitation and abuse.
Foster Boy is about a young man who refuses to fall through the cracks of a system overwhelmed and targeted for abuse. He rises and takes a stand so others will not have to endure what he has been forced to. You will be inspired, challenged, and made hopeful in this powerful film.
In addition, you will see the sheort film created by foster youth here in Los Angeles, under th guidance of Kids in the Spotlight titled, Don’t Get Comfortable. You will laugh and be moved.
Patrick Erlandson, Founder: Father-Con, and See it. End it. Film & Arts Festival