Compassionate Authority - The Importance of Pastor K in Night in the Woods

[@Cindie4321]

your story of the priest who said "oh i only think about getting married 2-3 times a day" made me burst into tears. that poor man. i wonder if he'd loved a woman and he'd left her to become a clergyman. my heart breaks for them. i grew up being abused by protestant church doctrine (and my parents, too) and i currently struggle watching someone i love be abused by the catholic church itself. pastor K was one of my favorite parts of night in the woods. i had been on both sides of her exchanges with mae, and they cut me deep. this series continues to be absolutely fantastic my dude. keep up the amazing work

[@InkyGhoul]

I don't think Pastor K refers to God as a "he" once, she uses "they/them" which I find really interesting

[@tarvoc746]

Pastor K understands that Kris Deltarune is the One True God.

[@mushroomkaat2667]

I mean God is a supernatural entity that's supposed to be like Master of the universe I would imagine that such a being has no need for a physical sex or any particular gender expression

[@Snowfoxie1]

As a religious person myself, I love Pastor Kay so so so so much. It’s so rare to come across such a beautifully written clergy member. They’re always portrayed as sappy, naive, stupid, or malicious. But Kay is complex and genuine and I strive to wear my faith in my sleeve like she does ❤️

[@suiyi111]

The theory that the mystery room was set up by Pastor K for Bruce just blew my mind and makes me wanna cry. I already really liked her character but that theory makes so much sense and I love her even more 😭

[@juliemassam933]

I love talking with Pastor K, she for sure tries to help and be relatable.

[@tarvoc746]

The dialogue with Pastor K about the point of religion is one of the moments in the game where I got really angry at Mae. She _knows_ what the "point" of Pastor K is, she's seen her social and pastoral work in town and how she's trying to build a better community. None of that is changed by her having moments of doubt. I've had my edgy teenage atheist phase myself, but I don't think I would ever have antagonized someone like Pastor K that way.

[@faithg5250]

Pastor K reminds me a lot of an old Pastor of mine. My mom also reminds me a lot of Candy. I can relate to your story. I also struggle with anxiety disorder and didn't know when I was in high school. My Pastor there really helped me through that time. Unfortunately, I stopped going to church when I realized that most of the community harbored more hate instead of love. They even went so far to attack my brother when he started dating his boyfriend. However I will celebrate people like Pastor K until the end of the earth. To anyone who supports the ones who need it most in our communities, keep doing what you're doing. We need more Pastor K's in the world.

[@owlbatross9187]

Thank you so much for sharing this. I'm sorry to hear about your struggles with anxiety and your brother as well. Sometimes, when I look back at those days, I really don't know how I made through those difficult times. And targeting your brother for getting a boyfriend, that's terrible - that's exactly the type of thing that would make me stop going to church as well. One of the really rewarding things about making this video has been reading all the experiences people have shared about religion - there are a lot of folks, like you and me, who've had some seriously bad moments, but still have an appreciation for good pastors like K. Here's hoping there's plenty of individuals like her out there doing great things for their communities!

[@marek1shtar538]

Pastor K is a great example of a good person just wanting to do good the only way they know how. Regardless of the institution shes a part of, its a nice message that people like that can be anywhere and that faith has nothing to do with the morality of a person. I went to a catholic school for grade school and I still keep in touch and grab lunch with my music teacher who was one of the Nuns at the school. Shes well aware of the religious wackos in the institution and that follow the institution but still does her best to be a good person despite all of that. Also that's a neat detail to find that room for bruce. Never found it once while playing though, sadly.

[@markusarseneault7358]

I am a pastor (in a prograssive leaning tradition) and yes, what you said, yes. We need more compassionate authority, and Night in the Woods surprised me with the clergy being actually being that instead of the secret charismatic cult leader of the town. An amazing game and you made an amazing video

[@Eluthane]

Pastor K is a really pivotal character for me. Like Mae I have religious parents but for myself I'm not religious. For a long time I harbered a deep animosity for religion. Pastor K as a character helped my opinon chang. She showed me that I could have common goals with some one who's belifes I didn't share, and that there are many ways to do good in a comunity. She is part of the reason my D&D character is a Cleric.

[@dizbrony3906]

I kind of see the conflict between Pastor K and the council as a broad commentary of capitalism vs socialism. The council is only interested in the capital well-being of Possum Springs. They think about the impersonal mechanics, businesses and sponsorships and stuff like that. Pastor K on the other hand brings a mindset of wanting to improve the town through uplifting it's people. And she's actively working toward that end. And like you said, it's not just Bruce. She employs Candy and offers a sympathetic ear to anyone who needs it. The council values the town. Pastor K values the people.

[@schinkrio5575]

I've had a Pastor K in my life during confirmation (evangelic when growing up, now agnostic). It would be uncanny how many similarities this IRL person has to Pastor K, if it wouldn't be so heartwarming. She's to this day one of the nicest people I know in my area, and I sometimes feel a bit guilty for not being around more, seeing her and helping her. At some point I did an internship at the local church for a while, and she became my "boss" for 3 weeks, though boss is a strong word. While I did some intern-tasks as you can imagine, she also took me with her on "field study" basically. I attended almost everything she had to do, learning so much about how a localized church is involved in the community, and what it does as an institution to help the people. At one special day she even took out the time to take me to the regional church office, which was a good drive away, to show me around there. While that was probably the visit I took the least experience from (because there isn't much to see, it's just an office building with some crosses in-between), I felt so touched by the fact that she made sure my internship would actually show me everything... To this day, the best internship I've had, and an incredible experience. If I'd have unlimited time and energy (and would finally start taking care about my social anxiety and shyness), I'd go back to church. Not necessarily for the belief, but to help her out, and find a bit of hope and humanity on the way. For a bit of context: In the country I live in, you can move to a different region and there's basically a whole other version of christianity, so I should mention that I live in an area where "evangelic" basically translates to "the moderate belief of the majority". That's also why it's so involved in the community, although the church's influence gradually declined in the last few decades.

[@GregJonson]

People don't realise that religion is merely a tool, and that tool can do many great things or many terrible things depending on the person who wields it.

[@gustavobalobi3525]

just you saying ''Harry Du Boir'' made me remember to watch all of your Dysco elysium videos

[@owlbatross9187]

Oh yeah, I had a great time making those videos! I'll be dropping another DE video tomorrow, I'm excited to get back to covering it!

[@JGArtemis]

I was Lutheran until 12 when I converted because my family guilted me into doing Converting to Catholicism since they said it’s what my grandma would want and we were close. I liked the shorter sermons and being with that side of the family since I loved my grandma. But my blood would boil so much when they would go on homophobic and anti women’s rights rants ( I can def relate to you there, made me want to walk out). Besides that I enjoyed the peacefulness and the rituals of the religion. My family donated a lot of money to the church so they could build an adoration chapel for prayer. They said they would remodel the church completely so they donated more yet nothing was ever finished. Then the higher ups in the Catholic Church saw the money and decided to close down our church and consolidate many surrounding Catholics churches. My church will only be open a month longer. It really made my whole family feel a bit betrayed and also heartbroken to lose a place with so many memories. We had many important moments there… marriages, funerals, many other memories. It was a stark reminder that it’s all about money at the end of the day. Our father is absolutely heartbroken as well, I mean the priest father Michael. I have definitely lost any little faith I have left in Catholicism.

[@starshiny3399]

I love the video. I think it is great that you want to share personal stories, but please remember you don't have to share if you don't want to. This is your channel, and staying comfortable and safe is something that is non-negotiable. We follow you for your insight on this story and your love of these characters. That comes across even if we don't know the specific context. I am excited to see what you come up with next.

[@jollycooperator]

Pastor K was one of my favorite characters from the game, she was such a positive influence on Mae and seriously changed my view on religion and faith as a whole.

[@kin.g-yawna]

I have never adored religion as much as when you talked about your experience with it

[@Mr_Facetious503]

I waited 24 hours into 1AM for this.

[@darkninjafirefox]

I think Pastor Kay and the art teacher who runs the poetry club would be good friends

[@anthonycuevasproduction]

Great vid as always gosh do you ever get sick of me saying that anyways great video like always pastor k slays can’t wait for your video on Bruce

[@owlbatross9187]

As a matter of fact my friend, I don't get tired of you saying that at all haha! I really appreciate the support, and I can't wait to get to work on the Bruce video! He's a very interesting character and I have so much to say about him!

[@faithg5250]

Hello there! I gotta say that I love the channel. I believe that Nitw has so much to theorize, analyze, and unpack. Thank you for making these entertaining videos. I wish the best for you and your family.

[@owlbatross9187]

Thank you! I totally agree - from the first time I played it, I felt like there was so much to discuss about it on an analytical level. Glad I'm not alone! I have a bunch more videos just like this one on the way - the Mae video is actually right around the corner!

[@faithg5250]

@@owlbatross9187 Looking forward to it!

[@kaitlynburke9511]

i really love your videos, they singlehandedly helped me get back into night in the woods during a really bad period of my life and... to be honest, it saved my life. i know we don't know each other, but you have done so much good for me, thank you for making your content.

[@dreamofyouandi]

hey, i just wanted to say i’ve been binge-watching all of your nitw videos and i think they’re really special. this game is one of the most important things to me and it’s nice to see someone do it justice in this level of detail!

[@owlbatross9187]

Thank you! Glad you're enjoying them! I love making them - the NITW community deserves great content! More videos are on the way - I'll be dropping another on Friday!

[@faithg5250]

Thanks!

[@owlbatross9187]

Thank you so much! I really appreciate the support!

[@Mr_Facetious503]

Lovely.

[@TheBest-cs7qg]

yeaaagggg

[@ravensthatflywiththenightm7319]

What a coincidence, I spent today visiting churches with my family, and I was pondering the Church Hill segments of this game. And here this video is 🐈‍⬛🦊🐻🐊🦜🐈