“Dedication
To the Sanctuary of Grand Blanc
On October 1, 2025, in the quiet community of Grand Blanc Township, Michigan, a tragedy unfolded that would forever change a congregation and a community. Located at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, this sanctuary became a testament to the fragility of human connection and the profound impact of senseless violence.
This work is dedicated to those who were lost, those who survived, and those who responded with compassion in the face of unimaginable tragedy.
In Memoriam
Four lives lost
Five wounded
A community forever changed
Incident Details:
Date: October 1, 2025
Location: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Grand Blanc Township, Michigan
Victims: 4 killed, 5 wounded
Youngest victim: A 6-year-old child
As Dr. Sanford Ross of Henry Ford Health Genesys Hospital reflected, “We’re trained to deal with trauma. We’ll get through this.”
This narrative stands as a tribute to resilience, to understanding, and to the hope that emerges even in our darkest moments.
*— With profound respect and an unwavering commitment to healing”*
#nowplaying - High Hopes - White Panda Remix - Panic! At The Disco, White Panda
by Mitchell Royel: In the forgotten urban landscape of Millbrook, Michigan, a white family from Oregon arrives with missionary zeal, intent on transforming a struggling neighborhood through their newly established church. At the heart of this powerful narrative is the unexpected connection between Noah Matthews, a thirteen-year-old boy wrestling with his family’s well-intentioned but fundamentally misguided approach to community intervention, and Pit, a local Black teenager whose name carries the weight of unspoken stories. As Reverend Matthews and his congregation attempt to “help” a community they barely understand, tensions simmer beneath the surface, culminating in a devastating act of destruction that burns down the church and exposes the deep fractures of racial and socioeconomic divide. More than a story of conflict, “Pit and the Pulpit” is a nuanced exploration of good intentions, systemic barriers, and the delicate art of truly seeing one another—a journey that will reshape the lives of two boys caught between worlds, challenging everything they thought they knew about community, belonging, and the complex landscape of hope.

#nowplaying - High Hopes - White Panda Remix - Panic! At The Disco, White Panda
by Mitchell Royel: In the forgotten urban landscape of Millbrook, Michigan, a white family from Oregon arrives with missionary zeal, intent on transforming a struggling neighborhood through their newly established church. At the heart of this powerful narrative is the unexpected connection between Noah Matthews, a thirteen-year-old boy wrestling with his family’s well-intentioned but fundamentally misguided approach to community intervention, and Pit, a local Black teenager whose name carries the weight of unspoken stories. As Reverend Matthews and his congregation attempt to “help” a community they barely understand, tensions simmer beneath the surface, culminating in a devastating act of destruction that burns down the church and exposes the deep fractures of racial and socioeconomic divide. More than a story of conflict, “Pit and the Pulpit” is a nuanced exploration of good intentions, systemic barriers, and the delicate art of truly seeing one another—a journey that will reshape the lives of two boys caught between worlds, challenging everything they thought they knew about community, belonging, and the complex landscape of hope.

Chapter 1: Arrival

The summer heat hung like a heavy curtain over Millbrook, a forgotten pocket of urban Michigan where concrete dreams slowly crumbled. Thirteen-year-old Noah Matthews watched from the passenger seat of his father’s gleaming SUV, his fingers tracing nervous patterns on the window as they rolled into a neighborhood that felt nothing like their pristine Oregon suburb.

Reverend Thomas Matthews gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles white with a mixture of determination and something else—a tension that Noah had learned to recognize but never fully understand. The church building stood before them, a weathered brick structure that seemed to sigh with the weight of its own history. Faded paint peeled from window frames, and the surrounding buildings leaned against each other like weary soldiers holding each other up.

“This is where we’ll make a difference,” his father said, the words hanging in the air between them like a prayer and a challenge.

Noah knew better than to respond. He’d heard this speech before—about mission, about calling, about bringing light to dark places. But the darkness here felt different. It pressed against the windows of their SUV, watching, waiting.

The neighborhood seemed to hold its breath as the Matthews family began unloading their carefully packed boxes. Rows of narrow houses lined streets marked by cracked sidewalks and chain-link fences. Children’s toys lay scattered—a forgotten basketball, a broken tricycle, fragments of lives Noah could barely comprehend.

It was then that he first saw him.

A boy about his age stood on the cracked sidewalk, watching. His skin was the color of rich earth, his eyes sharp and calculating. Something about his stance suggested he’d seen more in his thirteen years than most adults ever would.

“Pit,” a voice called from somewhere behind him. The boy didn’t move, didn’t flinch. Just watched.

Noah Matthews and Pit—two names, two worlds, about to collide in a story that would reshape everything they thought they knew.

Chapter 2: First Encounters

The church renovation began immediately. Reverend Matthews brought in a team of volunteers from their old congregation—white faces that looked slightly uncomfortable as they painted and repaired, their eyes darting around the neighborhood like skittish birds.

Pit watched. Always watching.

Noah found himself drawn to the edges of their work, catching glimpses of a world so different from anything he’d known. The neighborhood kids played basketball on a half-broken court, their laughter a sharp contrast to the serious work of church restoration. Spray-painted murals covered concrete walls—explosions of color that told stories Noah couldn’t begin to understand.

“You’re not from around here,” Pit said one afternoon. It wasn’t a question.

Noah shuffled his feet. “We’re starting a new church. My dad says we’re here to help.”

Pit’s laugh was short, sharp. “Help. Right.”

The tension between them was a living thing—part curiosity, part wariness. Two boys separated by more than just the color of their skin, but by entire universes of experience.

Chapter 3: Roots and Revelations

Pit’s story wasn’t one he shared easily. His name—a joke from his father, he’d explain years later—was just the beginning of a complicated narrative. Born in this very neighborhood, raised by a mother who worked double shifts and a father long gone, Pit knew every crack in the sidewalk, every hidden story behind each window.

His grandmother, Miss Ella, ran the corner store that seemed to be the neighborhood’s beating heart. She watched the Matthews family with eyes that had seen generations come and go, that understood the delicate dance of survival and hope.

“White folks always think they can fix what they don’t understand,” Miss Ella would mutter, sorting through inventory, her hands telling stories of hard work and resilience.

Noah began to see the neighborhood differently. Not as a project, not as something broken that needed fixing, but as a living, breathing community with its own rhythms and rules.

Chapter 4: Collision of Worlds

The church’s first service was a statement. Reverend Matthews spoke of community, of hope, of bridging divides. The handful of local residents who attended sat stiffly, a mixture of curiosity and suspicion etched into their faces.

Pit’s family was not among them.

But someone was watching. Always watching.

The nights grew longer. The tensions more pronounced. Noah began to understand that their presence was not a welcome one—that every sermon, every act of supposed kindness, was a kind of invasion.

“We’re just trying to help,” Noah would hear his father say. But help, he was learning, was a complicated word.

Chapter 5: The Burning

It happened on a Tuesday night. No warning, no build-up—just sudden, consuming flames.

The church burned quickly, hungrily. Flames licked the sky, casting an orange glow that turned night into a hellish day. Noah watched from a distance, his father’s hand gripping his shoulder too tightly.

No one was hurt. But something had been destroyed that went beyond brick and mortar.

The neighborhood changed after that night. Something broke. Something shifted.

Chapter 6: Aftermath

The statistics would later show a stark truth. The neighborhood’s already struggling schools saw further decline. Community programs lost funding. The delicate ecosystem of hope seemed to collapse.

Reverend Matthews and his congregation retreated to their comfortable Oregon suburb, carrying with them a story they would rarely tell.

But Noah and Pit—their connection remained.

Epilogue: Years Later

They would meet again. Not as a white boy and a Black boy from different worlds, but as men who understood the complexity of good intentions, of community, of belonging.

Pit became an educator. Noah, a community organizer.

And somewhere in the story of Millbrook, in the spaces between intention and understanding, their friendship became a bridge.

A testament to the fact that true connection happens not through saving, but through listening.

Through seeing.

In the forgotten urban landscape of Millbrook, Michigan, a white family from Oregon arrives with missionary zeal, intent on transforming a struggling neighborhood through their newly established church. At the heart of this powerful narrative is the unexpected connection between Noah Matthews, a thirteen-year-old boy wrestling with his family’s well-intentioned but fundamentally misguided approach to community intervention, and Pit, a local Black teenager whose name carries the weight of unspoken stories. As Reverend Matthews and his congregation attempt to “help” a community they barely understand, tensions simmer beneath the surface, culminating in a devastating act of destruction that burns down the church and exposes the deep fractures of racial and socioeconomic divide. Years later, Noah and Pit reunite not as victims of circumstance, but as transformed individuals—Noah becoming a community organizer and Pit an educator—who understand that true connection transcends good intentions, emerging from a profound ability to listen, to see, and to bridge the spaces between worlds that once seemed impossibly divided. Their friendship becomes a testament to healing, a quiet revolution born from the ashes of misunderstanding, proving that genuine understanding can emerge from the most unexpected places.

Pit and the Pulpit - Short Film (Beta)