WILLISTON, N.D. -- Filmmaker Jesse Moss wanted to tell the big story of life in Williston during an epic oil boom.
Instead, he would be drawn to a local pastor who opened up his home and church to workers migrating from across the country in pursuit of black gold and the riches that flow from it.
Moss said he filmed “The Overnighters” in a “cinema verite” style, witnessing the lives of Pastor Jay Reinke of Concordia Lutheran Church, his family, flock and homeless guests unfolding before him - a fly on the wall.
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He saw mostly men just off the bus or train, desperate and clueless about where to start in a small town overwhelmed by the influx with few housing or hotel options.
“So many people who had come so far looking for work - mostly men. It was very
emotional,” Moss said. “It was a big, complicated story, very human and a prism into a much larger story.”
He said Reinke, no longer pastor at the church, was caught in the middle of tremendous forces: the mass migration and a community buckling under population growth and it’s strain on infrastructure and schools.
Filmed over an 18-month period, “The Overnighters” chronicles Reinke’s struggle to balance the needs of the overnighters with those of his congregation, who were not always in agreement with his mission to shelter the homeless, some who had criminal records and were registered sex offenders.
Moss said the “disruption of their small-town way of life,” especially after the abduction and murder of Sidney, Mont., teacher Sherry Arnold in January 2012, led to anxiety and fear.
Reinke and Concordia’s new pastor, Rev. John A. Frahm III, declined to comment.
On Thursday, the documentary will be screened at a downtown theater followed by a panel discussion with Moss, former Williston Mayor Ward Koeser and Williston Herald managing editor Jerry Burnes.
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After Concordia’s overnighters program was shut down by the city in September 2013, a group of faith-based leaders began to tackle how to provide emergency shelter to Williston’s homeless during the winter months.
City leaders also were a part of the conversation as a variety of options were considered to find a short-term solution to what some believe is a critical issue.
Father Russell Kovash of St. Joseph Catholic Church said the problem of homelessness is “substantial.” Just in the last month, the church has helped out a dozen people, who have arrived by bus or train, with one-night hotel stays.
“It’s kind of ugly and reveals how great the need is,” he said.
The Salvation Army and New Hope Wesleyan Church have partnered for a second year to provide temporary emergency housing at a crew camp that will offer shelter for 10 men each night from November through March, Williston Salvation Army Capt. Joshua Stansbury said.
Project Heat officially kicked off last February, providing shelter through March 31. Stansbury said the participants go through background checks to be in compliance with the crew camp. Volunteers from local churches and the community cover two shifts each night and also serve as drivers to transport the men, who are picked up at 9 p.m. and dropped off at 6 a.m. at the city police department.
“It’s an important program, a safe program, an efficient program,” said Stansbury, who praised Pastor Chris Swarthout and New Hope’s commitment to Project Heat.
Stansbury said he knows that Project Heat is not a solution.
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“It’s a temporary fix until a solution can be reached or someone opens a shelter or housing gets more affordable. I don’t know. I would love for Project Heat to not be necessary,” Stansbury said.
