ROANOKE, Va. (AP) - When Cheri Mordick's four children visit a video store, all eyes are cast downward.
"I have to shield my children's eyes from the game covers and movie covers because they are so provocative," Mordick, 40, said.
They can open their eyes wide at Wayhouse Christian Film Library, which lends family and Christian-themed movies free to the public.
The library is in the home of Roger and Annelie Rudlaff, both 38. The home is zoned for their video ministry.
The popularity of Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" and the newest film adaptation of C.S. Lewis' "The Chronicles of Narnia" have raised awareness about Christian movies, Roger Rudlaff said. Educational videos on the Crusades and other subjects also are available.
Display shelves in their basement hold about 500 DVDs and about 20 VHS tapes above a cinema-like carpet, splashed with hot pink, teal and purple on a black background. The couple mailed notices promoting the video ministry last year to churches in Roanoke, Vinton and Salem. Word is slowly spreading.
They support themselves with sales of secular and Christian videos on the Internet and at flea markets.
"We try to carry the harder to find stuff, as well as the popular movies," Rudlaff said. "We talk about movies and what is coming out next."
Educational videos on other faiths also are available in Roanoke.
The Clarence Sabree Islamic Center has a few educational videos about Islam for its members. Beth Israel Synagogue has about 75 to 100 titles of "Jewish-themed movies" on VHS for education and entertainment, said Rabbi Ronald Kopelman.
"Anybody can borrow these, not just people in the synagogue, but the public, too," Kopelman said. "The idea is to make them available."
The Wayhouse Christian Film Library is fast becoming a popular stop for people of faith.
Al Bedrosian, a member of Shenandoah Baptist Church in Roanoke, said he stops by weekly to collect films for his five children, ages 13 and under. He picks movies for his home schooled kids.
Wayhouse's selection eliminates the "guessing game" of exposing his children to language or images that he doesn't want them to see, he said.
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