The Church is the designated worship building in the Town. Adjacent to the Church is the Town's graveyard. Inside, the main floor is where Father Rudra Khatri leads services and delivers sermons, and there is a basement that is used for storage.
History[]
Season 1[]
After the Lauren and Meagan Pratt are killed by the Creatures, their funeral is held in the graveyard. During the service, the Matthews' RV arrives in Town.[1]
Boyd pays a rare visit to the church, and says that God isn’t answering. Khatri counters that he isn’t listening closely enough. Boyd is anguished by the idea of putting Frank in the Box, admitting that it was supposed to be a deterrent. Khatri says that if Frank is absolved of his crimes, after he had several public warnings, the rules that hold the town together will carry no weight. Boyd points out that Khatri should be talking to him about the virtues of mercy. Khatri asks if that’s what he would prefer, and Boyd angrily shouts that he would prefer not to put Frank in the Box to be torn apart by the Creatures after sundown. Khatri refuses to pretend that this is an easy decision, but asks what happens when people realize that Boyd is too weak to use the guillotine he built in the town square. Boyd calls Khatri a terrible priest and leaves.[2]
After Frank Pratt is sentenced to death via the Box, Boyd brings the body to the Church, and Khatri grimly remarks that the Creatures don’t leave much before asking if Boyd will return for the service. Boyd laughs, reminding Khatri that he was the one who wanted Frank dead. Khatri asks him if that made him feel better, but Boyd just walks away and says to return the cart when he’s done.[3]
After becoming increasingly worried by Sara's confession, Nathan tries to find Father Khatri at the Church but he is not present.[4]
While Kenny and Boyd bury Nathan, Father Khatri gives a sermon about how chaos and faith are the duality of their existence, both in Town and in the larger world. He says that from birth, they are faced with incomprehensible chaos, which they try to understand. As they search for answers and meaning, they find their faith that they are in the world as part of God’s mysterious plan, understanding that chaos is the meaning, and it is through the struggle and search they find their purpose. Khatri concludes with Proverbs 3:5- “trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not into thine own understanding.”
At the end of the sermon, Tabitha drops off papers with Bible verses written on them that she found in the Pratt’s belongings. Khatri asks her how Ethan is doing, and she admits that he is scared and confused, not understanding why Sara would try and hurt him. She asks if anyone has seen Sara, but Khatri says she ran off into the woods and was probably killed during the night. Tabitha then asks if he wrote down the verses from memory, and he answers that he did. He then asks her what she really came to ask him, and Tabitha asks how he knows any of this is real, and whether they are alive or dead. Khatri responds by asking if it mattered. If they were dead and trapped in some awful purgatory, they would still be stuck and searching for a way to go home, and all that would change is the home they are searching for. Tabitha guesses that she isn’t the first to ask that, and he says he has had plenty of chances to work on his answer. He adds that if it’s any consolation, the Matthews were all alive when they crashed in the Town, and that she and her family are alive. After Tabitha departs, Khatri goes down into the basement, where he is keeping Sara tied to a chair, and tells her that they need to talk.
As they finish digging the grave, Boyd asks Kenny if he is alright, and Kenny admits that he is having a hard time wrapping his mind around the kind and nice Sara doing this. He adds that his mother is taking it hard, having viewed Sara as a daughter. Boyd tells him that he has been thinking about what Kenny said about running out of room on the board. Kenny dismisses it as him having been upset, but Boyd says it does not mean he was wrong. Boyd explains that he feels that things are changing, and points out that the talismans can work in the RV. Now, he is determined to go out into the forest but Kenny begins to walk away. Boyd scolds Kenny, who asks if he is going alone and how far he is going. Boyd says he is trying to find a way out, but Kenny says there is no point and he is simply going to his death.
In the basement, Khatri asks Sara if she knew that there isn’t a single copy of the bible in Town. He admits that she is probably wondering why she isn’t in the Box given her crimes, but he reveals that Nathan told him about the voices. Khatri then removes Sara’s gag, and tells her that despite the awful things she’s done, he thinks she can still do something good.
Father Khatri tells Sara that people think the bible is a fixed object. Khatri asks how it can be completed when all the players are still on the stage. He then explains that the bible is composed of 73 books filled with tales of miracle and wonder, as well as darkness and gruesomeness. Khatri admits that since he arrived, he has pondered whether the people of the Town are living through the unwritten 74th book of the bible, and if they were chosen. Sara asks what they were chosen for, and Khatri admits he does not know, but it is why she needs to tell him about the voices she has been hearing.
Sara explains that the voices told her they wanted to help and had been in Town for a long time, waiting for someone who could help them escape and return home. Khatri asks her why she would believe them, and Sara answers that they told her things that they could not know, such as the two cars arriving on the same day, which happened before causing everyone to die due to the actions of those cars’ passengers. The voices further told her that if she did as they bid, they would be safe and return home. Khatri asks her how they would return home, and Sara says she does not know. Khatri further asks if she still believes them. Sara answers that they told her Nathan would be ok, and begins sobbing. Khatri holds her and tells her that if the voices are real, it means that the Town is communicating with her in a way and she is uniquely connected to it, making extremely valuable. However, they need proof for Sheriff Boyd that the voices are not just the product of a troubled mind. Sara then cries out in pain and shouting “no” as Khatri helplessly looks on. Sara asks for a piece of paper, because the voices want her to show him something.
Sara draws on a piece of paper, begging the voices to stop. When she is done, she hands him the drawing, explaining that they said when Khatri arrived, they watched him bury the bag, asking if he knows what it means, shocking the priest.[5]
After Father Khatri is killed, Boyd goes to the Church to seek out Sara, who Khatri revealed was hiding in the basement of the church before he died.[6]
Season 2[]
After the chaotic arrival of the Grand Rapids Runner Bus, Kenny goes to the Church to look for something to use for the funeral service, and is shocked to find Sara, who greets him.[7]
Kenny takes Boyd to the Church basement, showing him that he has found Sara, surprising the Sheriff. Boyd tells Kenny to give them a minute to speak in private. After Kenny reluctantly leaves, Boyd asks Sara what happened, and she explains that she was transported by the tree back to the Church basement, asking Boyd where he went. Boyd asks her how she knew what the tree was, and Sara tells him about the Boy in White, who told her both about the tree. She adds that Nathan was right and that the place was now angry. Sara continues to explain that the Boy is different than the other voices, that he wants to help but is unsure how. Boyd tells her that he is glad that she is back, but her being back will cause problems and they need to figure out how to handle it. Sara tells him he knows what he needs to do, and that he always knew it would end this way. Boyd says he will talk to Kenny, and as he leaves, she asks if he told Kenny about what happened at the Clinic, and he answers no.
Upstairs, Boyd tries to explain how Sara is uniquely connected to this place, and how Father Khatri figured it out and tried to use it to understand where they are. Kenny asks if she has been in the basement since Khatri’s death, and Boyd admits she accompanied him into the forest, but adds that she is the only reason he is still alive. Boyd tries to defend her actions, but slips up and mentions that she killed multiple people, but is able to cover it up. Kenny insists that she go in the Box, but Boyd angrily refuses. Boyd’s ears begin to ring, and he goes outside for some air, sees the worms crawling beneath his skin and collapses on the ground, prompting Kenny to call out for help.
Later, Kenny asks about how Sara saved Boyd’s life. Sara says it’s hard to explain, and Kenny continues to ask about the voices she hears, which caused her to kill Nathan and almost kill Ethan. Kenny continues to ask how her first thought wasn’t that she was going crazy or that it was a bad idea. Sara says that he does not understand, and he asks her to help him do so, saying that he wants to believe Boyd and back him up, but people will freak out when they learn about her, which will undermine Boyd. Kenny continues to say that he thought of her as a friend, and his mother adores her, and asks again for her to convince him that she does not deserve the Box. Sara says she cannot, but that Boyd gave her a chance she did not deserve and she cannot undo what she has done. Kenny insists they can help, reminding her that the Town is hard on everyone. Sara asks him to stop, and says there is something she needs to tell him.[8]
The next morning, Boyd is awoken by knocking on the Church doors. Sara is also woken up, but Boyd tells her to stay out of sight. Boyd opens the door and Jim and Tabitha enter, demanding to know where Sara is. Boyd tries explain, but Tabitha ignores him and reminds Boyd that she is a murderer. Boyd insists that she is not going to hurt anyone, but Tabitha reminds Boyd that she tried to kill Ethan. Jim asks why Boyd is not enforcing his own rules. Boyd insists that things have changed, prompting Jim to defiantly ask how. Boyd, exasperated, answers that Jim got everyone hopes up with the radio tower and now they are all looking at him wondering why he did not return with all the answers, they have a busload of people who they don’t have the resources for, and the Matthews’ home collapsed for no reason. Thus, if Sara can help them figure out what is going on, then she stays out of the Box. Sara then emerges, and Tabitha forcefully tells her to stay away from her family. Boyd tries to reason with them but they both depart, leaving Boyd frustrated. Boyd leaves to tell Donna, wanting her to hear from him. Sara tells him that she should not be here and is not strong enough for this. Boyd tells her that he can’t help her with that and she needs to figure it out.[9]
Boyd has a vision where he goes to the Church where he hears a music box and encounters a dancing ballerina. The ballerina has Boyd twirl her, smiles at him, but then opens her mouth in a blood-curdling shriek as worms fall out of her mouth as Boyd snaps out of it.[10]
Jim and Randall go to the Church where they find Sara, and ask if they can talk to her. Jim asks how she arrived in Town, and Sara says she and Nathan were heading back to Boston. Randall asks where they were heading from, and Jim explains that they are trying to determine a pattern in how people arrive. Sara answers that she had been living in New Hope, Pennsylvania, but Nathan was helping her move back. They then ask about the day Nathan died, and Sara refuses to talk about it. Jim tries to sympathize with her, but Randall bluntly asks if Nathan is still alive. Donna then arrives, which Randall declares convenient. Donna asks Sara if she can stitch up some clothes from Colony House. Randall asks Donna if she thinks she’s a bigshot and calls her a tollbooth operator. Jim drags Randall out, and Donna asks Sara if she is ok. Sara asks why they asked about Nathan and think he is alive.[11]
Boyd goes to the empty Church and asks if God is there, adding that if God exists, he is an asshole. Boyd muses how if Khatri were present, he would say that God moves in mysterious ways. Boyd points out that Khatri had a plan and thought God had a plan for him right until he was killed by the Creatures. Boyd recalls how his last act was to pray in order to show God that he never lost faith. Boyd tells God that he is not here to pray, and that if God is anything other than a bedtime story he will tell them why he made Boyd think he could help people when all he is is an idiot who gets people killed. Boyd asks God if he finds this funny and shouts at him to answer when Donna arrives.
Boyd tells Donna that Sara says Julie, Marielle and Randall are all dying and once they do, it will be impossible to stop the monster, which will kill them all in their sleep. Boyd tells her that Sara saw the music box in the clearing, but it was not visible to any of them, and adds that he saw his wife the previous night. Boyd blames himself for brining this thing to Town, but Donna points out that he saved a lot of people, and that his son is getting married. Donna tells him to make the most of the time they have and return to Colony House with her. Boyd refuses to give up, and Donna says she isn’t saying to do that, but to take some time to see his son get married.[12]