"We're praying. And gears are turning. But they turn slow. But God can turn any gear they want. And I take comfort in that." — Pastor Kate
Pastor Kate W. Young, better known as Pastor K, is Possum Springs' newest pastor by 16 months. She works with Candy Borowski at the Church of the First Coalescence, and is actively working with the City Council to better the life of Bruce, a homeless man who neighbors' the church.
Profile[]
Appearance[]
Pastor Kate is a blue bird with a yellow beak and large, black-framed glasses. Her clothing consists of a white collared shirt under a yellow cardigan, a navy blue skirt and red dress shoes.
Personality[]
Pastor Kate is a generous and well-meaning person, to the extent that she may feel guilty in taking a nap when she could be helping others. She is always open to talking, providing advice, and generally helping others, seeing it as the nature of her position as pastor. Her charity work is well-received amongst the town, though her efforts often butt heads with the City Council - her attempts to shelter Bruce, for instance, was fought against by the council who saw Bruce as a "bum".
Though Pastor Kate is a pastor and devoted to the church and its beliefs, she admits to Mae that even she has had doubts of the existence of God, believing that "everyone doesn't believe in God for at least a few minutes every day". Nevertheless, she remains optimistic, pressing on with her teachings and preaching's.
Story[]
Mae meets Bruce and Pastor K.
Bruce and Pastor K's Story[]
Pastor Kate is a supporting cast member in Night in the Woods, and is often seen alongside Bruce or the City Council. Their story starts with Pastor K and Bruce having a brief conversation about his living situation, having created a makeshift shelter in the forest next to the shelter. She offers to give him more blankets, something Bruce kindly refuses. Mae greets the two, both being new faces to her, and Pastor K introduces herself and Bruce, as well as explaining his homelessness to Mae.
The next interaction with Pastor Kate has her being stood up by the City Council, for a meeting regarding Bruce, and remarks this being a frequent and reoccurring situation she finds herself in. She tells Mae that, although she's frustrated, she has faith that the system can be worked with, choosing to wait a while longer.
Pastor K. being stood up by the City Council.
Her optimism over the situation continually wains, as the game goes on, having Pastor K's worries over Bruce's situation be downplayed time and time again. Such a situation has her, the Council, and Aunt Molly meeting with Bruce where he lives, gauging whether or not they should help him or not. However, with feigned politeness in the way the Council talks, it's all but clear that they have no real interest in helping him. Much like the group do, they walk off, and promise to discuss the situation at a later date.
Some time during Act 3, Pastor K creates a make-shift home for Bruce to live in, a room adjacent to Mallard's Tomb. This room is only accessible in the Weird Autumn addition of the game, and although it's never outright stated what the room's use is for, it is heavily implied to be Pastor Kate's making. The room is only accessible once, and afterwards remains locked from Mae's access.
One of the most important scenes in her story has Pastor K arguing with the City Council for Bruce's safety. She butts heads with the Council's dismissive, or downright cruel actions towards Bruce's financial and housing situation, her believing the church to have enough room to shelter Bruce at least temporarily, despite the Council's adamant refusal in that being the case. The City Council cut the discussion short after the heated argument, with the final vote on Bruce's situation being all but decided against the Pastor's wishes, and say their goodbyes.
Mae and Pastor K. talking about sunday sermons.
In the following day, Mae goes to Pastor K, and asks how the City Council vote went. Pastor Kate says it was an almost unanimous No in her and Bruce's favor.
They have discussion about Mae's dream that leads into their beliefs in God. Mae is unsure of God's exitance, one of the few times she's open and honest about her true feelings. Pastor Kate admits to Mae that her belief sometimes falters, despite her being a Pastor who preaches the faith. Mae, coming to Kate for guidance, lashes out at her for her unsureness in her beliefs, and for this response not being what she wants. She shocks Pastor K into silence, and storms off, leaving the discussion with a sour note.
Pastor K. finds out why Bruce left.
During one of the final days of Act 3, Mae has a chance to talk to Bruce about him leaving Possum Springs for good, to see his family. Regardless of whether Mae does or not, the following day has Pastor Kate realizing what Bruce means by leaving, and is mortified and shaken by the news of his disappearance. This seems to imply that Bruce did indeed commit suicide, however the game itself does leave this open in the air. Pastor Kate, unfortunately, never had the chance to show Bruce the makeshift home she created for him.
In the end, their storyline shows how slow and counter-intuitive Possum Spring's City Council is with helping it's own citizens. Despite this, or perhaps even because of this, Pastor Kate's will and determination to help those in need remains strong, if a little jaded.
Main Story[]
Pastor K. asks if anyone has any kind words to say about Mae.
Pastor Kate has a minor role in the main storyline. Although frequently brought up by Mae's mother, her first official appearance in the story is in chapter three, when Mae Borowski is wounded by The Cult. Mae is seen resting inside the church, on a pew, surrounded by her family, friends, and neighbors.
As the scene transitions from the church scene to the hospital room scene, The Janitor appears, causing confusion to Pastor Kate and the Borowski's. Pastor Kate asks why he's here, and he responds with him needing to fix a door. The Janitor tells everyone that Mae is going to be alright. The Janitor leaves, and Mae wakes up, telling everyone what she saw.
Epilogue[]
Pastor Kate can be seen cleaning up Bruce's makeshift campsite, greeting Mae like she would any other day. Despite what's occurred in the past few days, she's kind and happy. When Mae offers to help, Pastor K takes her up on it, although it's apparent Mae never had any real intention to help clean alongside her, and the two part ways.
Trivia[]
- In the Night in the Woods demo, Pastor K. and Bruce make their first appearance in front of the Clik Clak Diner, instead of the forest behind the church. Pastor K. is also notably more curt, and less friendly to both Mae and Bruce, while Bruce himself seems less hardened in the demo. The Act 1 Day 2 demo interaction at the diner is also notably different than what appeared in the main game: Different dialogue and options, longer conversations, and a generally different way the Pastor Kate and Bruce are characterized.
Gallery[]
