Obituary:
Edward Nelson McNulty
(1936-2024)

EDITOR’S NOTE: The following obituary and photo gallery was compiled by film critic Edward McNulty’s daughter Rebecca McNulty. Our entire publishing house staff and community of writers is mourning the loss of Ed’s vibrant life—and we thank Rebecca for digging into family archives to find not only the details of Ed’s story but also the photographs for the gallery at the end of this text.

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The Rev. Dr. Edward Nelson McNulty, 88, passed away Monday, September 16, 2024, at his residence in
Bellbrook, Ohio. Ed had served as pastor to communities in Ohio, North Dakota, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York, before retiring. For more than half a century, he also was known nationally as a leading voice in urging people to use movies and TV series both for personal spiritual reflection and for illustrating biblical wisdom in teaching and preaching. For that reason, Ed liked to call films “Visual Parables,” offering wisdom through cinematic storytelling much as Jesus did in his own ministry through verbal parables.

Edward earned his BA from Butler, University in Butler, Indiana, his MDiv from McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, and his DMin from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio.

He grew up in Indianapolis, the son of Bernard and Thelma McNulty. His stories about his childhood captured glimpses of him running wild with his friends, discovering the magic of cinema, and coping with the pain of his parent’s divorce.

On Sundays, a local Baptist minister gathered children on a bus to take them to Sunday school. His baptism in a river eventually led Edward into the ministry.

He also told friends that his deep regard for American history and democracy were among the factors that led him to choose to become part of what is now the Presbyterian Church (USA), where he was proud of progressive stances the church took through the decades. In turn, the denomination was proud to feature his work in Presbyterians Today magazine and continued to publish some of Ed’s columns about cinema into 2024. The denomination’s official website came to refer to him as “PC(USA)’s favorite film critic.”

A Lifelong Fan of Science Fiction

Edward played a part in Midwest sci fi history, as a member of the Indiana Sci Fi Association (ISFA). The fanzine he helped edit circulated throughout the state, and he and his friends attended sci fi conventions in Chicago, New York City and across Ohio—including an infamous one in Bellfontaine, Ohio, 1954. That relatively small gathering was attended by such sci fi luminaries as E.E. Smith, Philip José Farmer, Harlan Ellison and Isaac Asimov. For the rest of the attendees, that event was recalled because of a dispute in which a prank by Harlan Ellison misfired and his hotel door was smashed by an angry colleague.

For Edward, it was the event at which he agreed to sell some of his enviable collection of Astounding magazines to Issac Asimov. It is fitting that in 2024, the last film review posted into his weekly section of www.ReadTheSpirit.com magazine was a 5-star recommendation of a documentary on the career of Chesley Bonestell, which began: “When I was a teen fan of science fiction my favorite artist was Chesley Bonestell.”

A Lifetime Love of Family, Stories and Social Justice

In 1959, Edward married Sandra Hoover Meredith in Indianapolis. They moved to Chicago for his seminary studies, working as house parents to ten boys at an orphanage. They had five children, Nevin (Scott), Ellen, Rebecca, Paul, and Daniel. As Ed’s ministry took the family to Ohio and North Dakota, they took in foster children.

The McNulty home was full of stories, music, art, books, and vivid discussions about the theological and social issues of the 1960s and 70s. The family hiked and camped as often as they could. Sandra taught the children to identify plants and wildlife, while Edward taught them to love the stars and the beauty of this earth.

In 1964, Edward responded to the call for ministers and youth to shine a national spotlight on the extreme discrimination and poverty in Mississippi. His two-week sojourn as a member of Freedom Summer opened a lifelong commitment to social justice, rooted firmly in the teachings of Jesus, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Mahatma Ghandi. Add to these three his admiration for Abraham Lincoln, and the full meaning and richness of his work begins to unfold.

It also is fitting that one of the final major projects Edward undertook in the summer of 2024 was a lengthy collection of columns, based on his involvement in Freedom Summer. He went back and pulled out excerpts from his original journals, added to that contemporary reflections—and, of course, links to related films. He published the entire series between August 2 and September 6, 2024, starting with this first part of the multi-week series that began with these words:

Truth still matters.
And right now in the summer of 2024—even at this 60th anniversary—the truth about the 1964 Freedom Summer matters.

The Spiritual Power of Visual Parables

In the 1970s, Edward began producing deeply moving audio-visual presentations exploring the social issues of the day: war and peace, poverty and the family, race and discrimination. He and Sandra collaborated on multi-media presentations on “Daughters of Eve” and “Children.” His writings on multi-media led to the first of about 16 books, Gadgets, Gimmicks and Grace (Abbey Press, 1976), followed by Television: A Guide for Christians (Abingdon, 1976), Controversial Topics for Youth Groups (Group Books, 1988), Faith and Films (Presbyterian Publishing Corp., 2007) and Jesus Christ: Movie Star (Read the Spirit, 2015).

As a Christian educator, Edward viewed films as modern parables. He often said that if Christ were alive today, he would have been a filmmaker. This idea blossomed into Visual Parables: For Those With Eyes to See and eventually, into Visual Parables: Faith-and-Film Reviews and Study Guides, founded in 1990 and currently produced as part of ReadTheSpirit.com weekly online magazine.

Edward found the spirit of Christ’s teachings in the most unlikely of places: Snoopy’s kisses that ended Lucy’s crab-ins, Edith Bunker’s peacemaking between Archie and son-in-law Mike in All In The Family. He delighted in discussing the theological underpinnings of Cool Hand Luke with director Michael Rhodes, and collaborated with him on Film Clips—a post-9/11 short that was their attempt to help heal the country during a time of great collective pain.

He led thousands of discussions and film reviews, connecting scripture with modern storytelling. For him, Christ’s teachings were an ever-present call to action for peace, reconciliation, and love.

He never stopped reviewing films, traveling to new places, honoring American historical landmarks, or loving his family. His last recommendation was for the animated film The Wild Robot. It reminded him of the beauty
of The Iron Giant.

Helpful Details

Edward was preceded in death by his wife Sandra (Meredith) McNulty; one son, Nevin “Scott” McNulty; his father, Bernard McNulty; his mother, Thelma (White) Holmes; his step-father Rudolph Holmes; and a foster child, Darrell Roths. He is survived by his children, Ellen (Steve) Brownson, Rebecca McNulty (Andrea Ellis), Paul (Candy) McNulty, and Daniel McNulty; grandchildren, Isabella McNulty, Sean (Heather) Brownson, and Angela (Josh) Shetler; and great-grandchildren, Dean and Sasha Brownson, and Alyse, Julie and Austin Shetler; one foster child, Iris Roths; and a foreign exchange student daughter, Elise Reunanen.

A memorial service will be held in the spring of 2025, in Bellbrook, Ohio. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a donation to one of Edward’s favorite organizations:

• The Carter Center,
• the Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.),
• the Southern Poverty Law Center,
• or the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.

Conner and Koch Funeral Home in Bellbrook is serving the family. Through the funeral home’s website, the family established a “Tribute Wall” for those wishing to add thoughts, memories or stories.

Care to See More?

It’s only fitting for the creator of Visual Parables that this feature about his life close with a gallery of some photographs the family has assembled for us: