A Sanctuary in the Heartland—
‘This Book is a Gift’
OUR COVER STORY THIS WEEK is a podcast—an audio conversation in this case—produced by the veteran podcaster Ken Kemp, who uses the signature line: “Beached White Male.” In recent years, through his podcasts and columns, Ken has explored the ever-growing circle of communities that embrace inclusivity as a part of their expression of God’s love. Ken’s message is one of hope—that we don’t have to react to change by feeling left behind, isolated or “beached.” In fact, as Ken puts it, God’s love is broad enough to make room for all of us.
As a podcaster, Ken has a welcoming voice, a storyteller’s talents and a masterful way of unfolding interviews with his guests. That’s especially true in this recent podcast-conversation with Dr. Thomas Wassink, co-author of the new book: Sanctuary.
Intrigued? Well, we can tell you: This new book is a valuable companion for the tens of thousands of congregations nationwide that are currently in the process of trying to become more inclusive. Please, listen to Ken Kemp and Dr. Thomas Wassink talk about Sanctuary’s unique journey—and, when you’re done, please share this week’s Cover Story with friends across social media and email.
In these deeply divided times, we all can use some good news about cordial, inclusive communities.
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And More from Our Community of Writers—
Weekly doses of inspiration for resilient living boost the Shining Brightly podcast
WE’RE ALL CELEBRATING, this week, two rare milestones author Howard Brown has reached with his weekly podcast, Shining Brightly. Coincidentally, he reached more than 200,000 listener downloads the same week he published his 100th episode. Please enjoy a special, inspirational “solo” message from Howard in this podcast, which you can hear along with our story about his achievement.
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Intrigued by the flames on this new book cover?
THIS WEEK, WE’RE UNVEILING the visually striking cover of Jonathan Grimm’s upcoming book, The Future Poor—How Families and Communities Can Join Together to Survive the Looming Retirement Crisis. Our Susan Stitt writes this Front Edge Publishing column about the timely nature of Jonathan’s book—and the practical help families will find in these pages. Plus, we’ve got a short video clip that unveils the entire book cover designed for us by Art Director Rick Nease, which soon will be showing up on Amazon and other quality booksellers’ websites. And we’ve got a fresh link in this column to learn more about Jonathan himself—and the new free Grim News service he’s providing to families nationwide.
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Holidays & Festivals
Sukkot
THE ANNUAL JEWISH HARVEST FESTIVAL OF SUKKOT is one of the most beloved family observances as grandparents, parents and children set up temporary shelters, also called “booths” or “sukkahs,” to remember God’s long legacy of providing for families. For this Sukkot, author Rusty Rosman writes about a very unusual keepsake in her family—a piece of woven roofing made 120 years ago by a young Jewish couple who picked and fashioned the reeds from a river in southeast Michigan.
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WANT TO SEE ALL OF THE UPCOMING HOLIDAYS & FESTIVALS? It’s easy to find our annual calendar of global observances. Just remember the web address: InterfaithHolidays.com
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Faith & Film
ED McNULTY, for decades, published reviews, magazine articles and books exploring connections between faith and film. Here are some of Ed’s final reviews:
- THE BEAR—Ed writes about why The Bear has become such a beloved TV series.
- CHESLEY BONESTELL—If you’re a nostalgic fan of science fiction, you’ll definitely want to see this documentary about the remarkable artist who envisioned the far-flung scenes that showed up in many sci-fi classics. Today, Bonestell is known as the “Father of Modern Space Art.”
- GOOD ONE—Ed highly recommends this indie coming-of-age film that unfolds over a hike in upstate New York.
- HAROLD and the PURPLE CRAYON—”Director Carlos Saldanha’s adaptation of the beloved 1955 children’s classic by Crockett Johnson gives us the adult version of the original series about a four-year old and his magical purple crayon who lives inside a book.”
- MY PENGUIN FRIEND—“I love interspecies films such as Fly Away, and Brazilian director David Schurmann’s film is a delightful addition to the genre.”
- SING SING—This inspiring film is based on a true story of prisoners producing an annual theatrical production at Sing Sing prison..
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