Please share our inspiring stories in this Holy Week
COVER STORY—THIS WEEK, Christians around the world—all 2.4-billion followers of the Eastern and Western branches of the faith—will remember the final days of Jesus’s life. Then, on Sunday, April 20, all Christians will celebrate Easter, which celebrates the Christian faith in Jesus’s resurrection. This is a rare convergence of the Eastern Orthodox and Western calendars for Easter, so it’s a global reminder of the potential of unity.
From Stephanie Fenton—
OUR INTERNATIONALLY RESPECTED HOLIDAYS & FESTIVALS COLUMNIST Stephanie Fenton reports on this week’s wide range of events—from somber reflections to joyous celebrations. She has divided these Christian traditions into two columns:
Paschal Triduum: Christians observe Maundy Thursday, Good Friday & Holy Saturday
Easter, Pascha: Western and Eastern Christians worldwide celebrate the Resurrection
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And from Jonathan Grimm—
‘RE formed’—A Holy Week reflection from California ashes
FOR HOLY WEEK, author Jonathan Grimm writes a special reflection on the powerful spiritual themes of rebirth and resurrection for all those who lost their homes to wildfires in California—and in other disasters this year. This is a unique column that you may want to share with friends who know people touched by such tragedies.
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This week also is Passover—
“Let anyone who is hungry come and eat”
THIS YEAR—We invited Rabbi Roy Furman—author of the upcoming book, Torah Wrestling—to share his reflections on Passover in 2025. You will find that Rabbi Furman’s inspiring column is a call to unity among all Americans—people of all faiths—as we remember our responsibility toward the world’s most vulnerable people. If that remembrance leads us to action, Rabbi Furman writes—then, we are fulfilling the call of Passover.
FOR MORE ON PASSOVER TRADITIONS, and recipes as well, please enjoy this story by Holidays & Festivals columnist Stephanie Fenton.
AND FOR TIMELY HELP IN ‘UNPLUGGING EXTREMISM,’ especially in light of the hateful attack on Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro at the start of Passover this week, please read our Front Edge Publishing column about journalist Bill Tammeus’s important book.
In 2025, Passover ends on April 20.
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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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And more from our Authors—
Joe Grimm—
What are veterans’ biggest needs?
MSU School of Journalism’s Joe Grimm writes this week to share answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about the millions of veterans living among us, including our relatives, friends, neighbors and co-workers. The MSU School of Journalism has a decade-long history of supporting veterans’ concerns—and published a book of 100 Questions about veterans, researched by journalism students in cooperation with veterans nationwide.
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Bill Tammeus—
Protecting our story from those who would tear it up
WE HAVE FREQUENTLY RECOMMENDED columns by award-winning journalist Bill Tammeus—one of the true “deans” of American religion writers. In the face of fresh attempts to literally rip up our American history, Bill writes regularly about the importance of accurately remembering our collective story. Here are two of his recent, thought-provoking columns to share with friends:
A proposal to ‘rescue’ American history is both weird and ruinous
Why we still need to know about the 1921 Tulsa race massacre
And, can we hope to ‘unplug extremism’?
In his book, Love, Loss and Endurance, Bill details eight ways we all can help “unplug extremism”—and Bill’s book is especially timely in light of the hateful arson attack on Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro at the start of Passover this week.
So—please read our Front Edge Publishing column, this week, which tells more about this important book that Bill originally wrote about the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. And note: As this week starts, Amazon has deeply discounted the paperback version of Bill’s book—so either paperback or Kindle editions are quite inexpensive as we publish this weekly edition.
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Faith & film
Even to professionals, ‘The Pitt’ is a ‘welcome surprise’
THIS WEEK, WE ALL WANT TO THANK chaplain, educator and writer Daniel Kidder-McQuown for reviewing the extremely popular medical series, The Pitt. We can’t think of a better film critic to write about this dramatic series, because Dan served as a hospital chaplain and understands first hand the inner workings of a hospital. Click on this link to visit Dan’s own website and read his rview of the series.
If you missed it, in January, Dan wrote one of our most memorable columns this year, headlined: Healing Wisdom from a Hospital Night Chaplain
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Our online magazine has specialized for many years in covering news about religious and cultural diversity as reflected in new books, holidays & festivals and films. In 2024, our long-time film critic Edward McNulty died. In 2025, we continue to publish important reviews—sometimes by drawing on Ed’s considerable body of work and sometimes by welcoming other writers.
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