Cover story: A grassroots response to community mental health comes to us from Zimbabwe
Dr. Dixon Chibanda’s partnership with Zimbabwean women is becoming a global model
COVER STORY—Thanks to our friends at New World Library, our ReadTheSpirit magazine is partnering this week in the national effort to spread news about the innovative grassroots work of Dr. Dixon Chibanda. New World has just released his book. (And below in our Faith & Film section, we also are recommending a documentary film about Dr. Chibanda’s work that could be used in a group discussion of the book.)
Please, do a good deed this week and read our Cover Story about Dr. Dixon Chibanda, which is an excerpt of his new book provided by his publisher, New World. Then, take a moment to use the convenient social-media sharing buttons and send a link to this story to your own friends and community. Millions of families around the world struggle with mental illness every day. Let’s all be part of sharing hope and good news this month. If you find friends who also are interested in Dr. Chibanda’s book—you’ll find this is a great opportunity to spark small-group discussions.
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AANHPI Heritage Month continues
Many groups are stepping up to honor these Americans
DESPITE THE WHITE HOUSE CANCELATION OF ITS ANNUAL PARTICIPATION—many groups nationwide are stepping up to continue recognizing this special month with important resources.
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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 Good News—
Dave Larsen’s ‘Green Street’ book events are part of healthy national conversation
TIMELY NEWS FROM FRONT EDGE PUBLISHING—The author of ‘Green Street in Black and White’ encourages healthy national conversations through events discussing his Chicago-based novel.
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Dr. David Gushee: ‘Convictional. Resistant. Steadfast.’
DR. DAVID GUSHEE was invited to deliver a sermon at the annual “Commissioning Service” at the Mercer University School of Theology on May 9. He titled this message, Convictional. Resistant. Steadfast.
Faith & film
There’s a feature-length documentary about Dr. Chabanda’s work with Friendship Bench
IF YOU ARE ORGANIZING A SMALL-GROUP DISCUSSION OF ‘FRIENDSHIP BENCH’, you might want to make arrangements for streaming the feature-length documentary about Chabanda’s work, which also is called “The Friendship Bench.” Currently, licensing for streaming this film comes through the nonprofit “Good Docs,” which offers a broad range of prices and options. Here’s the Good Docs page to learn more about arranging for a screening.
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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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