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COVER STORY: For Independence Day 2024, we decided to remind our readers of our 17-year commitment as a community of writers—without missing a single week for 880 consecutive weeks—to publish stories in keeping with our motto: “Good media builds healthy community.” In 2024, our nation seems so deeply divided that this July 4 week seems like an ideal occasion to share these stories.

Let’s start with a visit to one of America’s most endangered communities

TANGIER ISLAND is so low to the Chesapeake Bay that the island’s centuries of history are endangered by rising waters—yet island residents are as committed as ever to endure. This article originally was published in 2010 as part of our 40-day, 10,000-mile ReadTheSpirit journey around America. The question this story asks is: In the end, can this little island with the big faith survive?

Then let’s visit one of our most famous stories of post-hurricane resilience

ALSO FROM OUR 10,000-MILE journey was this very popular story about the Vietnamese-Catholic community in New Orleans that came together to rebuild after Hurricane Katrina—one of a number of major crises these families faced in sustaining their homes. One of our favorite lines from this story is the affirmation: “This is America and we have each other.”

The MSU Bias Busters Project—

One of our most important projects is reducing bigotry through understanding our neighbors.

FREEDOM FOR ALL is a central theme of the 22 MSU Bias Busters books, which provide accurate information about the many minorities living among us.

The first of two Bias Busters columns this week focuses on Hmong Americans, who migrated here from Southeast Asia after the Vietnam War. Bias Busters Director Joe Grimm writes about the Hmong hope to be free of “The Model Minority” myth.

Our second Bias Busters column this week reports on the many attempts popping up nationwide to put more religious content into public institutions. Again, Bias Busters Director Joe Grimm writes about a resource for understanding these issues in a balanced way in these deeply contentious times.

And, underlining these themes—a column from George A. Mason

AS IF DRAWING A LESSON FROM SUCH STORIES, the nationally respected preacher, scholar and author George A. Mason has published his own reflection on American “Independence”—urging us to remember that—”Freedom from needs to be joined to freedom for.”

AND—if you want a more in-depth exploration of George’s lifetime of teaching—get a copy of his magnum opus: The Word Made Fresh.

Holidays & Festivals

July 4—our ‘delicious’ holiday story

STEPHANIE FENTON’S Holidays & Festivals column, this week, looks ahead to Independence Day festivities that start more than a week before the national holiday in some parts of the country. And, yes, Stephanie also has lots of links to delicious holiday recipes!

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

Faith & Film

ED McNULTY, for decades, has published reviews, magazine articles and books exploring connections between faith and film. Most of his work is freely published. Ed supports his work by selling the Visual Parables Journal, a monthly magazine packed with film reviews and discussion guides. This resource is used nationwide by individuals who love the movies and by educators, clergy and small-group leaders.

Here are some of Ed’s most recent free reviews and columns:

UNFROSTED—Ed writes, “Jerry Seinfeld directs as well as stars in this silly spoof of the legendary rivalry between the two giants of breakfast cereal, Post and Kellogg’s.”
SIGHT—“The title not only refers to the goal of Dr. Ming Wang’s career, to restore sight to the blind, but also to the cultivation of spiritual sight, to discern what is important in life.”
ESCAPE FROM GERMANY—Ed recommends this unusual film about a little-known, true chapter of World War II, the efforts of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to get their missionaries out of the war zone.
BLOOD AND GOLD—However, Ed does not recommend this other World War II film, which he says is an excuse for violence and gore.
TREASURE—“Director Julia von Heinz provides an intriguing funny post-Holocaust drama involving a Jewish Holocaust survivor in 1991 tagging along with his daughter to discover where the family once lived and was imprisoned.”
THE DEAD DON’T HURT—“As Westerns go, this film by Viggo Mortensen is very unorthodox in that so much of it focuses upon the day-to-day survival of a woman left alone on the frontier.”
INSIDE OUT 2—“Like many fans of that film, I wondered if a sequel could live up to high quality of the original, and am glad to report that it does.”
THE SCHOOL OF MAGICAL ANIMALS 2—“German director/co-writer Sven Unterwaldt gives us a colorful sequel to the 2021 film based on the popular German children’s book series by Margit Auer.”
EZRA—“There are plenty of funny moments, but even more of touching ones in this sensitive film.”
THE OLD OAK—”Films like Ken Loach’s The Old Oak are why I am still so passionate about well-crafted films, especially those dealing with the down and out, those oppressed by the powerful.“