.
‘To understand America, you need to understand the Black Church’
Please Help Spread this Good News Now
IN THIS WEEK’S COVER STORY, we are celebrating the upcoming publication of the 2oth guide by the Michigan State University School of Journalism’s Bias Busters team: 100 Questions and Answers about The Black Church.
TIME magazine put it simply: “To understand America, you need to understand the Black Church.” This new book will be officially released in just a few weeks—but is listed for pre-sale on Amazon right now. We are asking our readers to support this effort—and spread this good news—by reading our cover story, pre-ordering a copy now, and sharing this news with friends via social media and email. C’mon! It’s an easy way to help make our troubled world a little more hospitable place for all of us.
.
.
And on Native American Peoples—
Vatican photo provided for media use.
Pope Francis’s Pilgrimage
OVER THE PAST WEEK, Pope Francis circled the world to continue a process of Truth and Reconciliation for the centuries of trauma inflicted on Native Peoples by church-sponsored “schools” that were designed to destroy Native culture. We have been covering this historic milestone in our weekly magazine, offering periodic updates to our readers. Among this week’s links you may want to visit are:
The Vatican has provided both photos of the event and a complete text of Francis’s remarks in English.
The New York Times initially published front-page coverage by Jason Horowitz and Ian Austen. Then, on July 30, Horowitz published a follow-up report as well.
Religion News Service also covered these events.
To learn more, please order a copy of the guidebook in the MSU Bias Busters series: 100 Questions, 500 Nations from Amazon.
.
.
Dr. David Gushee
Two Opportunities to Hear from Dr. Gushee—
There are two new opportunities to hear from best-selling Christian ethicist Dr. David Gushee this week.
First, the progressive Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) Conversations podcast talks with Dr. Gushee.
.
..
Holidays & Festivals
Tisha B’Av
A day to remember, mourn and ‘restart the journey.’
PLEASE DON’T MISS RABBI LENORE BOHM’S thoughtful reflection on what is sometimes described as the saddest day of the Jewish year. Tisha B’Av is far more than that, the rabbi tells us. In fact, it can be a helpful occasion on which to restart the journey home. Please, share Rabbi Bohm’s thoughtful column with friends via social media.
.
Lammas, Lughnasadh
ON AUGUST 1, each year, many families with cultural roots in the UK mark this beginning-of-the-harvest festival.
.
Feast of the Transfiguration
.
Raksha Bandhan
AND ON AUGUST 11—Across India and in Hindu communities worldwide, the sacred bonds between brothers and sisters are honored on Raksha Bandhan.
.
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
..
.
.
Click this movie image to read Ed McNulty’s review of Gabby Giffords Won’t Back Down.
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 discussion guides to films. This resource is used coast-to-coast 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:
- GABBY GIFFORDS WON’T BACK DOWN—Ed writes, “No matter where you stand on the heated gun control war, you will come to admire the courage of U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords who fought hard to recover from her brain injuries when she was shot outside a Tucson area grocery store on January 8, 2011.”
- VENGEANCE—Ed writes, “B.J. Novak’s film turned out very differently from what I had expected. Instead of one of those intense get-even movies that turn up so often on Tubi, this is a dark comedy/mystery that deals with relationships and the process of growing beyond our preconceived notions that lead us to look down on others.”
- EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE—”This unusual film combines the sci-fi multi-universe theme, popularized by Marvel films and the Matrix franchise, as well as embracing the genres of Kung Fu, Mother-Daughter, Husband-Wife estrangement.”
- BRIAN AND CHARLES—”Starting out as a faux documentary about a Welsh village eccentric, this evolves into a buddy movie, with one of the members of the duo being a home-made robot, and then it becomes a threesome when the pair are joined by a supportive woman. A real hoot of a little film!”
- BENEDICTION—”Five years after his film about Emily Dickson, A Quiet Passion, writer-director Terence Davies focuses upon another poet, one from his native England, Siegfried Sassoon.”
- DON’T MAKE ME GO—”Hannah Marks (director) and Vera Herbert’s (writer) film is a road trip film—not a buddy one but a father and daughter tale.”
- ELVIS—”When I first learned that Baz Luhrmann would be directing the Elvis Presley biopic, I knew the film would be flamboyant—look what he did with Romeo and Juliette and Moulin Rouge.”
- THE FIRST LADY—”The ten-part series The First Ladies takes full advantage of the opportunity that a TV series offers to explore details of history not possible in a two-hour movie. Created by Aaron Cooley and executive-produced by Viola Davis.”
- EIFFEL—”French director Martin Bourboulon seems to have gone Hollywood in his period film about Gustave Eiffel and the building of the iconic Parisian landmark.”
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
