A Timely Honor as Ramadan Begins for Muslims around the World

ENJOY THIS INSPIRING STORY IN VIDEO OR Q&A FORMAT: Our publishing house team is celebrating with Muslim author Najah Bazzy, who has been named one of USA Today’s Women of the Year.

Visit our Front Edge Publishing website to see a 3-minute video about Najah’s work, which is streaming courtesy of WXYZ-TV Channel 7, the ABC affiliate in southeast Michigan.

AND—right here in our Read the Spirit online magazine you can read the USA Today profile of Najah, including a Q and A with Najah about the major influences in her courageous life—and links to the other Women of the Year honorees nationwide.

Please share these inspiring “good news” stories with friends this week via social media and email.

Nearly 2 Billion Partake in Worldwide Fasting Month

HOLIDAYS & FESTIVALS COLUMNIST Stephanie Fenton reports on Ramadan 2023. And,  yes, Stephanie includes links to some delicious recipes that many Muslim families enjoy when they break their fast after sunset each night.

.

More Holidays & Festivals—

Hindus honor Lord Rama

AS STEPHANIE FENTON REPORTS—The story of Lord Rama has been read, recited, and reviewed by Hindus worldwide, during a period known as Ramayana Week—all leading up to the climactic festival, Ram Navami.

Passover is coming April 5

WITH ANTISEMITISM ON THE RISE, the annual Jewish-community practice of offering “model seders” is an important opportunity for non-Jewish community leaders to learn about the long tradition within Judaism of protecting religious freedom. The Jewish community in Michigan hosted such a seder for leaders of other religious groups as well as diplomats representing other countries around the world.

 

.

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

.

---

From Our Authors—

Larry Buxton

Do You Really See That Person?

IN HIS LEADING WITH SPIRIT video this week, Larry Buxton springs from a Gospel story of Jesus’s deep attention to the people he encountered—to a reflection on the recent death of his brother Craig. It’s a moving reminder that we all need to open our eyes, ears and hearts to the people we meet each week. In fact, Larry tells us, “We learn that seeing doesn’t begin with eyesight—it begins with insight.” You may want to share this wise video with friends this week.

AND BY THE WAY, if you’re looking for great inspirational reading for the balance of Lent, you may want a copy of Larry’s Thirty Days with King David: On Leadership.

.

.

Howard Brown and Shining Brightly

Consider these pathways to greater awareness

IF LARRY BUXTON’S ‘INSIGHT’ is leading you toward expanding your awareness of others, check out Shining Brightly author Howard Brown’s latest podcasts this week. This link will take you to Howard’s website, where you’ll find a new podcast with Claudia-Sam Cataford Sauvé, your Soul Connection Coach and Yoga Master—as well as a podcast with Francois Lupien, a noted motivational speaker who also is a gold medal Tae Kwon Do Canadian champion.

And if you haven’t read Howard’s memoir, you’ll find it available on Amazon in Kindle, paperback and hardcover editions.

.

.

Bill Tammeus on Barbara Mahany

‘Paying Attention to Everything the World Offers Up’

CONTINUING THE THEME that Larry and Howard are exploring this week, journalist Bill Tammeus reviews Barbara Mahany’s new The Book of Nature for the Earthbeat section of The National Catholic Reporter. Click here to visit that website to read Bill’s full review. In last week’s issue of ReadTheSpirit magazine, we featured an interview with Barbara as our Cover Story. Meanwhile, Bill was completing his own column on this remarkable new Book of Nature. In his column, Bill urges readers to get a copy of Barbara’s new book. Why? Because, he writes: “Mahany asks readers to do something Buddhists have been urging the world to do for centuries: Pay attention, be mindful. In other words, walk neither on a city sidewalk nor on a path through the forest with your eyes focused on your smartphone. She issues a call to notice the sacred and the inexplicable all around.”

.

---

.

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:

• KNOCK AT THE CABIN—(Streaming on Peacock) Ed writes, “The stakes in director M. Night Shyamalan’s new film, based on the 2018 novel by Paul Tremblay, are high. In most horror films it is just the survival of the protagonists, but in this tale it is nothing less than the survival of the whole world.”
• OPERATION MINCEMEAT—(Streaming on Netflix) “For those of us who missed 1956’s The Man Who Never Was, Netflix’s current film, directed by John Gladden and adapted by Michelle Ashford from the book by Ben Macintyre, will introduce us to one of the great deceptions of WWII.”
• CREED III—(In theaters) “There is no trace of Rocky Balboa in this, the ninth installment of the franchise that began with 1976’s Rocky. Like the other films, this one is not just about boxing, but about the personal struggles of the man wearing the gloves.”
• CLOSE—(Streaming) “‘Close’ well describes the friendship of two Belgian boys in Lukas Dhont‘s heartbreaking film.”
• THE QUIET GIRL—(Streaming) “Irish director Colm Bairead, with his co-writer Claire Keegan (author of the book the film is based on) has given us a touching story of a young girl from a dysfunctional family provided a chance to blossom despite her distracted parents.”
• JESUS REVOLUTION—(In theaters and streaming) Ed McNulty sees thematic parallels between this fictionalized look back at the ’60s Jesus movement and the dance movie Footloose.
• ZORA NEALE HURSTON: CLAIMING A PLACE—(Streaming) This PBS-sponsored documentary is well worth streaming, Ed tells us.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.