Exploring ‘God of a thousand voices, a thousand lights and gazillions of colors’
THIS WEEK, OUR COVER STORY is a new interview with author Barbara Mahany, whose books about everyday spirituality challenges us to see the world around us with new eyes. In her new Book of Nature, Barbara dazzles readers with spiritual adventures we can discover among natural wonders in our own back yards.
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From our authors—
Daniel Buttry on Dr. Gustavo Parajón
Sometimes, our books literally help the needy
THIS WEEK, Daniel Buttry—the co-author of Healing the World: Gustavo Parajón, Public Health and Peacemaking Pioneer helps us to explain why this book quite literally helps needy families in Nicaragua. Please read this Front Edge Publishing column and consider ordering a copy of this inspiring biography of Parajón.
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Howard Brown and Shining Brightly
March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month
THIS WEEK, Howard Brown’s Shining Brightly podcast series focuses on the importance of getting screened for colorectal cancer. In Howard’s life, it was a routine screening that spotted his advanced cancer and allowed his team of doctors to chart a course that helped him to survive. Had he been screened even earlier, Howard now tells audiences nationwide, his struggle would not have been so dire. Had he not been screened at all, he would have died.
That’s why this message is so urgent, Howard tells everyone he can reach. This link will take you to Howard’s website, ShiningBrightly.com, where you’ll find a podcast with Ron Perry, the Executive Vice-President of Micro-Tech Endoscopy, which is saving lives, providing better quality patient care and making healthcare more value-driven. While you’re there, you’ll also find a new conversation with wellness expert Michelle Sugiyaman on “Mindful Nutrition.”
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Holidays & Festivals
Passover is coming April 5
Jewish Communities host ‘model seders’ to spread the message of religious freedom
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. This week, 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.
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In the midst of Lent
STEPHANIE FENTON has written about the start of Western Lent and about Clean Monday, when the Eastern Orthodox churches begin their Great Fast of Lent.
Looking for inspirational reading for Lent? If you have not already enjoyed Our Lent: Things We Carry by David Crumm, you can find that daily reader in paperback and Kindle editions on Amazon. Also, for Lent 2023, we also are recommending Rachel Srubas’ thoughtful new book, The Desert of Compassion, which we featured in a Read the Spirit Cover Story in early February this year.
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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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Click on this movie image to read Ed McNulty’s review of the new World War II-era drama on Netflix, Operation Mincemeat.
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Click on this image to learn about the March 2023 issue of Ed McNulty’s Visual Parables Journal, which contains reviews and discussion guides to films, including Blonde, Jesus Revolution, Mr. & Mrs. Loving and Zora Neale Hurston plus many more.
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.
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