In Our Deeply Divided World …

A Prophetic Pastor and Musician Invites Us to Become Peacemakers

COVER STORY: This is a book on a mission. The late David Livingston Edwards devoted his life to peacemaking. Now, his family is launching his memoir plus a multi-media-packed website that enriches the experience of the book. Together, this launch offers his prophetic story, his music—and a complete Discussion and Action Guide—to keep expanding David’s legacy of training peacemakers. Please read our Cover Story, which has links to both the book and to the free multi-media resources—and share it with friends.

Care to Meet David Livingston’s Family and Friends? The Edwards team is inviting the public to stream an hour-long overview of this new project mid-day Tuesday May 25, 2021. That’s the book’s official launch day on Amazon and other online bookstores. If you would like to join us “live,” then please read this second story that includes all you’ll need to know to participate with us on May 25. (Got a schedule conflict mid-day Tuesday? We’ve got you covered. Within a day or so afterward, we will provide a link to watch the program anytime.)

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And, another Pathway to Peace

Interfaith Dialogue Explores the Leadership of David

A QUESTION FREQUENTLY ASKED THIS WEEK: “How can Jews, Christians and Muslims continue to pursue interfaith dialogue in such a painfully divided world?” Of course, there always are many pathways that can lead toward peaceful relationships—including awareness of the central sacred figures in all three faiths, among them King David. This week, we share a sample of that kind of interfaith dialogue about King David among Christians and Muslims—with links to two recommended books and free video resources about the life of David that you can share with friends.

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In caregiving, connection is a vital social determinant of health

How do we connect with seniors via social media in 2021?

In our We Are Caregivers section this week, we have some fascinating new information you will want to share with friends and colleagues. The new 2021 Pew report on American social media highlights the major gaps and the strengths in these connections with men and women 65 and older. Plus, we’ve got a fascinating graphic to share—and recommendations from public health experts about the important goals of community connection as we age. There’s a lot to learn—and a lot you’ll want to share—in this short column.

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Holidays & Festivals

Plan Ahead for Memorial Day Weekend

AAA forecasts travel up 60% from last year

MEMORIAL DAY, MAY 31—Americans feel comfortable traveling again this year, but the advice from travel experts and civic leaders nationwide is: Plan ahead. Check online for the latest details concerning your destination. Many pandemic restrictions are still in place. ALSO—Millions of American veterans and their families also remind us that the holiday honors far more than barbecue and swimming pools. Holidays & Festivals columnist Stephanie Fenton has our story.

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WANT TO SEE ALL THE UPCOMING HOLIDAYS & FESTIVALS?—It’s easy to find our annual calendar of global observances. Just visit  InterfaithHolidays.com

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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.

Among Ed’s free reviews and columns:

1. UNDERGROUND RAILROAD—Ed McNulty gives us a comprehensive review of the new Amazon-streaming series, The Underground Railroad. He writes, “Barry Jenkins, who brilliantly captured the essence of James Baldwin’s polemical novel exposing the racism of our justice system, If Beale Street Could Talk, soars to even greater heights in this adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer-winning The Underground Railroad.”
2. 2 WINDOWS/2 REVIEWS—If you read both of these reviews, you will discover the dramatic possibilities of a simple idea that has been explored by filmmakers for more than a century: What happens when we look out a window—and see what our neighbors are doing? First, Ed reviews The Woman in the Window, starring Amy Adams, a thriller that has been compared to Hitchcock’s Rear Window. Then, Ed reaches back to 2019 and reviews a short film, The Neighbor’s Window, which takes a very different approach to a similar dramatic situation.
3. FANNY’S JOURNEY—Ed writes, “Director Lola Doillon’s thrilling film, set during the Nazi occupation of the northern part of France, was inspired by an autobiographical Israeli book by Fanny Ben Ami.“
4. BILL CAIN and THE DIARY OF JESUS CHRIST—Ed is offering a multimedia treat for our readers. On the occasion of Bill Cain’s new book The Diary of Jesus Christ, Ed reviews and recommends that book. IN ADDITION, Ed hosted Cain for a 41-minute Zoom interview that you can also enjoy at the end of the book review.
5. SIX BALLOONS—“Marja Lewis-Ryan’s film about a woman plagued by visions of drowning while trying to help her addicted brother is not for the faint-hearted. The script, which the director wrote and based on the experience of her producer Samantha Houseman, immerses you in the dilemma of the heroine.”
6. THUNDER ROAD—”Jim Cummings wrote, directed, starred in, and even wrote the music and co-edited, this unsettling film about a Texas police officer who seems to be on the road to a mental breakdown. The film is billed as a comedy, but it often veers far more toward tragedy, with a few laughs in between.”
7. WOLFWALKERS—“Irish filmmaker Tomm Moore rounds out his colorful mythical trilogy of animated films by reversing the negative image of wolves in Little Red Riding Hood. And what a glowing film this is, rising to the level of his magical The Secret of Kells (2009) and Song of the Sea (2014).”
8. NIGHTJOHN—Ed reaches back to 1996 to recommend a film now streaming on Amazon. Ed writes, “Director/writer Charles Burnett’s adaptation of Gary Paulsen’s award-winning young-adult novel about slavery and literacy is a fine tribute to the freeing power of the latter.”
9. TWO DISTANT STRANGERS—”Trayvon Free’s and Martin Desmond Roe’s Oscar-nominated short film is about a man caught in a time loop. There are numerous variations in the details of the incidents of his street encounter with a white racist cop.”
10. SPIRITUAL AUDACITY: The Abraham Joshua Heschel Story—”Thanks to Martin Doblmeir’s PBS documentary, Jewish theologian Abraham Joshua Heschel will become a better known figure to millions of viewers. Now available on DVD, this is a worthy addition to his other filmed biographies of great thinkers and movers—Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Dorothy Day, Reinhold Niebuhr, all brave thinkers who have had a deep impact upon the modern world.”

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