A GLOBAL DETECTIVE STORY
NEW IMAGES OF JESUS—What did the Resurrection look like at the moment Jesus was raised from the dead? The centuries-old images of Jesus collected in the pages of John Dominic Crossan’s new book will surprise you! That’s true for the majority of our readers, who follow Western religious traditions (although we do have some readers visiting our online magazine every week from Asia, Africa and Australia). As Easter nears for 2 billion Christians around the world, most Western Christians envision this central event in their faith differently than Christians following Eastern Orthodox tradition. The big difference is who Jesus brings with him as he rises from the dead. Intrigued? Then, you’re sure to find friends in your small group or congregation intrigued as well. Please, enjoy David Crumm’s interview with John Dominic Crossan about Resurrecting Easter. And take a moment to share this news with friends.
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SOMETHING YOU DO TODAY MIGHT BE …
… JUST WHAT SOMEONE NEEDS! That’s the message of an inspiring new column by Ted Klontz, which Suzy Farbman brings us this week as a guest perspective. Ted’s message is one that every one of us can use to find greater meaning in the ordinary events of life.
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Engaging the Other in April
GATHERING IN WISCONSIN—Under the banner Engaging the Other: The Power of Compassion, peace activists, educators, artists, authors and scholars will gather at Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin, for an April 13-15 retreat and roundtable. The goal of the men and women behind this free-to-attend event is contributing to a national consensus on reviving a culture of consensus in this turbulent era of angry public confrontations. We talked with organizer Steve Olweean about this effort. Please read this news report and share it with friends who might be interested.
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Holidays & Festivals
Want to see all the holidays? www.InterfaithHolidays.com
LENT for 2 BILLION—As Holidays columnist Stephanie Fenton reports, 2 billion Christians around the world are now in the midst of the reflective period that leads to Easter. Western Christians began with Ash Wednesday; Eastern Christians with Clean Monday. Eastern and Western Christians will travel through most of Lent together, but will diverge as the calendar turns to April. Western Christians celebrate Easter on April Fools Day (no kidding). The Orthodox wait for their Pascha until April 8.
NATIONAL DAY OF UNPLUGGING—Plan ahead to take part in a campaign to reduce our “screen time.” ReadTheSpirit fully supports such efforts, as you will read in our column about Screen Free Week. We also provide a link to the website that can connect you to other folks joining these efforts.
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Front Edge Publishing
WHAT IS HYBRID PUBLISHING? In this week’s Front Edge Publishing column, Editor David Crumm explains why our team has signed onto a new set of national standards for Hybrid Publishing. This effort, organized by the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) is crucial to the emergence of this new production model in American media. In particular, Hybrid Publishing opens doors to independent authors, nonprofits and other community leaders who have important stories to share in book form—but who have been largely excluded from traditional publishing. Want to learn more about publishing today? Please, share this home address with friends: www.FrontEdgePublishing.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 are:
- REMEMBERING BILL GRAHAM—Ed writes about the life of the late Billy Graham—and the responses of mainline Protestant clergy to the evangelist, which evolved over time.
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PHANTOM THREAD—Most of the attention to this new movie has gone to Daniel Day Lewis, but the real revelation here is the performance of actress Vicky Krieps, writes Ed about the film. (4 out of 5 stars)
- A WRINKLE IN TIME—Ed tells us that children seemed to be mesmerized by this new feature film, but as an adult with little memory of the original novel—he has some concerns that the movie may jump around too much for some viewers. Read his entire review of the film. (3 stars)
- GOSFORD PARK—Ed reaches back to 2001 to remind us of the pleasures of Robert Altman’s film about guests and staff at a country estate.
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BLACK PANTHER—The film is spectacular, says Ed.
- LIVING BIBLICALLY—Want to talk with friends about the new CBS series? Ed has this discussion guide for The Year of Living Biblically. Also, Ed offers this review of the series. Plus, Ed interviewed the series creator Patrick Walsh.
- MOLLY’S GAME—Ed writes, “As a story about trying to preserve one’s integrity amidst sordid circumstances, this is a film worthy of your time and money, especially because Aaron Sorkin deals with a female protagonist this time. There is also a heart-warming scene of reconciliation, making this a good addition to my list of father-daughter films.” (4 stars)
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