Discover ‘100 Ways Families Can Find Hope Right Now’
“What can I do right now?” We’ve heard that question from countless readers and writers since the first week of this new year. All of us want to rebuild America’s shattered community. Having seen this turbulence coming for a long time, the prophetic author Ken Whitt answers this crucial question with the title affirmation, spread across the front cover of his book: God Is Just Love—Building Spiritual Resilience and Sustainable Communities for the Sake of Our Children and Creation. For readers seeking very practical ideas they can pursue immediately, Ken closes his book with “100 Things Families Can Do to Find Hope and Be Love.”
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And, Connect with Bill Tammeus’s Related Work
Our Cover Story about Ken Whitt’s new book also connects with the ongoing work of journalist Bill Tammeus, whose new book is Love, Loss & Endurance: a 9/11 Story of Resilience and Hope in an Age of Anxiety. If you are interested in Ken’s book, then you may want to read our Cover Story last month about the launch of Bill Tammeus’s book. In addition, here are some of the latest headlines from Tammeus’s ongoing work as a popular writer and speaker:
- AUTHOR and DISCIPLES OF CHRIST PASTOR BOB CORNWALL has written a moving review of Bill’s book, including his own memories of the trauma of 9/11 and its legacy. Bob recommends Bill’s book to readers both because of the family story Bill tells and because of Bill’s advice about “unplugging extremism.” Bob writes: “It’s possible that we may find ourselves better able to support and encourage those who deal with similar grief experiences. We might also find ourselves more inclined to commit ourselves to build relationships across religious boundaries that lead to respect and more.”
- BILL TAMMEUS himself continues to write via his own popular website, Bill’s Faith Matters Blog. Two of his recent columns are overviews of the big challenges we face right now in the U.S. The first is headlined, ‘Civil Religion’ Now Promoted by a New President and explains the background of “civil religion” in America. The second is headlined, Who Can Fix a Divided Christianity in America? and includes a link to a helpful resource, How to Pray for a President.
- FAR BEYOND THE PAGES of his own website, Bill Tammeus is constantly offering columns to other media hubs, including USA Today, where he recently had a column published, headlined
End America’s Guantanamo Bay chapter for detainees and for 9/11 families like mine. - AS A VETERAN JOURNALIST, Bill is modeling for authors a very high level of engagement with the national conversation—from top media outlets to more intimate online sessions like the Zoom book launch we described in this recent column. Interested in learning more from the way Bill pursues these projects? He includes a gracious email invitation to talk with him at the end of that Zoom-launch column.
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Why connect?
Because Everyone Is Pitching In
NAJAH BAZZY: PANDEMIC HELP
OUR AUTHOR NAJAH BAZZY, who appears in Friendship & Faith and also is finishing an upcoming memoir, always finds new ways to use her expertise in helping families. Recently, Michigan Governor Whitmer named Najah to serve on her statewide commission to protect public health.
DAVID GUSHEE: A PROPHETIC VOICE
AUTHOR DAVID GUSHEE also is deeply involved in the national conversation about protecting inclusion and diversity in our civil society. In particular, he finds many ways to talk and write about the dangers we face—and solutions we can work on together. His latest column for the international Baptist News Global wire service is headlined Truth Decay: How lies prepare the way for evil.
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Holidays & Festivals
Candlemas, Groundhog Day, Imbolc
HOLIDAYS & FESTIVALS expert Stephanie Fenton explains these early-spring festivals with roots that reach back through the centuries. And, are you especially phond of ol’ Phil? In her column, Stephanie provides an easy link to stream his annual appearance.
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Seven Inspiring Books for 40 Days of Reflection
MILLIONS LOOK FOR GOOD BOOKS IN THIS SEASON
“MORE THAN 2 BILLION CHRISTIANS are preparing for a Lenten season unlike any other, this year,” Susan Stitt writes in the opening of our Front Edge Publishing column this week. “Due to the pandemic, Lent 2021 has provided many of us with unusual down time at home, which could become more time for personal reflection and Lenten observance. Front Edge Publishing has a wide variety of books that will either guide you through the Lenten season or will enrich your spiritual life generally, as you prepare for the upcoming Easter.” Please, enjoy Susan’s seven suggestions of books you might want to explore in these 40 days—and share this story with friends. They may decide to join you and discuss what you are reading.
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PLAN AHEAD FOR 2021—We have reformatted our master calendar, which makes it easier for readers to make connections between great books—and the holidays, milestones and special seasons of the year. It’s easy to find our annual calendar of global observances. Just visit InterfaithHolidays.com
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Click this headline to jump over to the national web hub for the Presbyterian Church USA, where Ed McNulty published this 2020 roundup of great films for that denomination’s readers—and, of course, for all of us as well.
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:
9 to 5—Ed writes, “Director/co-writer Colin Higgins’ film might have been a comedy, but it dealt with a serious and widespread problem, the oppressive conditions under which millions of women worked at the beck and call of chauvinist men.” AND DON’T MISS THE PBS documentary, 9 to 5: The Story of a Movement, which Ed also reviews this week.- BIRD ON THE MAST from 1971 is a rare performance by the late Cicely Tyson that most of our readers will never have seen. To honor her passing, Ed reviews the TV drama and he provides a link to watch it anytime on YouTube.
- WHITE TIGER—”Writer-director Ramin Bahrani’s adaption of his long-time friend Aravind Adiga’s best-selling novel provides a sardonic view of the 1% as viewed by those at the bottom. It bears some similarities to the South Korean 2019 Oscar winner Parasite, except that it is set in India, where the ancient caste system still keeps the rich and the poor apart.”
- THE DEVIL ALL THE TIME—”There is a lot of religion in director Antonio Campos’s decades-spanning film, which he has adapted from Donald Ray Pollack’s 2011 novel, but far different from what you might find in your local church, synagogue, mosque, or temple.”
- REMASTERED: THE TWO KILLINGS OF SAM COOKE—”Director Kelly Duane’s documentary makes viewers appreciate legendary singer Sam Cooke even more, thanks to the many musicians and music industry people she interviews, interspersing them with archive photos and footage.”
SOUL—Ed urges everyone to see this delightful and surprising film. He writes, “For a family film Pixar’s Soul about a jazz pianist takes on hefty, metaphysical, themes—life and death, the appreciation of the former and one’s purpose in living.“- ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI—Ed also urges us to see this remarkable film, writing, “Actress Regina King’s first feature film is based on scriptwriter Kemp Powers’ 2013 play about the night when Cassius Clay won the World Heavy Weight Boxing title over Sonny Liston on February 25, 1964. I want to say up front that it is a “must see” film, bringing together a number of strands of the systemic racism that I have been urging readers to examine through various films.”
- A THOUSAND CUTS—Ed writes, “The fate of Filipino-American journalist Maria Ressa is chronicled in Ramona S. Diaz’s engrossing PBS documentary. One of the four “Guardians” (Jamal Khashoggi being another) to be named TIME’s Person of the Year for 2018, she proves to be a fearless and calm advocate for democracy in a land sliding toward dictatorial rule
- THE LAST CHAMPION—Ed writes, “The Last Champion is truly a family film at both ends, from inception to viewing. Families will enjoy its coming of age aspect, sports thrills, and redemptive arc.“
- NEWS OF THE WORLD—Ed writes, “Like Unforgiven, Paul Greengrass’ News of the World is an unconventional Western. Oh, there is are sections of violent gun play, but these are secondary to other themes, such as human relationships, the need for belonging, and the importance of “news” for connection to a world larger than our own narrow existence. Adapted by director and Luke Davies from the 2016 novel by Paulette Jiles, the film provides Tom Hanks with a great opportunity to display his acting ability, an opportunity of which he takes full advantage! It also introduces many of us to a delightful young German actress Helena Zengel.”
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