Cover Story: Remembering the sacrifices of Peacemakers as well on Memorial Day

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Our authors ask: What is the character of our peacemaking?

COVER STORY—What are the iconic images of Memorial Day? A man, a woman or a child pausing in prayerful reflection in a cemetery, near the grave of a loved one who served in the military. Such powerful images of war and peace! They bring tears to our eyes, because this is the eternal spiritual struggle that explodes into headlines in every season—especially this spring. It’s a spiritual tension in all of the world’s great faith traditions. This week, Larry Buxton invites all of us to take part in an ongoing national conversation on the tensions between war and peace.

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Are You Pausing in Remembrance?

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, including Memorial Day programs. Even though many of these traditional gatherings are held outdoors, many communities are requesting advance registration. 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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From Our Authors

Greg Garrett and David Gushee on Baylor’s LGBTQ Ambivalence

GREG GARRETT, who has taught at Baylor for many years, wrote this remarkably thoughtful column about Baylor University’s ambivalent treatment of its LGBTQ students. Greg is a noted religion scholar and the author of many popular books. Since the founding of ReadTheSpirit online magazine in 2007, we have featured interviews with Greg and recommended his books nearly three dozen times. In his analysis of what went wrong at Baylor—and his challenge to Baylor officials in the future—Greg also draws on the wisdom of our author Dr. David Gushee, who wrote Changing Our Mind.

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And Speaking of Selfless Caregivers …

THIS WEEK IN OUR We Are Caregivers section, you can watch the inspiring 90-second video from CBS News of 8-year-old Zohaib Begg, who is proving that community caregiving has no age limit. Watch it! You’ll want to share it!

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Click this image to read Ed McNulty’s review of the inspiring short film, Canvas.

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. CANVAS—Ed writes, “Watch animator Frank E. Abney III’s Canvas, and you will find it’s 9-minutes the most inspiring period of your day. It is a beautiful reminder of our need for one another, especially when overcome by grief—and also of the power of love to sustain and reinvigorate us.”
  2. BLUE MIRACLE—”Director Julio Quintana and his co-screenwriter Chris Dowling have just the tonic for movie lovers who might be a bit down in the dumps. Their Big Fish story, based on real people and a 2014 Mexican fishing competition is a formulaic sports story sure to raise your spirits—and with several of the characters children, a film the whole family can enjoy.”
  3. THE ONE I LOVE—The old question ‘Can this marriage be saved?’ runs throughout director Charlie McDowell’s 2014 film about a couple trying to regain the flame of the love that had brought them together.
  4. THE BLACKCOAT’S DAUGHTER—”Writer/director Osgood Perkins (son of Psycho’s Anthony Perkins) makes a worthy addition to the horror sub-genre of the exorcism film in this chilling tale of the supernatural.
  5. UNDERGROUND RAILROADEd 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.”
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. BILL CAIN and THE DIARY OF JESUS CHRISTEd 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.
  9. 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.”
  10. 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.”

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