‘A CLEAR TRANSFORMATION’
COVER STORY—Along with the editors at Breast Cancer Wellness Magazine, we are celebrating the publication of Jeanine Patten-Coble’s inspiring memoir: Struck By Hope. The book tells the true story of her spiritual transformation after a diagnosis of cancer—a turning point that led her to become the founder of a nationwide program that provides week-long retreats to families grappling with cancer. Jeanine’s story is so powerful that the CNN television network has named her a “CNN Hero.”
Here is how Jeanine begins to describe that process of transformation: “On the absolute worst possible day in my life, the day I dreaded telling my son about my cancer, God showed up. … He knocked me over. If it had been a scene out of a cartoon, it would have been God with a big huge frying pan hitting me over the head, stars swirling around me. God’s calling can be big and powerful moments, faint voices, or small and tender nudges. It can be a voice in the darkness or a trumpet in the light.”
Those words from Jeanine appear in bright red type in the two-page feature about Jeanine in the Fall 2017 issue of Breast Cancer Wellness Magazine.
The magazine reports that Jeanine’s spiritual transformation was the key to “what she calls a ‘ridiculously present life’ and to create a nonprofit to provide free, week-long vacations for breast cancer patients and their families to reconnect and celebrate life together. It also led Jeanine to be nominated for the 2017 CNN Heroes award. CNN Heroes is a year-long initiative that honors everyday people for their selfless, creative efforts to help others.”
Founded in 2006, Breast Cancer Wellness is a quarterly magazine that goes directly to thousands of breast cancer patients and survivors in all 50 states—as well as to several thousand health-care facilities, breast cancer support groups, and breast cancer centers and events. Click on this link to view the Fall 2017 issue in PDF format. Jeanine’s story is on page 22, so scroll down, once the magazine is visible.
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CELEBRATING FRANCIS
Want to see all the holidays?
www.InterfaithHolidays.org
ST. FRANCIS DAY—Perhaps you’ve seen the growing interest in St. Francis-themed pet blessings in your community. As Stephanie Fenton reports on the Christian observance of St. Francis on October 4, she also offers resources for such occasions.
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SUKKOT—Jewish families around the world begin the harvest festival of Sukkot at sundown on October 4, this year—a rare convergence with the Christian remembrance of Francis’s care for creation. (Because the Jewish lunar calendar is continually moving in relation to the secular calendar, Sukkot began October 16 in 2016 and, next year, it will begin September 23.) Our online magazine writes about Sukkot, each year, and a great way to get a feel for the festival is Bobbie Lewis’s column about her preparation of grape leaves for Sukkot—complete with a delicious recipe.
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MAN OF SERVICE
GOD SIGNS—This week, Suzy Farbman profiles Don Spear, today better known as co-founder of the OpenSesame online hub for elearning courses. Before becoming an entrepreneur, however, he had a remarkable career as a submarine officer.
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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 latest free movie reviews are:
- I’LL PUSH YOU—”It’s a stand up and cheer movie,” writes Ed McNulty, giving this documentary 5 out of 5 stars. It’s the remarkable story of one man pushing his friend’s wheelchair along 500 miles of the Camino de Santiago, also known as The Way of Saint James.
- MOTHER! Ed tells us that viewers will find “dramatic excess and a strong dose of surrealism” in this puzzling film starring Jennifer Lawrence. (4 stars)
- MENASHE—It’s an intriguing film about the relationship of an Orthodox Jewish father and his son as they try to navigate the pressures within their insular New York neighborhood. (5 stars)
- ALL SAINTS—Our faith-and-film writer Ed McNulty writes: “At last! Here is a faith-based film that seeks to entertain and inspire rather than convert its audience.” (5 out of 5 stars)
- MOKA—A suspenseful drama about a mother grieving the loss of her son. (5 stars)
- CITY OF GHOSTS—The search to see this film is worth it, Ed says, giving this documentary 5 stars. The film focuses on a group of citizen journalists trying to battle ISIS messages in the Middle East.
- WHOSE STREETS? Another documentary to put on your must-see list, says Ed, is this fascinating exploration of what unfolded in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014. (5 stars)
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