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At This Moment in Our History …

OUR WRITERS HOPE TO SPARK OUR CONSCIENCE

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From Larry Buxton—
‘Signs of Hope’

IN HIS BRIEF LEADERSHIP VIDEO this week, Larry Buxton begins, “All over our country right now, people are discussing variations on one central question: What kind of leadership does our country most need right now? It hasn’t been an easy question to answer even for those of us who ground our beliefs in a religious faith.”

We open this unusual ReadTheSpirit Cover Story with Larry’s video because of the remarkable balance—and geographic breadth—of his short video. Larry expands his central question into a national conversation about the kinds of leaders we need in our world, our communities and our families. He describes two groups who recently invited him to speak with them virtually, beginning with a group at First United Methodist Church in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This wasn’t a partisan discussion, Larry explains. “These church folk felt they were representing the virtues and values of their faith in ways that strengthen our foundations.” Then, Larry also describes meeting with the Washington D.C. chapter of the Rumi Forum, which promotes interfaith dialogue and peace. They asked, “What would it take for us to lay down our metaphorical arms?”

Larry concludes, “I believe these gatherings are signs of hope.” And, he’s right! This is a wonderfully balanced and brief YouTube video (only 5 minutes) that you can share right now with friends by visiting Larry’s website and using social media to spread the message. (Want to get a free email reminder each week when Larry posts a new video? Go to LarryBuxton.com and sign up. Don’t worry; you can cancel anytime.)

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From David Gushee—
‘We the People …’

AUTHOR OF THE BEST-SELLING ‘CHANGING OUR MIND,’ Dr. David Gushee was one of the early progressive Christian endorsers of the Biden campaign this summer in an interfaith coalition of 350 endorsers that included the Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber, Diana Butler Bass, Ron Sider, Rabbi Sharon Brous, Anju Bhargava, Imam Talib Shareef and Brian McLaren.

Gushee also is a supporter of a progressive-Christian manifesto called Christians Against Trumpism and Political Extremism that says in part: ” ‘We the people’ need to awaken to the ideals that animate us as people of faith and Americans.”  This national effort draws together scores of Christian leaders, scholars and political activists who generally have been described as evangelical. The founders of this group are popular authors, speakers and activists John Kingston and Joel Searby. On the front page of their website, there is a space to add your name, if you wish. Supporters of this particular effort include writers who have appeared in the pages of our ReadTheSpirit magazine over the years, among them: Miroslav Volf, Randall Balmer, Tony Jones and Ron Sider.

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From Duncan Newcomer—
‘We are elected!’

IN THREE WORDS, LINCOLN CAPTURED IT: “We are elected.” After months of heated political claims about which 2020 presidential candidate may be more like the great Abe Lincoln—our resident Lincoln scholar Duncan Newcomer explains how distinctively expansive Lincoln was in his understanding of our political process. Throughout Lincoln’s life, it was all about—we.

And please note: Like so many of our columns, this week, you’ll definitely want to share this one with friends.

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From Victor Begg—
‘A Fork in the Road …’

WE MUST CHOOSE HOPE, NOT FEAR, argues Victor Begg, who has devoted decades of his life to interfaith peacemaking. The author of Our Muslim Neighbors—a memoir that tells the story of his adventures in peacemaking—says that his faith in America’s conscience is undimmed, despite the tumultuous campaigns this year. We have weathered so much in 2020, he writes. Now, we must act.

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From Benjamin Pratt—
‘Want to talk with me, or only at me?’

WATCHING THE RUSH TO FORCE a new justice onto the Supreme Court, pastoral counselor and author Benjamin Pratt advises that we need to step back and discern the moral consequences of such brute political force. Ben is one of the most popular contributing columnists over the past decade of ReadTheSpirit magazine and, in this column, he reaches back to his 2008 book Ian Fleming’s Deadlier Sins to grapple with the spiritual and moral forces that are clashing among our nation’s leaders at this moment.

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From Henry Brinton—
‘R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it meant to—Wesley’

THAT’S THE INVITATION from pastor, author and educator Henry Brinton, who writes about why it’s so important to recover respect at this turbulent time in our nation’s history. Love may be out of the question, but at least we can start with a civic value on which we can begin to rebuild community. Religious leaders have been teaching this wisdom for centuries, Brinton writes, including the founder of the worldwide Methodist movement: John Wesley.

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World’s Most Expensive Gift Books

Our Love Affair with Paper Books Continues

FRONT EDGE PUBLISHING—In the second of two FEP columns about our timeless love for paper books, Editor David Crumm reports on what is surely the world’s most expensive gift-book offering for the holidays—a new three-volume set from Callaway Arts for the 2020 holiday shopping season. Callaway has a long history of touching off global buzz in the publishing industry. Back in 1992, the company collaborated with Madonna on the R-rated coffee-table book, “Sex.” In sharp contrast, the subject of the 2020 project is sacred: “The Sistine Chapel.” Our story includes a link to a fascinating 3-minute video about how these remarkable books were created.

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Holidays & Festivals

Halloween and—

Allhallowtide,
Samhain,
Dia de los Muertos

THE VEIL IS THIN—From Samhain to Mexico’s Day of the Dead, world cultures celebrate the belief that at this time of year, the veil between this world and the next is particularly thin and ancestors are held close.

Don’t worry, it’s not all solemn and bone-chilling, though—today’s secular Halloween also brings out bright Jack-o-lanterns, loads of candy and a pretty good excuse for adults to join in on the costuming fun with kids. So grab your best ghoulish mask and get the (Halloween) party started! We’ve got the story—and a fun little 1-minute video of a 2020 “candy chute” that’s 2-stories tall!

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Plan Ahead for Veterans Day!

ON NOVEMBER 11, this year, a new National Museum of the United States Army will open in Virginia with a live-streamed ceremony followed by public access following COVID-19 safety procedures. Stephanie Fenton’s column includes a 3-minute video about the new facility. And, at the close of her column, she has a convenient link to the online clearinghouse for news-updates about special restaurant offers to treat vets on this national observance.

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Care to see all of our Holidays & Festivals columns? It’s easy to find our annual calendar of global observances. Just remember the address 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. CHI-RAQ—Ed reaches back to 2015 to highly recommend this unusual Spike Lee production, describing it this way: “Spike Lee’s musical satire borrows its plot from the racy classic Lysistrata by the Greek playwright Aristophanes. It will make you laugh and think about the terrible problem of black on black violence in our society. Some critics have called it “a mess,” and at some points it is, but what an entertaining and stimulating mess. And, for people of faith, there is the most powerful social justice sermon that I have ever seen in my 40 years of writing about film!”
2. THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7—”West Wing lovers might well be ecstatic while viewing writer and director Aaron Sorkin’s new film that Netflix picked up after the pandemic forced Paramount Pictures to scrap plans for a theatrical release. Sorkin’s film is full of the conflict between the powerful and the vulnerable and the fast-paced repartee that made the White House-based series so enjoyable to watch. The infamous trial, dragging out over 4 ½ months, was almost ready-made for a film, with its colorful, controversial characters.”
3. THE WAY I SEE IT—”Director Dawn Porter’s documentary exploring the work of White House photographer Pete Souza is a combination of cinematic Valentine to Barack Obama, the man as well as President, and a polemic against the current occupant of the White House.”
4. THE GOOD LORD BIRD—“Ethan Hawke has the role of his life as fiery Abolitionist John Brown in this tongue-in-cheek Showtime mini-series that he created and helped produce and write. The true part comes from James McBride’s National Book Award-winning novel of the same name, on which the series based.”
5. TIME—This gripping documentary was produced and directed by Garrett Bradley. It follows Sibil Fox Richardson, fighting for the release of her husband, Rob, who is serving a 60-year prison sentence. It had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January, 2020, where it won the U.S. Documentary Directing Award.
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   Click this photo to read the review of ‘Hosea’ (2019).

   HOSEA—Ed writes, “Director/writer Ryan Daniel Dobson was inspired by the ancient prophet when he wrote and directed this love story that unfolds in the darkness of human lust and depravity. However, instead of the story focusing on the prophet and his mission to a fallen nation, Dobson centers his film on the former prostitute turned wife in present day Oklahoma City. Unlike the Biblical prophet, we are given the back story of how Gomer—here renamed Cate—became a prostitute.”

7. BORGEN—For years, the Danish series has been praised by critics in the U.S., but the series has not been available to most TV viewers. Now that Netflix is streaming three seasons of Borgen, Ed McNulty offers his own strong praise for these nearly 30 hours of exceptional TV. And, Ed adds some thought-provoking questions to consider as you begin to watch the series.
8. RESIDUE—Merawi Gerima’s debut film explores the complex costs of gentrification—in this case, in Washington DC. Ed compares it to the other 2019 film The Last Black Man in San Francisco.
9. RUBY BRIDGES—Ed writes, “Ruby Bridges tells the story of how a six-year old Black girl integrated a New Orleans segregated school in 1960. … Not expecting a whole lot of it because it was a Disney film, it turned out to soar way beyond my expectations.”
10. ALL IN—THE FIGHT FOR DEMOCRACY—Ed writes, “Directors Lisa Cortes’ and Liz Garbus’s well-produced documentary could not be more timely, coming out just a month or so before the 2020 national elections.“.

 

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