273 Stories for 1,000s of Readers

An All-Time Favorite Returns

“WHERE IS SUZY FARBMAN?” At the Editor’s desk of this online weekly magazine, I’ve read that question in emails, and then responded to it, countless times over the past year. This week, as Suzy returns to our pages, she explains what she has been doing in a column headlined, Having finished my new art book on Detroit’s Cass Corridor, I’m returning to my GodSigns column.

Any of our long-time readers will remember that Suzy’s byline—which came to our magazine after her storied career as a nationally known journalist—is synonymous with: Hope!

The 273 stories she published before her year-long hiatus all share that theme: Real people finding real inspiration and encouragement, no matter what else happens in their lives.

So, along with her “Returning” column, we also are publishing a brand new GodSigns column this week in her classic style of storytelling. It’s headlined, Driver David Porter’s joy revs up racing classic cars. Her story begins, “If you’re born in Detroit, you’re born with a reverence for cars.” And, we’re off and racing, once again … Welcome back, Suzy!

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And, More Good News from our Writers and Readers

ONE OF THE PLEASURES of sitting at the Editor’s desk for ReadTheSpirit weekly magazine in early 2021 is the outpouring of hopeful, inspiring stories sent to us by our writers and readers. Marketing Director Susan Stitt (whose column on Lent is linked below) agrees that this is an unprecedented level of sharing—perhaps because so many of us are looking for constructive ideas in this new year. So, please, if you want to share news items, be sure to email us at [email protected]! Each week, Susan plays an essential role in helping to coordinate the incoming news—so special thanks go to Susan! One cautionary note: We can never use all of the suggestions we receive, but will continue to share a sampling. Here goes …

From Elaine Greenberg

A HOPEFUL MILESTONE IN TULSA

ELAINE GREENBERG is a musician, educator and activist on behalf of cancer patients who has been a supportive reader of our magazine for many years. “I sometimes forget to send you notes, but I thought readers would want to know about this news,” Elaine said in an email this week. Her daughter Mimi Marton is involved in a major civil rights milestone: opening a legal clinic in the area of Tulsa that was the site of the racist massacre a century ago. Here is the University of Tulsa story about the new clinic. Readers who are aware of the Tulsa tragedy, which was hidden for too many years, will feel a real boost in reading this news. (Note: The man in the spectacles in the photo above is the courageous Tulsa attorney Buck Colbert Franklin whose office was burned down in the Tulsa attack, forcing him to work from a tent. Smithsonian Magazine has an absolutely terrifying account by Franklin of the massacre. So far, there is not so much as a Wikipedia entry for Franklin! The University of Tulsa, Smithsonian and Black Past are adding online resources to focus public awareness on this nearly forgotten hero.) Thank you Elaine and Mimi for alerting us to this story! 

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From Bob Bruttell

REMEMBERING BENJAMIN BANNEKER IN BLACK HISTORY MONTH

BOB BRUTTELL is a religion scholar and  co-founder of the Michigan-based Interfaith Leadership Council of Metropolitan Detroit. To mark Black History month, Bob suggests in a couple of emails that our readers should start by learning more about the life of the 18th century Benjamin Banneker. Bob writes, “In August of 1791 Thomas Jefferson, then Secretary of State, received a marvelous and potentially life-altering letter from Benjamin Banneker (1731-1806), African American freeman, farmer, astronomer, mathematician and surveyor. I suggest that we all read Banneker’s letter.” Also, our readers may want to learn more about the remarkable—but little known—history of the Recorder of Deeds building in Washington D.C., which contains a watershed of visual representations of noted African Americans by artists during the WPA era. One of those was the mural of Banneker, a small portion of which is shown above. Our long-time readers may recall that we featured another mural from that historic building in an earlier Duncan Newcomer column about Lincoln and Douglass. (If you are among our many DC-area readers, consider making a pilgrimage to the Deeds building in Black History Month.) Thanks Bob for alerting us to this story!

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From Bill Tammeus

A BOOK THAT HELPS US ‘REIMAGINE OUR FAITH’

JOURNALIST BILL TAMMEUS launched his own new book, Love, Loss & Endurance, in January. He’s very busy with his own media outreach about that book. However, Bill also took time this month to publish a thoughtful review of Ken Whitt’s new book, God Is Just Love. Bill emailed us this week to report, “I’m telling my readers about Ken’s book in this new column.” When you visit Bill’s website to read that new column, his review of Ken’s book appears just after two other fascinating news items that you’ll likely want to read as well. Thanks Bill for writing this column!

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From Duncan Newcomer

A VOICE HEARD FROM MAINE TO CALIFORNIA

“WHAT ARE WE LOOKING AT IN THIS VIDEO?” That was our first question when Lincoln scholar, public radio broadcaster and author Duncan Newcomer sent us a link to a Vimeo video headlined A Beloved Ritual. As it turns out, this was a lovely tribute to Duncan’s work with his Abraham Lincoln Quiet Fire radio series. Duncan broadcasts from a studio in Maine, where he lives, and this video was shot via an iPhone by a couple in California who wanted Duncan to know that one of their beloved daily rituals involves listening to Quiet Fire as they eat a meal. The video places us right there on the table with this gentleman and his wife—next to his coffee cup and his plate—and the audio is Duncan’s voice telling them yet another inspiring story about Abe. What a delightful way to show the continent-spanning reach of the media we all publish! Thanks Duncan for sharing this video! (And, note to readers: Go grab a copy of Duncan’s 30 Days with Abraham Lincoln from Amazon and send us your own video as you enjoy these daily readings!)

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Holidays & Festivals

FEBRUARY 11—OUR LADY OF LOURDES continues to attract the faithful 163 years after 14-year-old Bernadette Soubirous says she saw this miraculous figure in a grotto in France. Stephanie Fenton has the story.

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7 Inspiring Books for 40 Days 

“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. 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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SEE ALL THE HOLIDAYS & FESTIVALS—It’s easy to find our annual calendar of global observances. Just visit  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. PIECES OF A WOMAN—Ed writes, “Hungarian director Kornél Mundruczó’s first English-language feature is for those who prefer a study of marital and in-law relationships to endless cycles of chases and things blowing up.”
2. NOMADLAND—Ed give this 5 stars and writes, “Frances McDormand, optioning Jessica Bruder’s 2017 nonfiction book, Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century writer, made a wise choice when she joined forces with director/writer Chloé Zhao.”
3. LAND—Five stars also go to this film. “Actress Robin Wright made a wise decision in choosing screenwriters Jesse Chatham and Erin Dignam to write the script for her directorial debut. Her story of a grieving women seeking escape in the solitary wilderness of the mountains, only to discover the need for community is one of the best films I have seen for reigniting hope during this time of pandemic.”
4. 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.”
5. 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.”
6. 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.”
7. 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.“
8. 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.”
9. 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.“
10. 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.”

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