Summoning the courage to help the world’s most vulnerable

IN THIS WEEK’S COVER STORY, our magazine staff is proud to announce the debut of a remarkable book: Healing the World—the biography of peacemaker and public health pioneer Dr. Gustavo Parajón—which now is available for pre-order from Amazon. This Cover Story, posted in our Front Edge Publishing website, explains why millions look to Parajón for wisdom and inspiration. Now is a perfect time to learn more about Parajón and prepare to talk with friends about his courageous story.

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From Howard Brown—

The Surprising Joy of Sharing Hope Each Day

THIS WEEK, Howard Brown—author of Shining Brightly—shares a column that will inspire anyone who needs a shot in the arm as they start this week. It’s all about the energy we generate when we share “Hope” with others. To make his point, Howard shares with us five surprising things about his life that most people would not guess—including how he safely played basketball with a diverse circle of friends through the pandemic.

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From Dr. David Gushee—

The political challenges of Purple Churches

AMERICA’S LEADING CHRISTIAN ETHICIST, Dr. David Gushee writes this week in his Baptist News Global series about the huge challenges facing leaders of “Purple Churches,” congregations that are trying to hold together members from both ends of America’s political spectrum. As nearly impossible as it may seem, holding these congregations together is a sign of hope, Dr. Gushee argues. “In a society tearing along red/blue lines, such purple churches are playing a very significant political role simply by existing, by holding in community those who disagree in their partisan and ideological commitments.”

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Holidays & Festivals

Diwali—

Will you be displaying lights?

HOLIDAYS COLUMNIST STEPHANIE FESTIVAL reports on the biggest Indian festival of the year, which is celebrated by more than 1 billion people around the world.

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Baha’is celebrate ‘Twin Holy Days’

STEPHANIE FENTON also reports on the “Twin Holy Birthdays,” as adherents of the faith rejoice in the birth anniversaries of the two figures most central to their faith: Baha’u’llah and the Bab.

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October Book Birthdays—

PUBLISHERS and AUTHORS celebrate “Book Birthdays” each year, recalling some of the big hits that they have launched in any given month. In this “October Book Birthdays” column, we look at three enduringly popular books we have published in earlier Octobers with two authors: Benjamin Pratt and Dr. David Gushee. All three books are as timely today as they were when we originally released them—especially the book we sometimes call our “James Bond Bible study.”

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WANT TO SEE ALL OF THE UPCOMING HOLIDAYS & FESTIVALS?—It’s easy to find our annual calendar of global observances. Just remember the web 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.

Here are some of Ed’s most recent free reviews and columns:

• RINGS OF POWER—(Streaming on Amazon) This week, Amazon posted the final part of its epic series The Rings of Power. Ed McNulty writes, “Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne have set out to perform a nearly impossible task—to sort out and stitch together a coherent story from Tolkien’s pre-Lord of the Rings era, and to please the die hard fans of Peter Jackson’s masterful adaptations.”
• THE RAILWAY CHILDREN—(Streaming on Amazon) “Director Morgan Matthews’ remake of E. Nesbit’s 1905 classic children’s novel and the 1970 film based on it updates the plot from Edwardian times to  1944 when the Brits are evacuating their children from their cities to save them from Nazi bombing.”
• AMSTERDAM—”Director-screenwriter David O. Russell combines murder, inter-racial romances, a little madcap comedy, and a possible coup attempt by Fascists to take over the American government in this period piece.”
• THE MURDER OF EMMETT TILL—As background for seeing the new movie Till, which currently is only in theaters, Ed recommends that movie goers watch this 2003 documentary about his murder, which is streaming now on PBS.
• BECOMING HARRIET BEECHER STOWE—”This is a welcome documentary on a woman who prior to the Civil War might be called the most famous female in America—Southerners would change that to infamous.”
• I KILL GIANTS—”This family-friendly story of a young outsider was adapted from a graphic novel by its author Joe Kelly and directed by Anders Walter.“
• FORGOTTEN BY GOD—(Streaming on Amazon) “Forgotten by God examines the horrors of war at close range. Directed by Aleksey Muradov, this Russian drama is at once poetic and painfully realistic.”
• CRUSHED WINGS—This is a difficult film to watch, Ed McNulty warns us in his review of this new film that he reports is the first major feature film to examine the widespread practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). He recommends it to help spread awareness of this continuing problem that affects more than 200 million women today. (To learn about screenings, visit the film’s website.)
• THE WOMAN KING—”Set in 1823, the story is fictional, but the facts surrounding the women warriors are accurate. Nanisca (Viola Davis) is the general in charge of them and thus a major advisor to young King Ghezo (John Boyega).”
• CATHERINE CALLED BIRDIE—(Streaming on Amazon) “Director-writer-producer Lena Dunham  adroitly captures the spirit of the Newberry-winning children’s novel by Karen Cushman.”
• FANNIE LOU HAMER’S AMERICA—(Streaming on Amazon) “There have been numerous films on Fannie Lou Hamer, but what makes director Joy Elaine Davenport’s film different is that a major part of it is the civil rights icon telling her own story.”
• TREES OF PEACE—(Streaming on Netflix) “Director-writer Alanna Brown’s harrowing film centers on four women who hide from the rampaging Hutus during the Rwandan genocide.”

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