George A. Mason and David Gushee speak out against extremism and Christian Nationalism
THIS WEEK’S ISSUE OF READ THE SPIRIT MAGAZINE appears on Yom Kippur (and Stephanie Fenton’s column about this Jewish observance is linked below).
Our special “Cover Story” this week recognizes the urgency of repairing the divisions in our world—a calling often described as “tikkun olam” in Judaism—and our story focuses on two Christian leaders who are prophetically speaking out agains the dangers of Christian Nationalism. The rising tide of hate speech and hateful actions—including record rates of antisemitism as documented by the ADL—calls for all of us to get involved in helping to confront extremism and encourage communities to recognize the dangers of escalating violence.
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Holidays & Festivals
Yom Kippur
THE HOLIEST DAY OF THE JEWISH YEAR started at sunset on Sunday September 24 this year—a solemn 25-hour fast that includes participation in traditional services for millions of Jewish families. This year is especially memorable, because it is the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War when Egypt and Syria attacked on the holiday. Stephanie Fenton has our Yom Kippur story with lots of fascinating links for additional reading—and recipes for break-the-fast meals.
Meskel festival in Ethiopia
A UNIQUE CHRISTIAN CELEBRATION—Across Ethiopian Orthodox Christian and Eritrean Orthodox Christian communities, bonfires on the eve of Meskel remind families of an ancient story.
Michaelmas
WITH A SPECIAL EMPHASIS IN IRELAND AND THE UK—Beyond honoring St. Michael the Archangel, Michaelmas has taken on a seasonal association through the centuries, signaling the beginning of autumn.
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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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From Our Authors
Howard Brown (and lots and lots of friends)
… speaking of renewing our world, one welcoming smile at a time
IN OUR FRONT EDGE PUBLISHING COLUMN, this week, Howard Brown writes about his energized readers are sharing kindness and a little bit of sunshine each day. Howard actually dares readers to try to avoid smiling as you meet some of his many Shining Brightly friends. C’mon, couldn’t you use a smile right now?
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Larry Buxton
… and speaking of ‘the power of a smile’
LARRY BUXTON’s Leading with Spirit video, this month, is all about “the power of a smile.” Please click here to visit Larry’s website to watch (and share with friends) this inspiring 3-minute video. As Larry talks about why we should smile, he says at one point: “The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time.” … “a smile for some mysterious reason activates a sense of gratitude smiling is like opening a window and letting a fresh spring breeze flow through your spirit.” That’s right: It’s an inspiring little video meditation you’ll likely want to quote this week.
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Laura Elizabeth
Meet Carr Jepson, owner of Books & Brew (and a part-time detective)
COZY-MYSTERY AUTHOR LAURA ELIZABETH was invited to write a special character sketch for the popular Dru’s Book Musings website. Over the years, “Dru” has been honored for her work in promoting mysteries—especially cozy mysteries—by innovative approaches to blogging. In this instance, Dru invited Laura to write a sketch in the voice of her novel’s main character, Carr Jepson, who opens up the Books & Brew shop on a historic island along the Atlantic coast—but soon finds herself neck-deep in helping police solve a tragic murder.
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Jack Harnish
Women worldwide plan to read Jack’s inspiring 30 Days with E. Stanley Jones
OUR ENTIRE COMMUNITY OF WRITERS is celebrating with Jack Harnish over the news that the worldwide Women in Faith organization has selected Jack’s book 30 Days with E. Stanley Jones for the organization’s 2024 recommended-leading list. If you click on this link, you can read the group’s multi-page 2024 list of reading recommendations and you’ll find Jack as the first book on page 9, where the actual book listings begin in this PDF. This remarkable organization was founded in 1869 so that women of faith could “get things done” in the world—including immediately establishing one of India’s first women’s colleges. Since then, these women have encouraged education around the world through programs that include their carefully selected annual reading lists. (If you would like to order your own copy of Jack’s book right now, here’s a direct link to its Amazon page.)
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Click on this movie poster for The Inventor to read Ed McNulty’s review of the movie.
Click on this collage to learn more about the September 2023 issue of Ed McNulty’s Visual Parables Journal, packed with faith-and-film movie reviews and discussion guides. The September issue includes such popular movies as Golda, Sitting in Bars with Cake, Daughters of the Dust, War Sailor and The Hill.
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:
- THE INVENTOR—Ed writes, “The title of the new film by writer Jim Capobianco (and co-director with Pierre-Luc Granjon) refers to the 16th century genius Leonardo da Vinci, voiced in this delightful, animated film by Stephen Fry.”
- THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER—”André Øvredal’s horror film is based on just one chapter, the Captain’s Log, from Bram Stoker’s classic 1897 novel Dracula.”
- DAUGHTERS OF THE DUST—Ed also suggests we look back this week to the 1991 award-winning film.
- WAR SAILOR—”Norwegian director/ writer Gunnar Vikene has given us a grim visual parable about an overlooked group of World War II combatants—Norwegian merchant sailors drafted into the war effort when Germany invaded their country.”
- LITTLE BIG VOICE—Looking for a good family film? Ed writes, “Austrian director Wolfgang Murnberger’s 2015 film, set in postwar Vienna, drew me at first because its young hero seeks to become a member of the famed Vienna Boys’ Choir.”
- A MILLION MILES AWAY—”Director-cowriter Alejandra Márquez Abella brings us this true story of a Mexican American son of migrants who dreams of rocketing into space as a NASA astronaut.”
- THE HILL—Ed gives a mixed review to this inspirational story of a young and aspiring baseball player who faces a multitude of challenges, including opposition from his father, a pastor played by Dennis Quaid.
- CLARE and FRANCIS—Ed suggests we look back to 2007 for this Italian production that is more than three hours long as the annual feast of St. Francis nears in early October.
- THE GOOD MOTHER—Ed writes, “Both Hillary Swank and Olivia Cooke give their all to their respective roles.” Ed recommends this film about a range of dramatic challenges from writer’s block to how drug addiction can challenge relationships.
- SITTING IN BARS WITH CAKE—”I love it when a film far exceeds my expectations, as this MGM-Amazon produced film did. What I thought would be an amusing boy-meets-girl flick turned out to be a deeply moving celebration of a friendship between two young woman.”
- MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING 3—”Those crazy Greeks are back, even though the one who claimed they invented everything is missing.”
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