‘THEOLOGY OF FRIENDSHIP’ & ‘COMMONS’
DIANA’S LARGER VISION—Popular author and scholar Diana Butler Bass has been barnstorming the country over the past year, talking about her vision of an emerging spirituality that she describes as Grounded. This past weekend, she taught three days in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The message of inclusion in a global “commons” continues to expand as Bass travels and talks. ReadTheSpirit Editor David Crumm reports on some of the provocative questions she is raising these days.
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A HONEY OF A STORY!
GodSigns—Each week, GodSigns author Suzy Farbman brings us a fresh story of a remarkable person whose life has taken an unexpected turn. In this case, organic farmer Noel Patterson was given an unexpected gift, which wound up transforming him into a beekeeper—and bee educator. Go on—read the column. It’s a sweet story!
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PASSOVER IS COMING
ALL THE HOLIDAYS—Check out www.InterfaithHolidays.org.
PASSOVER—Jewish families around the world mark the ancient festival of freedom starting at sunset on April 10. Stephanie Fenton has the story about this observance, which involves recalling the story of freedom from slavery—and always prompts questions about the need to respond to injustice in our contemporary world, as well.
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EASTER and PALM SUNDAY—As Stephanie Fenton reports, this is one of those rare years when Eastern and Western Christians converge on the same date for Easter, the most important holiday in the Christian year. Before that, though, comes the colorful festival of Palm Sunday.
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A New Jesus Movement
WHAT’S IN THAT BLUE OCEAN? Recently, we introduced Dave Schmelzer, head of a daring new religious movement launching nationwide this spring: Blue Ocean Faith. The book, and the movement is taking off coast to coast!
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FILM, FAITH
& POPULAR CULTURE
ED McNULTY—Enjoy all of the free resources from Ed McNulty’s faith-and-film website: VisualParables.org. For many years, Ed has supported his work by selling the Visual Parables Journal, a monthly magazine packed with complete study guides to films. The March 2017 issue of Visual Parables Journal is now online.
Among Ed’s latest free movie reviews are:
- AN AMERICAN CONSCIENCE: The Reinhold Niebuhr Story—Ed gives 5 out of 5 stars to this documentary—which is coming to public television’s WORLD channel on April 16, Easter. Ed writes: “By the end of the film the average person who knows Niebuhr only as the author of the famous Serenity Prayer will have a much fuller appreciation of this major influence upon American life.”
- NERUDA—It’s a “somewhat whimsical, semi-biographical film inspired by the life of Nobel prize winner Pablo Neruda.” (4.5 out of 5 stars)
- LIFE—The aliens are out to get us! Ed says that’s the basic idea behind this horrific look at extra-terrestrial contact. (4 stars)
- DONALD CRIED—Ed writes, “Writer-director-star Kris Avedisian’s dark comedy about two old high school chums reunited 20 years after graduation is a squirm producer.” He gives this bizarre “outsider” film 4.5 stars.
- KEDI—The movie’s title is Turkish for “cat.” Ceyda Torun, a Turkish-born filmmaker, and cinematographer Charlie Wuppermann invite viewers on a fascinating journey that focuses on the stories of seven street cats and the people with whom they relate. (5 stars)
- WHITE HELMETS—”We are indebted to Netflix for making documentarian Orlando von Einsiedel’s short film so widely available,” Ed writes. (5 stars)
- BEAUTY AND THE BEAST—Ed says the new family film is terrific! (5 stars)
- THE SHACK—Ed explains why he gives this controversial Christian film 4.5 out of 5 stars. There are some redeeming moments in the movie, he says.
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