Suggested Reading and Watching
AMAZING GRACE.
Bristol Bay Productions LLC. 2006
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment LLC. 2007
I watched this movie for the second time on New Year’s Eve 2009. I wanted to hear and see the message of the film before beginning a new year. The message of AMAZING GRACE is of hope, justice, courage and staying on course in the face of tremendous odds. The film has humor, tears and a story that speaks to our time as well as the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
AMAZING GRACE tells the account of 2 passionate men, a cause and a haunting hymn. William Wilberforce was a member of Parliament who was devoted to the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade. For over 20 years, he introduced a bill every year to end this practice in the midst of revolution, social upheaval, war, and his own personal struggles. The impetus for his campaign to end slavery is his relationship with John Newton, who wrote the hymn “Amazing Grace”. Wilberforce also did what was necessary to understand what the slaves went through on their before, during and after their journey. For example, he visits a slave ship. What he found is difficult to watch, while pointing out that causes are not just ideas. They may require that feet get wet, noses get offended and hands get dirty.
WATCH THIS MOVIE! The parallels to issues in our own time make it even more thought provoking. I warn you - it sticks with you. And, don’t turn off your DVD player before watching the performance of “Amazing Grace” at the end. It added the final punch to the movie to what is ultimately a story of hope and victory.
Submitted by: Patti L. Briner
January 5, 2010
The Heart Is a Little to the Left: Essays in Public Morality by William Sloane Coffin. 1999
When William Sloane Coffin died in April of 2006, the voice of a courageous modern prophet was silenced. He has written several books that continue to speak for him, though. I highly recommend that you become familiar with the ideas of Coffin and this book is a good start. It is only 81 pages long and each page is full of the heart of a man committed to justice and love.
This author knows how to take a phrase and turn it around. Turning the phrase around brings the reader up short. While reading this book, I kept stopping to reread sentences because they were so full of meaning, needing further consideration. For example, Coffin wrote “Spirituality means to me living the ordinary life extraordinarily well.” (p. 2). That made me do some thinking about what living a spiritual life might actually be all about. It is certainly not about being separated from the “stuff” of everyday life.
The views expressed in this book are controversial. You may not agree with some of them. My belief is that Mr. Coffin would not have been upset by that. He encouraged thought, discussion and questions. He has challenged me to a life with love as the focus. I encourage you to examine this challenge for yourself.
--submitted by Patti L. Briner
FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO. A film by Daniel Karslake. 2007
I would like to recommend you view the DVD - FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO. You may have heard of it, since one of the stories included is of the Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire, Gene Robinson. His story, as well as the others, is worth considering in this film.
This documentary may make you laugh. It may have you in tears. It reveals reasons for hope and the joy found when God’s love is enjoyed by all. You may not agree with some of it or even all of it. Still, you cannot help but be moved by the stories of struggle, of love, of forgiveness and pain that infuse the characters with humanity. It will challenge you to think about your views on the Bible and what it means for your life as an individual and in community. I doubt you will remain indifferent after seeing this story of families, of gay and lesbian individuals and those who would deny their existence.
I was impressed by the honesty in this film. Family members who struggle with their gay/lesbian relatives are open about their feelings. The struggle with scripture (thus the title of the film) is illustrated from different viewpoints and serves as the center for the stories.
The DVD is available through Amazon and the Dayton Metro Library, although the list to checkout the film is quite long. I also own a copy and am willing to lend it out to those interested. (Submitted by Patti L. Briner)
Take This Bread by Sara Miles, Ballentine Books, New York, 2007
This was our Summer Reading Book for 2008
“Early one morning, for no earthly reason, Sara Miles, raised an atheist, wandered into a church, received communion, and found herself transformed—embracing a faith she’d once scorned. A lesbian left-wing journalist who’d covered revolutions around the world, Miles didn’t discover a religion that was about angels or good behavior or piety; her faith centered on real hunger, real food, and real bodies. Before long, she turned the bread she ate at communion into tons of groceries, piled on the church’s altar to be given away. Within a few years, she and the people she served had started nearly a dozen food pantries in the poorest parts of their city. Take This Bread is rich with real-life Dickensian characters—church ladies, millionaires, schizophrenics, bishops, and thieves—all blown into Miles life by the relentless force of her newfound calling. Here, in this achingly beautiful, passionate book, is the living communion of Christ.” --From the back cover of Take this Bread
I discovered this book by reading reviews of it in some of the periodicals I read on a regular basis. It was only later that I found out it was being used with prospective members of Christ Church. Excellent choice!
A clergyman, with 30 years of experience in parish ministry, decided to write this book when he struggled to find material to introduce Anglicanism/The Episcopal Church to participants in his new members’ classes. Think about it! How would you describe the Episcopal Church to someone from another tradition? Can you answer questions about our history, traditions, and practices? Do you have a background for understanding Lambeth, which is wrapping up as I write? Why are you an Episcopalian Christian? Did you know we are a church centered in the Incarnation? What does that mean?
The Introduction to this book goes a long way toward answering some of the above questions. It certainly gives you a lot to think about. It is the most readable, succinct, yet thorough description of Anglicanism and the Episcopal Church. Sure, 20 some odd pages is not enough to explain it all. Yet, Richard Schmidt captures the essence of being an Episcopalian. I now know why I worship with other Episcopalian Christians!
After the Introduction, Schmidt discusses 29 influential persons from the last 5 centuries of our history. He introduces each person with an essay placing the person in history and giving some background of his/her life. He provides some examples of the person’s writing, whether it be poetry or prose. The chapter ends with some questions meant for discussion with others or reflection as an individual. The chapters cover Thomas Cranmer, who was born in 1489, to Desmond Tutu (b. 1931). Reading about Verna J. Dozier was a special treat for me. She knew what it was to live a life of faith and was willing to share what she learned through the years. I would have loved to be privy to conversations she had with people.
This is the kind of book in which the chapters can be read in any order. I found it helpful to read a chapter a day. I kept track of books mentioned that would help me to learn more about the person in a chapter. We really have a rich and diverse heritage. (Reviewed by: Patti L. Briner)
THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS. DVD. 2009.
Based on the book by John Boyne.
The setting is Poland during WWII. Eight year old Bruno and his family have moved from Berlin to the Polish countryside where his father is a soldier high up in the German military. Bruno is restless after the move. He misses his buddies in Berlin. Although told not to go behind the house, his adventurous spirit leads him to the backyard and beyond. He is startled when he comes up to a fence, electrified and barbed. He believes that the buildings he has seen from a high window in his home make up a “farm“. Actually, his father doesn’t attempt to refute the belief of the family that there is a “farm” in the distance behind the house. Bruno and his mother become curious about the awful stench that comes from the area of the “farm” when they notice black smoke billowing from there.
After being startled by the fence, Bruno notices a little boy sitting on the other side of the fence. He cannot understand why the boy is out in his striped pajamas. The boy on the other side of the fence is Bruno’s age and they become friends. The striking contrasts between the boys as they communicate is nearly unbearable to the viewer or at least it was to me. Seeing the war and a concentration camp through the naïve eyes of 8 year olds is both fascinating and heartbreaking.
The meaning of that barbed, electrical fence is explored through the course of the movie. The messages of the movie hold true today as they did at the time of the war. Sometimes we don’t know what all is going on right in our own backyard, the suffering in our neighborhoods and city. Crossing the fence that separates can be liberating and costly. Not everything is what is seems, particularly as Bruno secretly watches a propaganda film about the camps made by the Nazis. I will leave it to you to find your own meanings in this movie that keeps you in its grip while viewing and for days to follow.
I cannot recommend this movie highly enough. It is not as graphic about this subject as some other films about WWII and the concentration camps. Yet, the horror is just as graphic in the mind of those who choose to watch it.
-reviewed by Patti L. Briner
THE SOLOIST. DVD.
When Lisa brought this DVD home, I had no intention of reviewing it. I knew it was a good movie from other reviews I had read. I had no idea how moving and relevant it would be. It is the kind of movie that gets under your skin. The images are bound to stay with you for a while.
The film stars Robert Downey Jr.(Academy Award nominee) and Jamie Foxx (Academy Award winner). Robert Downey plays a newspaper reporter looking for stories. He happens to come across a homeless street musician (Foxx), who struggles to play a violin with only 2 strings. Downey recognizes the enormous talent, even as it comes from only 2 strings! He decides to investigate this person some more and ends up writing a series of stories about him for his newspaper. He also takes various actions to encourage this sad but talented person to get off the street and become more involved in music.
The various scenes of the homeless in Los Angeles are grim and disturbing. The reporter is thrown into a world he really has trouble comprehending as he becomes involved with a shelter, its residents, and the workers who labor there. He really has to ask some serious questions about himself and his motives when he realizes the life he envisions for the street musician may not be what this gifted but troubled individual wants or needs. Does he have the right or responsibility to impose his values on the musician? Ultimately, it comes down to friendship and respect between these 2 individuals.
We encounter the homeless in our lives in the Dayton area. This movie provides a realistic insight into their lives. I believe this more informed awareness can only improve the steps we take in following Jesus.
Reviewed by: Patti L. Briner
THE WOMAN BEHIND THE COLLAR: THE PIONEERING JOURNEY OF AN EPISCOPAL PRIEST, Joy Carroll Wallis, 2002
Have you ever seen the PBS British comedy The Vicar of Dibly? I don’t think it is currently being broadcast on any of the local PBS stations. Watch for it! It is worth viewing and the person who wrote the book above is the vicar consulted by the show for the character of Geraldine. Geraldine is the vicar in the small farming community of Dibly. She is funny, down-to-earth, faithful and caring. The cast of characters around her make the show a hoot to watch.
This book is also fun to read. Joy Carroll Wallis has lived an interesting life. Her outspoken personality has led to many situations of humor and surprise. On a more serious note, her professional story intersected with the Church of England’s struggle over the issue of the ordination of women. Chapter 7 discusses the confusion, battles, hurts and joys that came from this time in the history of the Church. It reminded me of the current conflicts over the place of gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual people in the life of the Episcopal Church in this country. I believe that account puts this contemporary issue in good historical perspective.
The stories of this woman’s life are full of humor, faith, sadness, inspiration and contemporary interest. They are stories for all of God’s people, not just those who enter church vocations. I read it in a day, wanting to find out what her next adventure in life would be. She currently lives in the United States with her two sons and husband Jim Wallis of Sojourner’s, a magazine that looks at the world through a progressive, evangelical point of view. I receive and read this magazine. I will try to get some issues up in the library at the church so you can take a look at it.
In 1995, Joy was featured in a documentary about women priests. At the time, the Church in England was involved in scandal, contention and suffered from a downright negative image. Her goal was to be more positive. She summed up her belief about the church in the following way: “There is a difference between the institution of the of the church, which I find quite difficult at times, and God. I stay within the institution because I believe in a God who isn’t bound by it.” (quoted on page 185 in the book). With that said, I will leave it to you to get to know the author better by reading this book.
Reviewed by: Patti Briner