Films & TV
“Amidst much talk about vocation in the Church, director Stephen Spielberg has created a thoroughly entertaining and multi-layered meditation on the subject that never fails to enthral,” says Jonathan Sargeant from St Francis College
Books & Guides
“This is a delightful worship tale of the creation of the world from various characters, including the Professor, God and of course…the Sheep. Interspersed with carols, music, silence, artwork, and a dance for sheep, the message of the Gospel is clear and loud. I am still musing on how I might adjust this liturgy for a Christmas Eve service with an Aussie spin – The Gospel According to Koalas/Kangaroos/Wombats? Any other ideas?” says The Rev’d Dr Ceri Wynne
“The documentary feature, Franklin, interweaves Oliver Cassidy’s solo rafting trip down the Franklin River, his personal life journey, his late father’s rafting trip 40 years earlier and the history of the ‘No Dams’ campaign,” says The Rev’d Canon Gary Harch from St John’s Cathedral
“I stopped disclosing my disabilities after one conversation when I said I was autistic and had been having a hard time with sensory issues, and the person responded by saying that this was happening to me because I wasn’t praying enough. I saw this book, and my immediate thought was, ‘Yes! Someone gets it!’,” says Mel Maddox, Parish of Freshwater Synod Representative and Equitable Access Working Group member
“If you want to see a film for a chuckle that you forget on the drive home, this might work…But if you love a film that entertains, while playing on your mind, leaving you discussing fervently for days afterwards, gradually unlocking its sophisticated riddles, say ‘yes’ to NOPE! This is complex art soaked in popcorn thrills,” says anglican focus film reviewer, Jonathan Sargeant from St Francis College
“Tony Rinaudo’s literally groundbreaking method of reforesting millions of hectares of land without planting a single tree was later named Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration,” says Chair of Angligreen, The Rev’d Peter Moore
“A ‘benediction’ is a divine invocation for blessing or help. The film Benediction is also such a thing – a desperate and lingering cry for wholeness amidst some of the very worst that humanity can inflict upon itself,” says Jonathan Sargeant from St Francis College
“As Friendship’s book reveals to us, monasticism offers a distinct wisdom to ponder – a wisdom that is being written in the lives of so many people who continue to test and live out this vocation from God, in both old and new ways,” says Bishop Godfrey Fryar
“The Idol tells the story of how Mohammad Assaf travelled from the Khan Yunis refugee camp in Palestine’s Gaza strip to the Arab Idol competition in Beirut. Since the film is based on real life and the outcome is famously known, the artistic challenge for the filmmaker was to present the story in a fresh way that keeps the viewer engaged,” says The Rev’d Dr Greg Jenks, who is the former Dean of St George’s College, Jerusalem
“This hymn is a very useful addition to our repertoire of congregational hymnody, of course, and also has other more nuanced possibilities. For example, the first two lines of each verse might be sung by a soloist or small group, with the congregation joining in the repeated final line each time. Or it might be used as a quiet background during intercessions, with the final line used as the people’s repeated spoken response to the prayers,” says The Rev’d Canon Dr David Cole
“Belfast achieves a kind of glistening memory of childhood that steers just the right side of over sentimentality. It is sweet but never sickly, incredibly charming without descending into smugness,” says anglican focus film reviewer, Jonathan Sargeant
“As a star, Aretha was a mostly private person, so the unexpected disclosures hit hard. That the film builds to the most emotional climax in its last few moments makes you forgive some arguably choppy pacing and disappearing characters,” says anglican focus film reviewer, Jonathan Sargeant
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