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Reviews

Monday October 03

My Body is Not a Prayer Request: Disability Justice in the Church

“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

NOPE

“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

"The Forest Underground also offers an authentic example of Christians living under difficult conditions, while still being open to hearing the intertwined voices of Country and of God" (Chair of Angligreen, The Rev'd Peter Moore)

The Forest Underground

“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

Benediction

“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

What Do You Seek? Wisdom from religious life for today's world

“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

“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

‘Jesus, Saviour of the World’

“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 Dr David Cole

Belfast

“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

Respect

“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

‘Glorious the day when Christ was born’

“Liturgically, this wonderful hymn is especially fitting for Epiphany, Ascension, and Christ the King, as well as the Easter season (of course), and makes a wonderful processional hymn or a gathering-for-worship song,” says The Rev’d Canon Dr David Cole

Gender-Balanced Belief: A New Ethic for Christianity

“Reading this book has brought back memories of how we in the Movement for the Ordination of Women in the Anglican Church of Australia were joined by Catholic, Orthodox and Lutheran women and men, and others, to support our struggle for women’s ordination in the 1980s and 90s,” says Dr Gwenneth Roberts, trailblazing ordination of women campaigner

The Grizzlies

“I was won over. I think you will be, too, by the authentic tale of these young people inspired that darkness would not be their final destination. As the credits roll and you see images of the real-life equivalents of each of the cast members and their ongoing life situations, the transcendent uplift is palpable,” says anglican focus film reviewer Jonathan Sargeant