Women and Spirituality: The Goddess Trilogy
Posted on June 2, 2008 at 8:00 am
B+| Lowest Recommended Age: | High School |
| MPAA Rating: | NR |
Women & Spirituality
This is an inspiring examination of the spiritual lives of women in ancient and modern times.
Interview: At the Death House Door
Posted on May 27, 2008 at 8:00 am
At the Death House Door is an extraordinary documentary from the makers of “Hoop Dreams.” It is the story of Pastor Carroll Pickett, who served 15 years as the death house chaplain to the infamous “Walls” prison unit in Huntsville. He spent the last 24 hours with 95 different men who were about to be executed. After each was killed, Pickett recorded an audiotape account of his trip to the death chamber. Through his experiences, including the witnessing of the execution of a man later proven to be innocent, he became convinced that the death penalty was wrong. The film premieres on May 29 at 9:00 PM Eastern on the Independent Film Channel.
I spoke to Pastor Pickett about his experiences:
How did you first come to work at the prison?
I was minister of a Presbyterian church in Huntsville Texas. During the time I was at that church they had a prison siege and the director called me and said, “I want you to minister to the families of those who were hostages. For 11 days and nights they were held hostage and then they had a big shoot out across the street. The only ones killed were two of my church members. I was planning to do one’s wedding the next Saturday. Then in 1980 the same guy who called me asked me to come work at the prison for one year. I went for one year. I didn’t sign any papers but I stayed there 16 years. God had prepared me back in 1974 to go to the prison. I went there believing this was God’s will. I felt like God wanted me to be there. As it says in the Bible, “I was in prison and you came to me.”
What surprised you about the prison experience?
The biggest thing that surprised me that there were so many nice people who were willing to participate in the program, so many who were Christians who had, for lack of a better term, left the fold. There were so many victimless crimes, so many who were innocent, so many who had made financial mistakes.
What did you try to teach them?
We helped them understand that it is happier and better to live the way God wants you to — whatever religion you are. We had Catholics, 26 Jewish people — we had the first seder in the prison. In prison you can still practice your faith, and I was so happy many of them were really willing to give a lot. There were a lot of people who were good but had made mistake. I don’t believe in rehabilitation, but these people had changed. one night had changed me. So many of them got out. Close to 100 who used to be in prison are now ministers.
What did you use to reach these people?
I believe that the music is so important. So many people are musicians and express themselves musically. We started a choir. We had a different one for the Catholics because they sing different songs, one for the Hispanics, a gospel for the black prisoners. One of the requirements was that in order to be a part of the choir they had to maintain all the rules, they had to work, they had to participate in all the activities. One former back up singer for Don Ho was one of my singers, a state Supreme Court justice was one of my singers. I was permitted to give points for parole for those who participated.
Did the prisoners help each other?
Yes! The prisoners ministered to each other. We had 28 ministers in prison. Ministers go to prison too. We had a father and son who were missionaries in South America. The mother died and the father got real angry at God, so they became bank robbers. And a lot of ministers get framed.
Tell me about your work with the men on death row.
I was chaplain for the people in the death house. I only got to see them on the last day, the way it was set up. I stayed with them usually from 6 am to 12 midnight. We used to execute them at 12. After helping 95 walk the gurney and get killed by the state, I concluded that there are innocent people being put to death and there are mentally retarded. Because of the “law of parties,” there are those who are guilty by law but not by crime. The one who actually did the crime got off and the other one was executed.
Carlos De Luna was innocent, we proved he was innocent. He had no father, his father left him and his stepfather was a drunk. On that last day, I took care of him all day long and we got along real well. I told him I believed he was innocent and he said, “I wish everybody else did.” That afternoon he asked, “Can I call you Daddy? That is different than being called “Father.” I have a son the same age. That changed the whole attitude in the death house, that night, letting him call me that. Carlos said, “Thank you Daddy. Thanks for being with me, Daddy. I wish I had you when I was a boy — I would never have been a problem at all.” He asked, “Daddy, would you pray?” He was in the cell, on his knees. I put my hands through the bars. That is illegal but I did not pay attention to those rules. While they strapped him to the gurney he said, “Daddy, I appreciate you being here today.” I never will forget those big brown eyes looking at me. He kept looking up. I don’t know what he was trying to say. I was hoping he would say, “Thank you, Daddy.” That’s the way I would like to believe. He was a good kid. I would have taken him home forever.
IFC has made available teaching materials about the movie.
Why and when do we pray? — “Then She Found Me”
Posted on May 13, 2008 at 9:00 am
Oscar-winner Helen Hunt returns to the screen in the upcoming “Then She Found Me,” adapted from the book
Hunt’s character, April, is an observant Jew, like her adoptive parents. Her biological mother, Bernice, is not observant in any religion. At the doctor’s office, about to undergo artificial insemination, Bernice suggests that April pray. April refuses. And then, almost unheard of in a Hollywood film (and not in the book, either), the two of them have a private discussion of the meaning and importance of prayer. Do we pray when we feel closest to and most trusting of God or when we feel most lost and bereft? One reason April cannot bring herself to pray at this moment is that it will require her to think about just how much it means to her and to think about the role the connection that God plays in her life. She does not want to think about either. She does not want to give up the notion that this thing she is doing is human — and therefore controllable, not divine. We see for the first time how sensitive Bernice can be and how much she cares about April, how well she understands how much April needs to be more honest with herself about what is going on.
April does pray. But I wonder if the prayer she says is the one a real-life observant Jew would say in those circumstances. I guessed she would say Mishaberach, a prayer of healing, or Shehekianu, a prayer of gratitude and being in the moment. Instead, she says the oldest and holiest of prayers, the Shema. Perhaps the screenwriters use that prayer because it is the most widely recognized. Or perhaps, in her moment of greatest hope and anguish, April would reach back to the first prayer she learned, the one that reminds us that God is One.
Pangea Day — sharing stories worldwide
Posted on May 11, 2008 at 4:00 pm
The fist Pangea Day was every bit as heart-warming, inspiring, and thrilling as I had hoped. I was privileged to participate at the Epicenter Church, a new Christian Faith Community located in Rosslyn, Virginia, just across the Potomac River from Washington DC. Pastor Paul Nixon and worship leader Ward Ferguson gave us a very warm welcome. We were a very small group, only nine of us, but through the huge screen we felt very much a part of the thousands world-wide who came together around the modern-day equivalent of a campfire to share our stories.
Pangea Day was like a cross between Live Aid, Woodstock, Oprah, and the Disney park ride “It’s a Small World After All.” It was the dream of film-maker Jehane Noujaim to bring people around the world together by allowing them to share their stories via film. Anthropologist Donald Brown spoke about his inventory of “human universals,” the things that connect all people in all cultures, from rituals and customs around meals, gift-giving, and life cycle events to sharing, insults, and the expression of feelings like mourning, competition, love — even tickling. There were live appearances, musical performances, and interviews, some a little awkward, cheesy, or glitchy, but all well-intentioned, and the four-hour presentation centered on the sharing of stories from film-makers around the world.
Each of the films is only a few minutes long and all are well worth watching. One of my favorites was “The Ball,” the first film shown, from Mozambique, about boys in need of a soccer ball. The funniest included “The Slap” and “Elevator Music,” but the one that provoked the biggest reaction from our group was “Laughter Club,” a mini-documentary about groups around the world who meet just to practice Laughter Yoga. The most poignant and moving films included “Dancing Queen” from India and brief segments from “Operation Homecoming,” with commentary from an American soldier serving in Iraq and Noujaim’s Combatants for Peace, with former soldiers from Israel and Palestine who are working together to find reconciliation and peace.
The most romantic included the wordless “A Thousand Words” and “Mutual Recognition,” an excerpt from Noujaim’s own film that includes an interview with a Sufi couple about what makes their marriage strong. Their message — through words and through their expressions as they look at and listen to one another — is deeply inspiring. Perhaps the film that best summed up the day’s message was “Wallyball,” a mini-documentary about a wall dividing a beach along the U.S./Mexican border. As helicopters and soldiers maintain national security by keeping these neighbors apart, the people enjoying their time on the beach develop a volleyball game across the divider. Be sure to watch for the ice cream truck. It reminds me of one of my very favorite short animated films, “The Hat,” by John and Faith Hubley.
Many of the stories affirmed the universality and connection of human experience. Topics like anger, love, and hope were addressed with brief comments by people all over the world. Some of the stories were about experiences so devastating most of us are unable even to begin to contemplate the devastation and trauma they inflict. Ishmael Beah
spoke of his two years as child soldier in Sierra Leone and his struggle to recover his humanity and transcend the experience, to “learn to transform the war experiences to they were no longer a burden but instructional tools.” Israeli Robi Damelin
and Palestinian Ali Abu Awwad held hands as they came on stage to talk about how the killing of their family members led them to forgive and seek forgiveness and to work for reconciliation and peace.
In a live interview with the former soldiers who appeared in the “Combatants for Peace” film, the Israeli veteran revealed that hours before his mother and brother were shot in a peace demonstration, a powerful reminder that there are daunting challenges ahead. But his appearance, even after that incident, with his new friend and former enemy was an even more powerful reminder that while it may be a long and difficult journey, we have taken the first steps.
Please take a moment to watch some of the films. And make some of your own to keep this conversation going.
Mythos from Joseph Campbell
Posted on April 7, 2008 at 8:00 am
B+Joseph Campbell believed there was “one great story of mankind” and he spent his life collecting the great myths and parables of world cultures and religions and showing us the connections between them. His work has influenced everyone from Hollywood screenwriters (George Lucas cites him as the inspiration for the “Star Wars” movies) to abstract expressionist artists, diplomats and politicians, and, through his appearances on PBS, millions of people around the world. The Mythos series, the culmination of his work on the way that myths reveal and guide us, is inspiring and illuminating.
Joseph Campbell: Mythos I
Joseph Campbell: Mythos II