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Soul and Cinema Documentaries
Several Monday Evenings, Potluck at 5:30; Film starts at 6:30
July 7 – “The Power of Song: A Biography of Pete Seeger” Pete Seeger helped introduce America to its own musical heritage, devoting his life to using the power of song as a force for social change. With his deeply-held beliefs, Seeger went from the top of the pop charts to the top of the blacklist and was banned from American commercial television for more than 17 years. This first and only authorized biography of Seeger premiered on PBS in 2008.” A discussion will follow led by Rev. M’ellen Kennedy.
July 21 – “El Sistema” “El Sistema is a network of children’s and youth orchestras, music centres and workshops in Venezuela, in which more than 250,000 children and young people are currently learning to play an instrument. It was set up over thirty years ago by José Antonio Abreu, who was driven by the utopian vision of a better future. The story, which has all the makings of a fairy tale, is the extraordinary account of a vision that has become reality. Several of El Sistema’s young graduates now rank amongst the most coveted young talent in Europe – the most prominent being the conductor Gustavo Dudamel. This documentary, El Sistema, shows how Abreu’s astonishing ideas have led the way out of the vicious circle of poverty and how the power of music has been able to change the lives of hundreds of thousands of young people. The film shows the gripping way El Sistema functions on a daily basis in a typical nucléo: the La Rinconada nucléo is located adjoining the barrio of the same name. The area around the nucléo is considered one of the most dangerous and poorest areas in Caracas. Up to 300 children find their daily destination here.” A discussion will follow led by Rev. M’ellen Kennedy
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Rise Up Singing
Several Monday Evenings, Potluck at 5:30; Film starts at 6:30
July 14 & August 18 – Come lift your voice in song! We will gather together to sing songs from the Rise Up Singing songbook. Each person will have a chance to choose a song or two, and the group will sing the songs together. Bring your Rise Up Singing songbook if you have one, or there will be some extras to share. Erika Mitchell and friends will lead the singing.
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Book Discussions
Several Monday Evenings, Potluck at 5:30; Film starts at 6:30
August 4 – “Cold Mountain” by Charles Frazier is a 1997 historical novel which won the U.S. National Book Award for Fiction. It tells the story of W.P. Inman, a wounded deserter from the Confederate Army near the end of the American Civil War. He walks for months to return to Ada Monroe, the love of his life. The story shares several similarities with Homer’s Odyssey. The novel, interestingly enough, also has Universalist connections! Rev. M’ellen learned about the Universalist connections while she attended the Universalist Convocation in Cincinnati this Spring. In real life, there is a Universalist Inman Chapel in North Carolina where Frazier’s ancestors were members. One of the main characters, Ada, is the daughter of a minister. If You read the text with a theological eye, You can tell that they are Universalist, although Frazier doesn’t’ spell that out. There is a fascinating article in the Universalist Herald that delves into the Universalist heritage of this inspiring novel.
August 25 – “Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us” by Michael Moss, who was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for explanatory reporting in 2010, and was a finalist for the prize in 2006 and 1999. He is also the recipient of a Loeb Award and an Overseas Press Club citation. Some of us started reading this book last summer, but we didn’t have a chance to discuss it.
