Creating Conversation.

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Don’t forget to check!

Here’s a little reminder to keep checking the listing times for Weaving Life on your local ABC station! There are still several cities that are going to be showing it in the next few weeks.

Don’t see your city or you missed the airing? Don’t worry! You can go to here and purchase a copy of Weaving Life and copy a of the Making Friends Among the Taliban. This could make a great Christmas gift!

 

 

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Missional Shift

Today I would like to introduce you to a new resource that I found on the Weaving Life Facebook page. If you haven’t been there it is a great source for many articles and other news. The article that I found was Steve Knight‘s review of Making Friends Among the Taliban by Jonathan Larson.  Knight is the author of the blog call Missional Shift which focuses on the missional church conversation. He reviews different books and starts conversations on this topic. This may seem like just a promotional post, but there are a few key ideas that Knight has pointed out. One idea that I like that he pointed was when he said:

“I firmly believe the future will require greater interfaith dialogue and understanding, and the example of Dan Terry is deeply inspiring and challenging to me. Most of us will never experience the cross-cultural challenges of immersing ourselves in a “foreign” land, as Terry did, but this story has much to teach us here in the West, especially as we consider living missionaly in a North American context.”

Knight also talks about the idea of missional storytelling and then mentions several books; Chasing the Dragon, Bruchko, and Peace Child. I was pleasantly surprise as I recognized the one of those titles. When I was in 7th grade my Bible class read Bruchko. It is a story of a young man, Bruce Olson who was only 19 years old, that travels to South America to become a missionary to the indigenous Motilone Indians. He dedicates his life to learning the culture and language of the Motilones so he can teach them the Gospel of Christ. It is a fairly easy read, for I was only 13 when I read it. To this day I still remember the story that is told and I encourage you to give it a read when you finish Making Friends among the Taliban.

Do you have any other examples of missional storytelling?

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Metaphor and Meaning; Weaving Life at Washburn High School

Hello it is Paulette Moore, executive producer of Weaving Life and associate prof of media arts and peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University. We are here, on the ground for Day Two at Big Water Film Festival in Washburn, WI.  Our film screens today at around 11am at Stage North and we are excited about that!

One of my favorite aspects of presenting a film is the fresh details and meaning others bring as they watch the film.  Yesterday I presented clips and the idea of relationship and responsibility in media to a grade 12 English class at Washburn, High School as a related festival event. The class was engaged in all of the considerations of the film:  the technical, the editorial, and the ethical.  Students were struck by the idea of the metaphorical visuals we use in the film; the rugs and the abstract b-roll throughout.

Washburn High School Students Discuss Weaving Life

Two bits of feedback were particularly meaningful.  Olaf said at first he was puzzled why the video in Anneli’s description of her conflicted relationship with her dad, Dan Terry, was blurry.  Then he realized that Anneli was dealing with both memory of an event and reconciling how “blurry” that relationship was at the time.

The Metaphor of the Blurry Shot

Gina was visibly touched at a cutaway of a cup with a bird on it held by Anneli in the same section – where Anneli discusses her relationship with Dan. She felt there was such fragility in that image of the bird and the tentative way Anneli held the cup. She felt it directly related to the fragility of Anneli and Dan’s relationship.  This also brought in the idea of tea and relationship so present as larger themes in the film.

A Cup, a Bird Reflects an Evolving Relationship

What a gift for people to offer such thoughtful feedback.  It honors the Terry family’s story and our work on the film.  Thank you!

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Weaving Life at Big Water Film Festival, Washburn WI

Weaving Life Screens Saturday, 11/10 at 11am Stage North

Paulette Moore, associate professor of media arts and peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University and executive producer of Weaving Life travels to Washburn, WI this weekend to present the documentary at the 5th annual Big Water Film Festival. Weaving Life screens Saturday 11/10 at 11am Stage North.

Here’s a trailer link for the pre-festival excellent film  The City Dark screened at Northland College last night.  This morning Paulette screens Weaving Life clips for an English class at Washburn High School and discusses relationship and responsibility as they relate to making art and media.  The festival opens officially TODAY at 4PM. Click here for festival press in Washburn’s local paper.

Follow our Twitter thread about the festival at @RestoringMohawk and @WeavingLife.  The Twitter hashtag for the event is #bwff2.

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Got ideas? We’d love to hear them

Let us know what ideas you have for this blog. Any special strories or events that you would like to see us try to cover. Speak up and we’ll see what we can do!

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What do you think?

Based on my previous post about the future of Afghanistan, what do you think?

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Contrasting Views

One of the reasons that Dan Terry’s work in Afghanistan was so important is that he was bridging the large societal gap between Western and Eastern powers. It is important to recognize that the work Dan was attempting to do was by no means easy; people from the West have many different views than people from the Middle East. Unfortunately  it often seems that these views are in direct contrast with each other. This was highlighted for me today when two news stories (released around the same time) had differing views on the future of Afghanistan. One article, which appeared in The Guardian (a news organization based in the U.K.) was under the impression that once foreign troops withdraw in 2014, Afghanistan will not be prepared and ready to lead on its own. An opposing view appeared in a Khaleej Times article (based in the UAE) that claimed that Afghanistan was well prepared for the final withdraw of troops.

Read the Khaleej Times article here

Read The Guardain article here

Why do you think both sides feel so differently? Is there any way we will know for sure until 2014? In the meantime though, we should continue to strive to get to know “the other side”, just as Dan Terry would have.

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Pax Bellissima

Looking for something (free!) to do on Saturday November 3 at 4:00 p.m.? Want to learn more about Arts and Peacebuilding? Come join many others at the gallery opening of the show Pax Bellissima by Center for Justice and Peacebuilding Artist in Residence, Dr. Lisa Schirch.

Pax Bellissima means “beautiful peace” in Latin. Dr. Schrich has taken this time to reflect on her work in many other countries building a greater understanding of peacebuilding and creating dialogue in civil and military situations dealing with current policy issues.

Dr. Schirch has created a series of pottery, paintings and photography that will be on display in the Hartzler Gallery at Eastern Mennonite University for several weeks. The formal opening takes place on Saturday November 3 at 4:00 p.m., but if you can’t make it you can still stop by and see the beautiful images and pottery.

Dr. Schirch will be at the opening and give an artist talk and share her reflections on this artwork. Light refreshments will be served as well.

Lisa Schrich works at the pottery wheel creating one of several pieces that will be featured in the show on November 3

Dr. Schrich was also featured in the Weaving Life film and has written 5 books on peacebuilding and conflict prevention.

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Arts and Peacebuilding

Today I’d like offer you a new path to walk as we continue this journey. There is a new idea that has been in the process for sometime, yet many people do not know much about it. Arts and Peacebuilding. The Center for Justice and Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University has many students and faculty that have been and are currently working in this area. How can the Arts relate to Peacebuilding?

I’d like to encourage you to take a few minutes and read how some students at EMU are discovering this connection through the Pax Bellissima Blog. Here you can find more information about what is Pax Bellissima?, Activities of Grad students in the Peacebuilding program, and much more!

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