Showing results by author "Peter Menkin" in All Categories

Pieter Bruegel’s epic masterpiece The Way To Calvary depicts the story of Christ’s Passion set in Flanders under brutal Spanish occupation in the year 1564, the very year Bruegel created his painting. From among the more than five hundred figures that fill Bruegel’s remarkable canvas, The Mill & The Cross focuses on a dozen characters whose life stories unfold and intertwine in a panoramic landscape populated by villagers and red-caped horsemen.

In this interview with Shari Karney, Esq., the attorney and commentator discusses her opinions on the subject of child molesting, specifically referencing the recent Sandusky trial.

There is increasing American national attention on the often secret subject of child molesting and child molesters. Attorney Shari Karney of Santa Monica, California, has been working on these kinds of cases with others in the United States and especially California - almost as a crusade, as revealed in this interview.

This book draws on case material from Yale Professor, Sister Janet Ruffing's experience with directees and students for many years as well as postmodern understandings of the narrative-creating self.

Spirit Rock is not a New Age Center, per se. Located in San Francisco's Bay Area (Marin County's Woodacre), Spirit Rock is home to Buddhists. They are not Zen Buddhists, as they emphasized. They are Theravada, as is one of their founding members the teacher and popular writer Jack Kornfield.

Where it is located, Marin County, many find Spirit Rock a refreshing and spiritual place to visit and take for a retreat. Marin County, and in specific Southern Marin, is not a place for Christian worship.

They dance. They sing. They speak in tongues and shout - so the Reverend Bobby Perkins elicits. Dauntless, a stand-up Christian, Reverend Bobby Perkins preaches in the subways of Washington, D.C. where he has a heart for the drug addicts. His church members preach on the streets and speak to the lowly; real conversation goes on in this documentary. These are real people, and you may not have met them before.

In another of the ongoing series with Anglican and Christian poets this religion writer chose to interview Jewish poet and translator Peter Cole. One of his agents suggested a Jewish poet, though Ofer Ziv of Blue Flower Arts knew the series was made up of Christians and Anglicans. The mystic, poet, and secular Jewish married man of letters who is a scholar is reticent to use the word God in an interview, and even reticent to admit to a belief in the Almighty. Yet this religious and spiritual scholar and poet has a recent book of translations of works from the Kabbalah in the book titled The Poetry of Kabbalah: Mystical Verse from the Jewish Tradition.

An old Ford with simple carburetor called a farm vehicle from 1965, the all steel monster filling the end of the driveway against the sidewalk and white picket fence is adorned with gods, figures, wicked and mean creatures of plaster and perhaps sculpted elves. Mixed among the flowers by the walk, and towards the west where the mountains stand before the ocean begins is a line-up of gods like headstones for memory of previous tenants in this rooming house among the redwood trees.

In a conversation spanning half hour segments numbering seven on the same number of separate days this religion writer talked with the Reverend Doctor Lawrence Michael Cameron, OAC. The subject: Mental Illness. That is the Reverend Doctor's business and has been for 25 years as a pastoral counselor. We talked by phone to his home in Indiana from mine in Mill Valley, California. An advocate for the mentally ill, Doctor C, as he is affectionately known, bent his comments to let the listener know of his favorable sense of hope for mentally ill people and their treatment.

This interview with Marie Howe, American poet and teacher, is the first of a series of three different interviews with American poets. Note some poems by Marie from her new book The Kingdom of Ordinary Time, are included in the Addendum to the interview - by permission of the poet, and of W.W. Norton publisher. Marie writes poetry of religious and spiritual kind, and other works most lovely and engaged in what one critic called the metaphysical.

Before Nelee Langmuir's death in Summer, 2010, her daughter wrote of her mother's experience as a Hidden Child. She wrote of it 2005, September 3 and Debra Wanner in so doing added her voice as a new generation to her mother's story. Here she serves as an introduction to the condensed narrative that follows of Nelee's oral history that tells of her remembrance of that time in her childhood, and that of her sister's, when through the help of good people in France, she and her sister escaped from the German Nazi occupiers.

This is a comprehensive and well-researched paper that should encourage those working to preserve marriage as an institution that strengthens our society. The paper on marriage written by Alan Wisdom titled, "Is Marriage Worth Defending," has been on my own interest-screen since January, 2011. This likeable and readable paper of some note and considerable interest on the subject of traditional marriage, with a section on Gay Marriage, was originally produced in 2009 by Institute on Religion and Democracy.

An American journalist named Ben Harris, who works for Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA), is traveling the world in search of stories about Jews in their various communities. This lively interview with Harris, the "Wandering Jew", about his travels and traveling, was done mostly by email, with two conversations via webcam on Skype. When this writer spoke to Harris off the record for background, he was in the Jewish Telegraphic Agency offices in New York City, but the reported interview via email comes mostly while he was abroad.

This interview with Illinois Poet Tania Runyan is the result of sending an inquiry to Wordfarm Press in Washington State asking to see some works in published form of Anglican and Christian poets who they thought make good subjects for this series. Sally Craft, an editor at the press, sent a number of books to review. Though all were worthwhile and certainly enjoyable to read, it was Tania Runyan who stood out in this religion writer’s mind.

The second slim book of poems by Peter Menkin, a continuation of the first, this work was an early inspiration in the manuscript preparation for his other works.

Poet Susan Wheeler's interview is another in an ongoing series with Anglican and Christian poets. Professor Wheeler is director of Princeton University's creative writing department (Lewis Center for the Arts) in New Jersey. The students in the class immediately spoke of her personal relationship with Jesus. She was found out. She had a personal relationship with Jesus, and [it was] sort of thrilling. After that she became overt in her references. Ledger and Other Works is a combination of selected works. Ledger is about faith and stewardship.

In an effort to discover what the Yale Institute of Sacred Music does - and even take a look at how the Institute of Sacred Music explores Christianity - these two interviews were developed. The first is with Martin Jean, Director of the Institute. He speaks directly to the listener about the Institute. The second interview is with new fellow at the Institute for Sacred Music, David Stowe. He exemplifies one aspect of exploring Christianity and looking at Sacred Music.

For my way of thinking, the work of a poet is the result of a gift. This is especially true of a poet who writes poetry of faith. Robert H. Siegel of Maine, USA, is a man with a gift. He is also a man who writes poetry that reflects his faith while writing about God's creatures, animals and such, in a lovely way that a naturalist can love. So I believe.

An interview with filmmaker Melissa Howden about her grandfather, US Army Chaplain "Ted" Howden. Chaplain Howden is considered a holy man by many. He was an Episcopal Priest who died in WW II in a POW camp.

Seasons of Faith: Religious and Spiritual Poetry captures listeners' senses and give them a reflective experience - allowing them to boost their spirit and inspire them to live a meaningful life. Spiritually inspiring, filled with insights, and life altering, Seasons of Faith: Religious and Spiritual Poetry is engaging poetry that everyone will surely enjoy.

During a photo show, held in the Gallery 1055 in San Francisco, and a Gallery created by The Rt. Reverend Marc Andrus for display of religious and spiritual work relevant to the Diocese and its ministry, the author spoke with The Night Minister himself. Later this writer interviewed The Reverend Lyle Beckman in November, 2010 by phone in the evening on two separate evenings. This intriguing interview that tells so much of his work, and the work of others in Night Ministry.