Documentary: “Beyond Belief” Sundays July 3 & 10

“Forgiveness: A Christian Response to God’s Merciful Love” is the theme of our summer Christian Education focus for all youth and adults.  Each Sunday morning in July and August we will gather in the Fellowship Room at 9:30 AM for a variety of activities inspired by this summer’s final Union Avenue Opera production entitled “Dead Man Walking.”  This production is based on the book of the same name by Sister Helen Prejean, detailing her experiences working with inmates on death row and raises questions about justice, forgiveness, prison reform, and what it means to forgive.

To begin this study series, we'll be viewing parts one and two of the documentary "Beyond Belief" on Sundays July 3 and 10 at 9:30 in the Fellowship Room.  “Beyond Belief,” details the story of Susan Retik and Patti Quigley -- two ordinary soccer moms living in the affluent suburbs of Boston until tragedy strikes -- both of their husbands are victims of the 9-11 attacks. Rather than turning inwards, grief compels these women to focus on the country where the terrorists who took their husbands’ lives were trained: Afghanistan.

Over the course of two years, as they cope with loss and struggle to raise their families as single mothers, these extraordinary women dedicate themselves to empowering Afghan widows whose lives have been ravaged by decades of war, poverty and oppression – factors they consider to be the root causes of terrorism. As Susan and Patti make the courageous journey from their comfortable neighborhoods to the most desperate Afghan villages, they discover a powerful bond with each other, an unlikely kinship with widows halfway around the world, and a profound way to move beyond tragedy.

From the ruins of the World Trade Center to those of Kabul and back, theirs is a journey of personal strength and international reconciliation, and a testament to the vision that peace can be forged... one woman at a time.

Reviews:

“Beyond Belief” tells one of the most unique and moving stories to come out of 9/11. Every American who advocates killing in the names of the people who died that day should see it. For the rest of us, it's a sobering look at a country in crisis and an emotional journey taken with two awe-inspiring women.

--- Daniel Holloway, Metro International

A moving and beautiful film about a pair of September 11th widows who have turned their own personal tragedy into a chance to help Afghan widows thousands of miles away. This is a human story about the universality of loss, grief, and the ways in which we search for healing.

--- Khaled Hosseini, Author of The Kite Runner

A truly remarkable story of two women filled with courage and determination.

--- ABC News

Genuinely inspirational.

--- New York Magazine