Matters of Faith:  Social Issues Film Series

On four Friday nights this fall, join us at Storrs Congregational Church UCC for a look at crucial concerns in our world today through the lens of four timely documentaries.  From the ways that the “War on Drugs” is creating racial injustice while crippling the American justice system, to a probing examination of human rights violations in Israel/Palestine… from an inspiring trip through time to revel in the creation and growth of the universe, to an examination of the fragility of this earth we cherish… each film invites us into the challenges and opportunities for engaging in work of justice and compassion.

Note also that the first two films relate to resolutions coming before the Connecticut Conference of the United Church of Christ at its 2014 annual meeting on October 17 & 18 in Cheshire.

September 10 @ 7pm:  The House I Live In

by Eugene Jarecki, 2012, 108 minutes

From the dealer to the narcotics officer, the inmate to the federal judge, a penetrating look inside America’s criminal justice system, revealing the profound human rights implications of U.S. drug policy and its impact on racial minorities.  A resolution being considered this fall by the Connecticut Conference of the UCC calls this system unjust, an outrageous violation of human rights, and seeks changes.  America does not just have the highest rate of incarceration in the world, but one that ius six to  ten times higher than other wealthy industrial nations.

October 10 @ 7pm:  Life In Occupied Palestine

by Anne Baltzer, 2009, 59 minutes

Anna Baltzer, a Jewish American, describes how citizens must cope living in occupied Palestine. Baltzer spent five months in the West Bank working with the International Women’s Peace Service. She found that the Israeli government’s policies have drastically and negatively affected normal Palestinian life, a point she says is missing from many news reports.  A resolution being considered this fall by the Connecticut Conference of the UCC calls for the conference and member churches to divest from companies profiting in the West Bank and Gaza and to boycott goods produced by Israeli companies in those territories.

November 14 @ 7pm:  Journey of the Universe

by David Kennard and Patsy Northcutt, 2011, 56 minutes

This marvelous Emmy Award winning documentary tells an epic story of cosmic, Earth and human transformation from The Big Bang to today. Evolutionary philosopher Brian Thomas Swimme and Yale historian of religions Mary Evelyn Tucker have crafted an elegant narrative that both illuminates and celebrates the profound role humans play in the flourishing of the Earth. Come and marvel at spectacular photography and the biggest story in the universe.

December 12 @ 7pm:  GasLand, Part II

by Josh Fox, 2013, 125 minutes

It is happening all across America-rural landowners wake up one day to find a lucrative offer from an energy company wanting to lease their property. Reason? The company hopes to tap into a reservoir dubbed the “Saudi Arabia of natural gas.” Halliburton developed a way to get the gas out of the ground-a hydraulic drilling process called “fracking”-and suddenly America finds itself on the precipice of becoming an energy superpower.

All screenings are offered free of charge… popcorn provided!  Screenings held on the new Metzgar Media Center in the SCC Library.