Sing a New Song?
Worship Across the Racial Divide: Religious Music and the Multiracial Congregation, by Gerardo Marti, is not a how-to book, but rather a sociological study that digs deep into the sometimes unexpected roles music does and doesn’t play in building and nurturing diverse faith communities. Oxford
Disarming Memory
In The Forgotten Bomb, filmmaker Bud Ryan tackles the conundrum of a world where the Cold War is over but nuclear weapons remain on high alert. What are the political, cultural, and psychological reasons these arsenals persist, and what is the true nature of the threat? www.forgottenbomb.com
Where There’s Smoke
Blues-folk singer Ruthie Foster proves she can make even “If I Had a Hammer” smolder on her new album Let It Burn. Her powerful voice, along with guests such as The Blind Boys of Alabama and legendary soul session musicians, propels this eclectic mix of covers and gospel-inflected originals. Blue Corn Music
Spiritual Exile
Where do you turn when God, once close, suddenly seems far, far away? In Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis, Lauren F. Winner writes an honest, graceful meditation on grief and doubt, desolation and consolation. HarperOne