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Culture

Arts Feature

November 2009

Fifty Dead Men Walking

By Kevin Spurgaitis

Film about Northern Ireland depicts explosive passions without indulging in brutality

Courtesy of Montana Film Office

Arts Feature

November 2009

My Sister’s Keeper

By Drew Halfnight

Heartfelt story spins a web of human bonds and then delicately undoes them

Courtesy of Participant Media

Arts Feature

November 2009

Food, Inc.

By Chantal Braganza

Hard-hitting documentary sets out to empower us as consumers

Courtesy of First Light Production

Arts Feature

November 2009

The Hurt Locker

By Jocelyn Bell

Tensions are high in this film about bomb experts in Iraq

Courtesy of Big Beach Films

Arts Feature

November 2009

Away We Go

By David Wilson

Road movie is a cross-country tour of 21st-century family dysfunction

Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

Arts Feature

September 2009

Food movies for the soul

By Chantal Braganza

Food as an act of love, healing and personal achievement is something we can’t seem to get enough of in cinema

Courtesy of Penguin Books

Arts Feature

September 2009

Prisoner of Tehran: A Memoir

By Chantal Braganza

Author vividly describes the horrors of imprisonment in Revolutionary Iran

Arts Feature

September 2009

Extraordinary Canadians: Norman Bethune

By David Wilson

Former governor general embraces a Canadian physician as the true Canadian hero he was

Courtesy of Penguin Books

Arts Feature

September 2009

True Patriot Love

By Lee Simpson

Liberal leader believes in the brand of patriotism expressed in our national anthem

Arts Feature

September 2009

A Memoir of Friendship

By Jocelyn Bell

The exchanges between two authors brim with the details of their everyday lives

Arts Feature

September 2009

Lester B. Pearson

By Kenneth Bagnell

Biography examines the human elements of a former PM's diplomacy

Arts Feature

July 2009

Religion on NPR podcast

By Donna Sinclair

There’s a whole new universe to explore on national public radio

Arts Feature

July 2009

The New Yorker: Fiction Podcast

By Jocelyn Bell

Podcast contains all the grit, violence and sensuality of adult fiction

Courtesy of Philosophy Bites/Stuart Franklin

Arts Feature

July 2009

Philosophy Bites Podcast

By Chantal Braganza

Top philosophers offer a surprising amount of insight in very little time

Courtesy of PBS

Arts Feature

July 2009

NOW on PBS Podcast

By David Wilson

Exchanges on this award-winning public affairs show are electrifying

Courtesy of Chicago Public Radio

Arts Feature

July 2009

This American Life Podcast

By Kevin Spurgaitis

Program explores global issues as well as the peculiarities of human nature

Courtesy of Warner Brothers Pictures

Arts Feature

June 2009

Gran Torino

By Patricia Ingold

Clint Eastwood's latest film shows audiences bigotry, banditry and the fading American way of life

Courtesy of Warner Brothers Pictures

Arts Feature

June 2009

The superhero psyche

By Patricia Ingold

Comic book adaptions reveal the complex human beings behind the masks

Courtesy of Hot Docs

Arts Feature

June 2009

Act of God

By David Wilson

Thought-provoking documentary examines the primal role of electrical impulses on our planet and in our minds

Courtesy of Hot Docs

Arts Feature

June 2009

Tyson

By Kevin Spurgaitis

Brutally honest film returns some dignity to the former heavyweight boxing champion

Courtesy of Hot Docs

Arts Feature

June 2009

The Way We Get By

By Jocelyn Bell

A trio of troop greeters find joy and meaning in this documentary

Arts Feature

June 2009

Bloody Mondays and Strawberry Pies

By Kevin Spurgaitis

New documentary evocatively explores the upside of boredom

Courtesy of Téléfilm Canada

Arts Feature

May 2009

Adoration

By Drew Halfnight

A new film by Canadian director Atom Egoyan reveals the fault lines of fear in our post-9/11 consciousness

Courtesy of Dreamworks

Arts Feature

May 2009

The Soloist

By Drew Halfnight

New film exposes the underbelly of Los Angeles homeless life but gets carried away with its sentimental message

Courtesy of Mongrel Media

Arts Feature

May 2009

Water

By David Wilson

Canadian director reveals the exquisite beauty of India amidst Hindu fundamentalism

Courtesy of Red Light Films

Arts Feature

May 2009

Born into Brothels

By Kevin Spurgaitis

Award-winning documentary exposes the tribulations of childhood in Calcutta

Arts Feature

May 2009

The Namesake

By Kylie Taggart

Indian film offers a study of immigrant family life and invites audiences to embrace Bengali culture

Arts Feature

May 2009

A Peck on the Cheek

By Jocelyn Bell

Marriage, identity and escape are at the heart of this classic Bollywood melodrama

Arts Feature

May 2009

Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India

By Drew Halfnight

Acclaimed film shows the power of faith and the pursuit of dreams against all odds

Courtesy of Miramax Films

Arts Feature

April 2009

Doubt

By Drew Halfnight

Adaption of prize-winning play underscores the consequences of judging others and being wrong

Columns

(Photo: cuatrok77/Flickr via Creative Commons)

Cormorants aren't the devil

by Douglas Hunter

Ontario's proposed new measures amount to a slaughter of an entire native bird species for no scientifically compelling reason, says this writer

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Editorials

The United Church Observer's editor and publisher, Jocelyn Bell. (Photo: Lindsay Palmer)

The new name of 'The Observer' revealed!

by Jocelyn Bell

"United Church" will no longer be on the cover, but our commitment to sharing denominational news and perspectives remains the same

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Video

Meet beloved church cats Mable and Mouse

by Observer Staff

They're a fixture of Kirk United Church Centre in Edmonton.

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Society

February 2019

Marriage problems: Is the ancient tradition worth saving?

by Pieta Woolley

Bitterness and boredom seem to define many mid-life marriages, but we might not have to settle for apathy ever after

Ethics

February 2019

A Yukon artist and a Tlingit trapper create this stunning jewelry

by Amy van den Berg

The fur jewelry in Whitehorse boutique store V. Ægirsdóttir is creating a new possibility for future partnerships with the region's trappers

Columns

February 2019

Why white people need to stop asking, 'where are you from?'

by Mike Sholars

"...For all intents and purposes, Canada is the only home I really recognize or remember. But none of that matters if I look like I don’t belong, and that single question makes that abundantly clear every single time."

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About the Observer

Founded in 1829, The United Church Observer is the oldest continuously published magazine in North America and the second oldest in the English speaking world. It has won international acclaim for journalistic excellence and garnered more awards for writing than any other Canadian religious publication. Read more...

Masthead

  • Editor/Publisher: Jocelyn Bell
  • Art Director: Ross Woolford
  • Managing Editor (Print and digital): Kristy Woudstra
  • Senior Editor: Caley Moore (on leave)
  • Associate Editor: Will Pearson
  • Assistant Editor: Elena Gritzan
  • Senior Writer: Mike Milne
  • Editorial Administration: Patricia Ingold 

  • Digital Editor: Emma Prestwich
  • Assistant Digital Editor: Amy van den Berg

  • Promotions Manager: Sharon Doran
  • Circulation Marketing Manager: Sarah Watt
  • Administrative Assistant: Marilou Manansala

Copyright Information

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