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Greetings and HELP!
To better serve you, I want to hear about the videos (VHS or DVD) that have proven valuable in your congregations and ministries. Let me know how and why they are working for you so I can spread the good word through Lutheran Partners’ Video Reviews.

Drop an email to revgeoff@welcome2clc.org with the subject line “my video picks.” Hope to hear from you soon.

Geoffrey L. Scott, video review editor

Women in the Early Church
Mosaic, 2004, Winter edition
ELCA Dept. for Communications, www.elca.org/mosaic
(800) 638-3522 ext. 6009
DVD, $19.95
Color, adults, 44 minutes (incl. bonus material)

Mosaic host Melissa Ramirez Cooper provides important insights and new appreciation for the role of women in the early church. Filmed on location in Rome, Italy, this DVD shows how women assumed such critical roles in the life of the early church as patron, evangelist, worship leader, and host of home churches. The location photography from the era of the early church and period artwork add a strong visual sense of immediacy and presence.

Interviews with a variety of Lutheran women scholars provide biblical and historical context for these women’s lives and work in the service of the gospel and the body of Christ.

Among the bonus materials provided, additional interviews with scholars offer commentary on topics that fit naturally for follow-up discussions. Robin Mattison, from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, looks at early church women in the context of the controversial bestseller The Da Vinci Code. Cynthia Jurisson, of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, considers the impact of gnosticism as it relates to women in the early church.

Another bonus item, “Basins and Towels,” examines one woman’s role in modern-day diaconal ministry. It makes an interesting contemporary connection with the ministries of the early church women.

Love's Enduring Promise
Produced and directed by Michael Landon Jr.
Starring Katherine Heigl, Dale Midkiff, Logan Bartholomew
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
DVD (Cat # 2226547), $19.98 VHS
(Cat # 2226550), $14.98
Release Date: February 22, 2005
Not rated, 88 minutes

Love’s Enduring Promise is the second in a series of films based on the series of bestselling books by Janette Oke. These historical romance novels of the Old West, which emphasize faith, family relationships, and the search for meaning in everyday life, are extremely popular books in many church libraries.

This title continues the story of Clark and Marty Davis, who made a “marriage of convenience” that turned into deep mutual respect and love. In Love’s Enduring Promise, Clark and Marty now preside over a growing family in their little prairie house. As they reach out to those in their frontier community, they discover that love is not limited by the size of a dwelling.

Director/producer Michael Landon Jr. said that his bringing the Janette Oke stories to the screen is part of a calling to reclaim some of the media wasteland for family-friendly productions.

“Little House on the Prairie was my favorite among all my father’s work,” said Landon. “It told wonderful stories in ways that families could enjoy together. That’s what appealed to me in Jeanette Oke’s work.”

Faith plays a big part in Landon’s work in Love’s Enduring Promise. “I’m blessed to have material that lets me show a family whose faith is lived out and not just talked about. It’s rare in Hollywood to have a project where God is the story and faith is more than a set-up for a joke,” he added.

The third film in this series, Love’s Long Journey, is scheduled to begin production in Spring 2005.

Geoffrey L. Scott, Lutheran Partners' video review editor, is pastor of Christ Lutheran Church, Menomonie, Wisconsin.