Filmmakers who tell stories of spirituality to be in Toledo

Cynthia Lukas and Kell Kearns will be at First Unitarian Church on Friday for a screening of 'Globalized Soul: Stories from the Tipping Point to a New World'. Enlarge

As filmmakers Cynthia Lukas and Kell Kearns traveled around the world filming Globalized Soul, their journeys left them brimming with optimism over stories they encountered of religion and spirituality having a positive impact on society.

Such stories usually don't make the evening news, the duo said.

"The traditional media tends to talk about the conflicts of religions and spiritual paths, and they do exist mightily in some places, but we found it to be a very inspiring story, the fact that there are thousands of people coming together to discuss climate change, women's power, sustainability, and interfaith harmony," Ms. Lukas said in an interview this week from Santa Fe. "And the thousands of people are from all religious paths and philosophies -- some of whom don't even call themselves religious."

Ms. Lukas and Mr. Kearns will be in Toledo on Friday for a screening of Globalized Soul: Stories from the Tipping Point to a New World, starting at 6:30 p.m., followed by a discussion of the film at First Unitarian Church, 3205 Glendale Ave. The event, sponsored by the church's social justice committee and the MultiFaith Council of Northwest Ohio Compassionate Community Project, is free and open to all. Donations will be accepted.

The duo have made independent films about religion since 1983, including Rumi Returning, a biography of the Persian poet that has been shown on more than 330 PBS stations. Their one-hour documentary began as an outgrowth of Ms. Lukas' and Mr. Kearns' work at the Parliament of the World's Religions in Melbourne in December, 2009. They were invited to be documentarians of the Parliament, filming such notable religious leaders as the Dalai Lama, Sister Joan Chittister, Rabbi Michael Lerner, and Zen Buddhist Roshi Joan Halifax.

"When we interviewed scores of people in the Parliament, the film began expanding on us," Ms. Lukas said.

"We knew that it would be more than a look at Rumi's planet; it would be a look at the 'globalized soul,' if you will, that we believe is emerging at this moment of time when we need it the most."

The essence of Globalized Soul is love and compassion, the filmmakers said.

They witnessed that world-changing combination in Palitana, India, where they were invited by Asha Mehta and her husband, Mahendra, who are members of the Jain religion. That ancient Indian religion of nonviolence was a major influence on Mahatma Gandhi, a Hindu, in his approach to peace.

Mr. Kearns and Ms. Lukas filmed the Mehtas leading a two-week "Mega-Mobility Camp" in which 29,000 artificial limbs, wheelchairs, and hearing aids were given to India's poorest people, all free. The Dalai Lama visited the Mehtas' camp to bless the work and to hold interfaith dialogue with the Jains.

"It was one of those serendipitous moments where the film was expanding on us and we realized that we had a different story to tell," Ms. Lukas said.

They also traveled to Jerusalem, where Sheikh Abdul Aziz Bukhari, a Sufi leader and founder of Jerusalem Peacemakers, turned his home along the Via Dolorosa into a center where Christians, Jews, Muslims, and others pray together, hold discussions, and share meals.

"Sheikh Bukhari told us that peace in the Middle East will not occur through negotiations and governments deciding, it is going to happen from the grass roots going up. When people make the decision and decide to live it, then the government will follow," Ms. Lukas said.

A highlight of the film features hundreds of leaders of the three Abrahamic faiths -- Judaism, Islam, and Christianity -- coming together in Nazareth and sharing an Iftar dinner, a traditional Muslim meal that ends a fast.

"We think that even watching the Abrahamic reunion is inspiring to people in the audience," Ms. Lukas said. "They see that this kind of interfaith harmony is possible even in a place that many would consider it least likely to exist."