An Evening Of Film And Dialogue

NEW MILFORD — The United Methodist Church and Temple Sholom will present an evening of film and dialogue featuring Gentleman’s Agreement on Tuesday, August 22, at United Methodist Church, 68 Danbury Road/Route 7. Admission is free and all are cordially invited, regardless of religious affiliation.

The purpose of the evening is to open lines of communication between various religious institutions, to understand the missions of each, their similarities and differences, all for the function of achieving a better community.

The discussion will follow a screening of Gentleman’s Agreement, an Academy Award-winning film directed by Elia Kazan and starring Gregory Peck, John Garfield, Dorothy McGuire, June Havoc, and Dean Stockwell. Based on Laura Hobson’s 1947 novel, the film is about a post-WWII writer who pretends to be Jewish and discovers anti-Semitism within the magazine publishing world.

Harry Cohen, a spokesman for the Rena Cohen Berner Fund, one of the evening’s sponsors, said, “Some of the topics we will raise for discussion include how we deal with poverty in our affluent society, violence in our younger generations, and the inability of members of our society to obtain medical treatment because of lack of funds or insurance.”

Discussions will also cover the problems of family breakdowns, intolerance in general, and attitudes towards homosexuals in particular, whether school systems are doing their job, whether religious institutions are adequately fulfilling their purposes, and whether there are concepts in religious beliefs that may be self-defeating.

“Hopefully the beginning dialogue with our friends and neighbors will provide a means of communication and the ultimate coordination of all religious institutions for a better community,” Mr Cohen added.

For further information call Temple Sholom at 860/354-0273 or United Methodist Church, 860/354-7596.