Here’s my July 15 newsletter. To receive my latest articles, favorite religion reads and other updates in your inbox each Saturday, sign-up here.

Rather than spend a few paragraphs reflecting on a pretty quiet week, I’ll start this week’s newsletter with a movie recommendation.

My fiancé and I saw ‘The Big Sick” last Saturday after noticing its positive buzz. We’re both RomCom fans, so there was no reason to think we wouldn’t like it. In fact, we loved it. There were several laugh-out-loud moments, a realistic love story and many memorable Ray Romano lines.

My favorite part was how the film captured being the child of immigrants and learning to live life on your own terms. The main character has drifted away from his family’s Muslim faith, but he doesn’t want to upset his parents, so he still plays along. The movie made his personal struggle relatable, helping members of the audience understand the type of awkward coming-of-age experience millions of Americans have gone through.

It makes my heart so happy that movies like “The Big Sick” are being made and broadening people’s understanding of immigration and religion.

FRESH OFF THE PRESS FROM ME

Do churches have a positive impact on America?

How faith groups help expose the ‘hidden figure of crime’

TOP RELIGION READS

Stranger things: When angels show up in Cadillacs, Sarah Condon for Mockingbird

Sacred Spaces: How your church building can bless your community 7 days a week, Facts & Trends

For this couple, it’s death till they part, The New York Times

JUST FOR FUN

The best demon illustrations of all time, Atlas Obscura