News & Articles
Is Hollywood Ninevah? (06/05/2003)
Will we rejoice at the responsiveness of the entertainment community or be angered that the rich and powerful have the potential to be forgiven?
A view from an insider and a Vegetable
By Karen Covell
Behind the Scenes by Angela Lu
As actors and filmmakers waltzed down the red carpet for the Academy Awards show on Feb. 26, few knew that Christina Lee Storm and 30 others from the Hollywood Prayer Network had walked around the Kodak theater three evenings before to pray over the event.
Storm, who worked as the production supervisor of Best Picture winner The Artist, said the prayer walk was "better than the actual awards night."
"Going through the award season I realized that what we see on the screen, the red carpet, it's all a façade," Storm said. "If [the awards are] your end all be all, it's empty, it's not satisfying."
Karen Covell, the Network's founder, said the annual walk, now a decade old, helps Christians look at the show differently: Instead of fixating on a small gold idol, they grasp the brokenness in the lives of seemingly successful actors and directors.
Covell, a documentary producer, described the movie industry's makeup: "Only 2 percent of people go to church, many have never read a Bible, and are not at all aware of what faith in Christ is. ... [Hollywood] does not relate to the rest of America. It has its own culture, gods, language; we are ministering to a tribe of people who are not the same."
To read more click HERE.
The Truth About Beauty
The Truth About Beauty by Brian Chan
One of the surprising news that caught much attention at this year's Academy Awards had nothing to do with The Artist, Hugo, The Descendants or War Horse. It was "Angelina Jolie's Right Leg". On the red carpet, her right leg slid out from behind her black, high-slit dress every time photographers wanted to capture her. Her sexy right leg (and yes, just the right) had a show of its own at the event. It became a newsworthy highlight. Angelina's right leg's achievement to stardom (versus my right leg) is an indicator of what our society cares about - beauty. The beauty that captures the attention of others is not something we just want to see but also pursue, which is why so much of commercial industry is driven by our desire for beauty, whether it is the beauty we find in cosmetics, homes, gardens, apparels, art or a sunset. There's something powerfully delightfully and profoundly enriching about having beauty in our lives. But what is it about beauty that is so compelling?
To read more click HERE.
Reflections on 9/11 As An Artist by Makoto Fujimura
Exactly ten years ago, this exact hour, I was trapped in the number 3 subway underneath the Chambers Street Station as horrific events of 9/11 took place above me. I was trying to get home after organizing a prayer meeting for PEOPLE INVOLVED IN THE ARTS in a building on the Westside. By the time the subway back-tracked to 14th St., 45 minutes later, the towers were gone.
My wife had just dropped off our two youngest children at PS 234 only two blocks from the towers. It was their first day of school. As I ran back toward home, brushing against business folks covered in the white ashes, I realized that our loft may not be standing. Instead, I decided to go to my studio below Canal St, ten blocks from the towers, where my wife, thankfully, left a telephone message saying that the children had been evacuated safely, and that she would meet me at the studio. Even at that point, I had no idea what really happened. Soon after, my wife's ghostly face told me enough: she had met Death face to face and survived.
To read more click HERE.
Is Church Life Stifling Your Creativity?
Hollywood: "We're Not Sodom and Gomorrah"
I plan to watch the Academy Awards this year—which will be a first for me. I’m not much of a movie buff—in fact, of the fifty-six films...
Actor’s Dilemma: Milestone? Where’s the Destination?
“…and they lived happily ever after.” How many stories end with that line? Probably about as many as Industry believers step off the plane at LAX and proclaim that they made it! No, just as Prince Charming and his newly rescued beloved have another journey of life ahead of them, so does the believer and Christ have a journey together once they arrive in Hollywood . Click HERE to continue reading.
An Artist of our Own
By Harold Fickett
Editor-in-Chief, Catholic Exchange
A prayer campaign for Justin Bieber—complete with a church discussion guide—initially struck me as a reach. Justin Bieber? Isn’t a teen idol who’s already a jillionaire about the last person on earth who needs prayer? Get serious.
Then I saw an advance screening of the film, NEVER SAY NEVER, and reconsidered. Justin is not merely a teen idol but a musical prodigy. Right now, as an unformed teenager, he’s the creature of his talent, driven to unimaginable heights of popularity by musical gifts from God that he cannot yet fully appreciate.
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A rise in spirituality among workers in Hollywood.
"The Cross at Cahuenga" - Shining God's love down upon Hollywood
Why is there a cross at Cahuenga?
http://www.hollywoodprayernetwork.org/content/the-cross-cahuenga-shining...
Spirituality in Hollywood
To read an article on what God is doing in Hollywood click below!
Prayer, outreach hopes to touch and change lives in Tinseltown
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Culture/Default.aspx?id=65618
By: Ed Thomas - 1/26/2008
Why We Should Pray For Hollywood
An Interview With Karen Covell
To understand more about why HPN is praying for Hollywood, click on:
Biola Magazine Article
Globe Article: Annette Funicello Needs a Miracle
The article below is a prayer Karen Covell wrote for the Globe Magazine praying for actress Annette Funicello. As you read the article and prayer please also pray for the actress!
Thanking God for making it possible
Jewish Hollywood
JOEL STEIN:
How Jewish is Hollywood?
A poll finds more Americans disagree with the statement that 'Jews
control Hollywood.' But here's one Jew who doesn't.
"If I Were the Devil"
by Daniel Henderson
Life is war! Our enemy is powerful, cunning, experienced, and supernatural. His minions are multitudinous. His ways are devious and destructive. He is a ravenous lion (1 Peter 5:8), appears as an “angel of light” (2 Cor. 11:14), and is working 24/7 all around the globe to undermine the work of the church and hurt the heart of Christ.
Prayer initiative for Hollywood sees first results
Source: John Robb, IPC
Excerpr from JOEL NEWS INTERNATIONAL 664 | 25 NOVEMBER 2008
'Basic Instinct' author writes book about faith
Joe Eszterhas' latest book is a shocker, but not the kind that made him rich and famous.
Interview of Karen Covell by Jeff and Lee on KKMS in Minneapolis, MN
Listen to the interview:
HPN article in O.C. Register
Book Review: Cease Fire the War is Over (6-4-07)
HPN wins a Well Done Award (5/26/07)
News Summary:
Beverly Hills, CA - by Michael Ireland - ASSIST News Service
The Beverly Hills-based Hollywood Prayer Network will be honored with a WELL DONE AWARD from the Kingdom Assignment ministry for its commitment to pray for the people in the Hollywood Entertainment Industry -- the world's most influential mission field.
Engaging Beliefs (4/12/07)
Brewing Culture's 60 Posts in 60 seconds updated weekly
Rocky Balboa Finds Redemption (12/10/2006)
Deacon Godsey's Letter to the AFA (09/26/2006)
There's No Pulpit Like Home (03/31/2006)
Evangelicals miss the big picture (02/28/2006)
In the late 1980s, an evangelical leader offered to buy the prints of The Last Temptation of Christ so he could destroy them. Less than two decades later, evangelical and other church leaders bought blocks of tickets for The Passion of the Christ, helping to make it one of the top-grossing films in 2004.
Book of Daniel Update (01/31/2006)
Before You Boycott: An alternative view of NBC's (01/10/2006)
I'm sure many of you have heard and had questions about the new show "Book of Daniel". You may have also seen the boycott e-mail from AFA. We would like to offer a different perspective.
The Gospel According to Anne (10/27/2005)
THE FAITH FRONT: The (Culture) War of the Word (06/08/2005)
This is How I Want You to Live Your Life (05/20/2005)
The Media Mission Field (04/24/2005)
A recent sermon from Bill Sullivan, pastor of Tulsa Christian Fellowship in Tulsa, OK, on the church viewing Hollywood as a mission field. April 24, 2005
Does Hollywood Have a Prayer? (11/23/2004)
By Karen Covell
Hollywood, Forgive God's People (04/05/2004)
To all the people who are an integral part of Hollywood and all that occurs there...