Join The Fountains for its film series this Lent featuring four award-winning films focusing on the social justice issues shaping the world today, according to a press release.

Topics like equal and civil rights, Islamophobia, racism and homophobia are covered in this film series running every Thursday through March 21, beginning at 6:30 p.m. with a screening of the film followed by conversation or panel discussion of the issues raised by the film.

The film series

On Thursday, Feb. 29, The Fountains will screen “My Name is Pauli Murray,” which follows the life of lawyer, activist, priest and now Episcopal saint) Pauli Murray.

Murray was not only instrumental in shaping the civil rights movement but was influential in crafting the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment outlawing discrimination based on sex, the press release said.

On Thursday, March 7, The Fountains will screen “Stranger at the Gate,” an Academy Award-winning documentary that tells the story of a Marine veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan who copes with his Post Traumatic Stress Disorder by planning to attack the local Indiana mosque. But after spending time with the very community he hated, things turned out differently than anyone expected.

On Thursday, March 14, The Fountains will screen “Accidental Courtesy,” which covers the story of African American Musician Daryl Davis and his unusual, controversial hobby: befriending members of the KKK (many of whom never met a black person) and convincing them to renounce their racist beliefs.

On Thursday, March 21, The Fountains will screen “1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture,” which is a documentary that follows the story of tireless researchers who trace the origins of the anti-gay movement among Christians to a grave mistranslation of the Bible in 1946.

“Contemporary culture is full of dreams and tensions that are lived out in all of our lives,” said The Fountains Pastor David Felton. “And there’s little I find more inspiring than the stories of people who have risen to face the challenges of our day and change both themselves and the world. These movies have been both informative and moving means of inspiration I look forward to sharing with more people.”

Screenings of these films (and the popcorn) are free and open to all.

The Fountains is located at 15300 N. Fountain Hills Blvd. Sunday celebrations are at 9:30 a.m. both in-person and on YouTube and Facebook LIVE.

For more information, visit weputlovefirst.org or call 480-837-7627.