As usual, the first weekend of the month is chock full of BES activities.
* It begins with the *1st Saturday Coffee House*, Jan. 3 at 7:00 pm,
featuring poet/musician Tom Swiss
* The *Poetry Group* meets Sun. Jan. 4 at 9:30 am
* Platform, Sun Jan 4 at 10:30 am, *An Electricity Model for the
21st Century*, Stuart Hirsch, BES Member (see details below)
* Sun., Jan. 4 12:30 pm, *Board Meeting*, members welcome
* Finally this Sunday bring in *MOVABLE TREATS for MOVABLE FEAST*
Baking warms up the whole house, so why not do some extra this
month and give even more so Moveable Feast can also give more?
Remember to wrap your desserts in serving size portions and label
them. Mark your desserts if they contain nuts. Avoid desserts that
have heavy icings or that contain alcohol. They will be greatly
appreciated.
_Other activities this month:
_
* *NEW! Movie Night:* Fri., Jan. 9 - 7:30 pm *Daughters of
Wisdom*,"an intimate profile of the nuns of Kala Pongo, a rare
Buddhist monastery for women high in a remote region of
northeastern Tibet." The monastery is "quietly contributing to the
empowerment of women in Tibetan Buddhist culture."
* *Mindfulness Meditation:* Sun., Jan. 11 - 9:30 am Come and sit
with us (on chairs, not meditation cushions unless you bring your
own) for a guided meditation based on the teachings of Thich Nhat
Hanh. No meditation experience necessary. Facilitated by *Karen
Elliott*.
* *Ethical Action Breakfast:* Sun., Jan. 18 - 9:00 am Bring a $5
contribution and be prepared to eat, listen, and talk about
putting our ethics into action. What's happening with the Red Line
project? What about the death penalty in Maryland? Come find out
the answers.
* *Newcomers' Meeting:* Sun. Jan. 25 - 12:30 pm New to the Society
and interested in learning more? Attended a meeting or two?
Thinking about joining? Come to the Newcomers' Meeting, and learn
more about Ethical Culture and about our Society---its history,
its philosophy, and its organization. Meetings last about one hour.
_Sunday Platforms: 10:30 am _
Jan. 4 *An Electricity Model for the 21st Century*, Stuart Hirsch,
B.E.S. Member
Today Maryland, the nation, and the world face increasing energy
demands, the global warming, and environmental destruction in no
small part caused by the production of electricity. Unlike other
energy technologies which can be stored and used when
necessary, electricity must be supplied on demand. Thus our current
electric utility model evolved into its present expensive,
inefficient, environmentally destructive, vulnerable, and socially
unjust system. This talk will examine another option to our current
electric utility model and present methods of transitioning from our
current 19th century model to a 21st century system that can meet
our demands for electricity locally and throughout the world via an
electric power system modeled after the internet .
*Stuart Hirsch* is a retired electronics technician and project
manager with an interest in energy efficiency and advanced
technology. Stuart has given talks to other humanist groups
including Baltimore Secular Humanists and Human Values Network, on
this and other energy related topics.
Jan. 11 *Ending Homelessness*, Kevin Lindamood, Vice President of
External Affairs for Health Care for the Homeless
Kevin Lindamood will discuss the realities and underlying causes of
contemporary homelessness in America, the work of Health Care for
the Homeless in Maryland to reduce the incidence and burdens of
homelessness, and the public policies necessary to build a more
socially just society in which homelessness is increasingly rare and
brief.
Kevin Lindamood has worked at the intersection of homelessness and
health since 1993 as an outreach worker, clinical social worker,
city bureaucrat, community organizer, public policy advocate,
fundraiser, and nonprofit administrator. He received a Masters
Degree in Social Work and Community Organization from the University
of Michigan in 1997. Kevin was a past organizer for the National
Health Care for the Homeless Council, working to integrate direct
service and advocacy at nonprofit organizations. Currently, Kevin is
the Vice President of External Affairs for Health Care for the
Homeless, where he oversees the agency's community relations, public
policy, and financial development work. Kevin also is an adjunct
instructor for the University of Maryland School of Social Work .
Jan. 18 *Anti-Racist Activism in Ethical Culture*, Hugh Taft-Morales,
Ethical Culture Leader-in-Training
In 1922, Langston Hughes wrote that, "Tomorrow, I'll be at the
table, when company comes nobody'll dare say to me, 'Eat in the
kitchen,' then. Besides, they'll see how beautiful I am and be
ashamed." Eighty-five years later, while diversity in the White
House holds promise for America, there are still few African
Americans at the table. Corporate leadership is still predominantly
white, a disproportionately high rate of black men are in prison,
and people of color suffer disproportionately from poverty and
unemployment. As an inheritor of invisible racial privilege and
liberal guilt, Hugh Taft-Morales will share his insights about
moving towards an empowering multicultural perspective. Platform
Theme Question: How does Ethical Culture begin to get more diversity
of all forms at our table in a way that honors the inherent worth of
every one and strengthens our humanist faith?
*Hugh Taft-Morales* is an Ethical Culture Leader-in-Training
enjoying serving the Northern Virginia Ethical Society as an Intern
Leader for a year. He is finishing a three-year leadership
certification program with the Humanist Institute. He taught
philosophy and history for twenty-five years in Washington, D. C..
Hugh served on the Board of the Washington Ethical Society from
2002-2006, the last year as president. He will serve this coming
year as Secretary of the AEU National Leaders Council.
In 1986 he earned a Masters in Philosophy from University of Kent at
Canterbury, England. He lives in Takoma Park with his wife, Maureen,
a Latin American analyst for the Congressional Research Service.
They have three wonderful children -- Sean (21), Maya (16), and
Justin (13). Sean is currently serving as FES representative to the
AEU Board. Hugh's hobbies include yoga, squash, watching NCAA
college basketball, writing and singing lyrics and playing guitar.
Jan. 25 *In Search of Time*, Dan Falk, Science Writer
Time is at once intimately familiar and yet deeply mysterious. It
is thoroughly in-tangible: we say it flows like a river - yet when
we try to examine that flow, the river seems reduced to a mirage.
No wonder philosophers, poets, and scientists from Aristotle to
Einstein have grappled with the enigma of time.
The mystery of time has captivated science journalist Dan Falk, who
sets off on an intellectual journey in his latest book, In Search of
Time: The Science of a Curious Dimension (St. Martin's Press,
November 2008). In this illustrated talk, Dan will discuss some of
the most intriguing aspects of
time: how our ancestors first learned to measure it; how Newton and
Leibniz argued over its nature; how Einstein linked time and space;
and a brief look at the physics of time travel and the paradoxes it
seems to entail.
*Dan Falk* has written about science for the Globe and Mail, the
Toronto Star, The Boston Globe, The Walrus, SkyNews, Astronomy, Sky
& Telescope, and New Scientist, and has been a regular contributor
to the Canadian radio programs Ideas and Quirks & Quarks on the CBC
radio network. His awards include a Gold Medal for Radio
Programming from the New York Festivals and the Science Writing
Award in Physics and Astronomy from the American Institute of
Physics. His first book, Universe on a T-Shirt, won the 2002 Science
in Society Journalism Award from the Canadian Science Writers'
Association. He lives in Toronto.
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