[BES Friends] January program

[Stephen Meskin]

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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