[BES Friends] January at the Baltimore Ethical Society

[Stephen Meskin]

*NO MEETING THIS SUNDAY DECEMBER 26*
Unless otherwise indicated, all meetings will be held from 10:30 to noon 
at the Society, in The Congress Hotel at 306 W. Franklin St., Suite 
102.  On street parking is available. Handicap parking and entrance are 
available in the adjacent lot with appropriate identification.  Ethical 
Humanist Sunday School  for children during platform meetings.  Call 
410-581-2322 for more information or to  check on snow closings.  Check 
out our new web site www.BaltimoreEthicalSociety.org 
<http://www.baltimoreethicalsociety.org/index.html>


    Sunday Platforms

January 2*
        Colloquy*
        By Karen Elliott, Associate Leader for Adjunct Services
January 9*
        Faith and Doubt
*        By Fritz Williams, Leader of the Baltimore Ethical Society
January 16
        *Safety, Civil Rights and the Ethics of Discrimination*
        By Bash Pharoan, Arab-American Anti-Discrimination League
January 23*
        The Intolerance of Evangelicals
*        By Rev. Ralph Campbell, Lead Pastor at Twin Rivers Church in 
Columbia, Maryland
January 30*
        Reflections of Afghanistan*
        By Fahima Vorgetts Director of Women for Afghan Women's (WAW) 
Afghan Women's fund


      Special Events

Sundays Jan 2, 16, and 30: The poetry group will meet before our Sunday 
morning Platform.
Monday Jan 17: Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day with friends and family
Sunday Jan 30: Newcomer's Meeting at 12:30 pm.


    Upcoming Events

Two additional workshops will be offered in the spring: "Jesus in the 
Light of Modern Scholarship" and "The End of the World."


    Details of Platforms

January 2:  COLLOQUY: Karen Elliott, Associate Leader for Adjunct Services
        A colloquy is a period of self guided reflection.  Attendees are 
asked to respond to questions, or stories, but not to each other's 
comments.  Rather, they are asked to "speak from the heart."
        Karen Elliott has been a member of the Baltimore Ethical Society 
for many years, and has conducted colloquys at the Society on many 
occasions.  She assists the Leader by officiating at weddings and 
memorial services.  She is currently the President of the Baltimore 
Ethical Society.

January 9:    FAITH AND DOUBT:  Fritz Williams, Leader of the Baltimore 
Ethical Society
        Ethical Culture has a constitutional aversion to religious 
controversy.  We have put arguments about supernatural beliefs behind 
us, and we have turned our attention to improving human relationships 
and working for a better world for ourselves and our children.  Still, 
as we pursue these practical agendas, we often find ourselves enmeshed 
in conflict with people of faith.  Fritz Williams discusses faith and 
doubt as attitudes that range far beyond the question of believing or 
not believing in God and permeate every dimension of life.
        Fritz Williams is Leader of the Baltimore Ethical Society and 
serves as primary speaker, teacher, pastor, and organizational leader.  
Fritz  also performs weddings and commitment ceremonies.  He has worked 
as a parish priest in the Episcopal church, and as a writer and producer 
at public TV stations in Harrisburg, PA, and Detroit, MI.  

 January 16:   "SAFETY, CIVIL RIGHTS AND THE ETHICS OF DISCRIMINATION" 
Bash Pharoan, Arab-American Anti-Discrimination League
    Bash Pharoan, MD, is founder and President of the Baltimore Chapter 
for the American Arab Anti-discrimination committee and The Islamic 
Society of Maryland.  Dr. Pharoan will share his views of the specific 
effects of 9/11 on minorities in the USA as well as the broader effects 
on 9/11 on the USA and the world.  He will also discuss the common 
values and differences betwen Arab cultures and western culture, and 
give us an overview of who are Arab Americans in Maryland and the USA.
    Dr. Pharoan came to Baltimore in 1975 to begin his surgery residency 
at Franklin Square Hospital and has been there ever since.  He 
immigrated to the USA for freedom, opportunity and pursuit of 
happiness.  He believes that this nation is better because of every 
immigrant that came and built his or her life on this land.  He says, 
"We changed America and America changed us."
 
January 23: THE INTOLERANCE OF EVANGELICALS: Rev. Ralph Campbell, Lead 
Pastor at Twin Rivers Church in Columbia, Maryland
    Rev. Campbell will be looking at the prevailing cultural assumptions 
toward evangelicals, as well as examining their successes and failures.  
This insider's look will be given by an evangelical who is very proud to 
be invited to speak to the BES.
    Rev. Campbell serves as the primary teacher and vision caster at the 
Twin Rivers Church, which he founded five years ago with his wife.  He 
is working on his doctorate at Princeton with an emphasis in preaching.

January 30:  REFLECTIONS OF AFGHANISTAN: Fahima Vorgetts, Director of 
Women for Afghan Women's (WAW) Afghan Women's fund
        WAW is an organization dedicated to empowering women in 
Afghanistan.  Ms. Vorgetts will discuss the current situation in 
Afghanistan, and her efforts to raise awareness about the plight of 
women and children there.
        Fahima Vorgetts is an Afghan born American, board member of WAW, 
chemist, and independent businesswoman.  She lectures world wide, at the 
United Nations, and has been interviewed by NPR and the BBC.  

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