[BES Friends] March Schedule

[Stephen Meskin]

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 web site www.BaltimoreEthicalSociety.org

Sunday, March 6, AGING: AN INSIDE VIEW (Part 1) Fritz Williams
Saturday, March 12, Pot Luck (12:30 p.m.)
Saturday, March 12, Bible Workshop (1:30 p.m.) JESUS IN THE LIGHT OF 
MODERN SCHOLARSHIP
Sunday, March 13, THE POETRY CORNER (9:30 a.m.)
Sunday, March 13, AGING: AN INSIDE VIEW (Part 2) AN INTERACTIVE PROGRAM 
Panel Discussion
Sunday, March 20, TEN POWERFUL IDEAS FROM FELIX ADLER Jone Lewis
Sunday, March 20, NEWCOMERS' MEETING (12:30 p.m.)
Sunday, March 27, THE POETRY CORNER (9:30 a.m.)
Sunday, March 27, SOCIAL SECURITY REFORM: DISTINGUISHING FACTS FROM SPIN 
Ron Solomon

COMING ATTRACTIONS
Sunday, April 3, DELIVER US FROM EVIL Fritz Williams
Sunday, April 10, HOPE AND PEACE SUNDAY

WEB NOTES: After our joint meeting with BSH two weeks ago, I checked out 
their web site: http://bsh.wash.org/ they in turn had a link to 
BookTalk: http://www.booktalk.org/index.php which is self-described as 
"an online book discussion community dedicated to the advancement of 
critical thinking, reason, intelligence, freedom of inquiry, philosophy 
and the scientific method." They conduct on-line discussions of one book 
per quarter (my speed). The current book under discussion is "The Battle 
for God" by Karen Armstrong which I found in my local library.

PROGRAM DETAILS
Sunday, March 6th, AGING: AN INSIDE VIEW (Part 1) Fritz Williams
Growing old is generally marked by unwelcome changes in our health, our 
mental and physical functions, and our appearance. Age realigns our 
roles and relationships and it alters our perspective on life. Fritz 
Williams looks at the losses and changes that are an inevitable part of 
growing older, and he examines the challenges involved in drawing on a 
lifetime of experiences and achieving a new sense of purpose in the last 
decades of life.
Fritz Williams is Leader of the Baltimore Ethical Society and, in that 
capacity, serves as primary speaker, teacher, pastor, and organizational 
leader. To these duties, Fritz brings extensive ministerial and 
communications experience. He has worked as a parish priest in the 
Episcopal Church, and also as a writer and producer at public television 
stations in Harrisburg, PA, and Detroit, MI. He is especially loved for 
his down-to-earth narrative style of speaking and his "When I Was Kid" 
stories, based on his own childhood.

Sunday, March 13th, AGING: AN INSIDE VIEW (Part 2) AN INTERACTIVE 
PROGRAM Panel Discussion
Zelda Simon, Glascoe Baker, Stan Pollack, Helena Wright, and Cathy 
Malcomb make short personal statements on how growing older has affected 
them. Baltimore Ethical Society members and friends, young and old, 
respond by sharing their own experiences and observations on growing old 
in America and by talking about their fears, hopes, and frustrations.

Sunday, March 20th TEN POWERFUL IDEAS FROM FELIX ADLER Jone Lewis
Jone Lewis has searched the writings of Ethical Culture founder, Felix 
Adler, to harvest his best and most useful ideas, in particular ideas 
that have stood the test of time and remain powerful today. TEN POWERFUL 
IDEAS has become one of Jone Lewis’ most popular talks. It is her 
testimony to the relevance of Ethical Culture and her exploration of the 
guidance Adler’s teachings and writings provide for personal behavior 
and ethical action. It is, as some have said, her own Ethical Culture 101.
Jone Lewis is the Leader of the Northern Virginia Ethical Society. She 
also has a strong and active role in the American Ethical Union. She is 
President of the National Leaders’ Conference, the official organization 
of Ethical Culture Leaders. She chairs the American Ethical Union 
Leadership Committee, which oversees a web site on transcendentalism and 
a web site of wisdom quotes. In addition to being an Ethical Culture 
Leader, Jone is an ordained minister in the Unitarian Church.

Sunday, March 27th, SOCIAL SECURITY REFORM: DISTINGUISHING FACTS FROM 
SPIN Ron Solomon
President Bush says that the Social Security system must be reformed in 
order to preserve it for future generations. Politicians and advocacy 
organizations have shifted into high gear disseminating their 
viewpoints, generally choosing selected elements of fact to support 
whatever their position is. Baltimore Ethical Society member, Ron 
Solomon, will attempt to lay out the facts about the Social Security 
system as they are known, and what the most likely implications are for 
the future of the program.
Ron Solomon has recently retired after a 35 year career as an actuary 
working in the field of employee benefits, first in the private sector 
and then for the Federal government. While he never worked for the 
Social Security Administration, he has studied the program for virtually 
has entire career, and served as a volunteer for several years on the 
Social Insurance Committee of the American Academy of Actuaries.

SPECIAL EVENTS
Saturday, March 12th, Pot Luck (12:30 p.m.) and
Bible Workshop (1:30 p.m.) “JESUS IN THE LIGHT OF MODERN SCHOLARSHIP”
How do scholars try to penetrate Christian traditions and claims about 
Jesus in an effort to determine what he really did and said? And what 
sorts of conclusions are they drawing about his life and message?
Don’t miss our third pot luck Bible workshop at the Baltimore Ethical 
Society at 306 West Franklin Street on Saturday, March 12th, at 12:30 
p.m. We’ll eat and socialize first. Then at 1:30 p.m., Fritz Williams 
will lead a discussion on “Jesus in the Light of Modern Scholarship.” 
We’re holding the workshop at the Baltimore Ethical Society in order to 
accommodate as many people as want to attend, and the pot luck and 
workshop are open to all members, friends, guests, and visitors. Bring 
along some food to share, and if you have access to one, a New Testament 
to refer to.

Sundays, March 13 & 27, THE POETRY CORNER (9:30 a.m.)Facilitated by 
Karla Mancero. Bring poems to read and discuss that you've written or 
that move you. Meetings often feature a particular topic. For more 
information contact Karla: nada23_2002 at yahoo.com

Sunday, March 20th, NEWCOMERS' MEETING
If you've been wondering what "Ethical Culture" means, where it comes 
from, and there is so much discussion even among members about what we 
believe, join us for our monthly newcomers meeting. Normally held the 
last Sunday of each month (but this month, a week early) following the 
regular Sunday program, these meetings are intended to answer your 
questions about the Ethical Culture movement as well as about our 
Society. All questions will be gladly answered by our panel of "amateur 
experts"