[BES Friends] October 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. The following information is copied 
from our newsletter and web site www.BaltimoreEthicalSociety.org

SUNDAY MORNING PLATFORMS
Oct. 2nd – "Like a Mighty Army” by Fritz Williams
Oct. 9th – “The Intolerance of Evangelicals” by Rev. Ralph Campbell
Oct. 16th – “Creed and Deed” by Steve Meskin
Oct. 23rd – “Israel: A Progressive Jewish Approach to Engagement with 
the Issues” by Valerie Kaplan and John Riehl
Oct. 30th – Fall Family Festival: an interactive celebration

OTHER ACTIVITIES
Sundays, October 2 and 16 at 9:30 am, - _Poetry Group_ facilitated by 
Karla Mancero; Bring a poem to share; a general theme is picked for each 
meeting - contact Karla at nada23_2002 at yahoo.com to be added to the 
e-mail list and receive notification of topics.

Sunday, October 30 at 12:30 pm, - _Newcomers' Meeting _- the last Sunday 
of each month; learn more about the Ethical Culture movement and about 
the Baltimore Ethical Society.

Saturday, Nov. 5, by popular demand, BES is starting a monthly 
_Coffeehouse_, with an open mike. November's featured performers will be 
writers published in the Arts Activism edition of Poets' Ink (a 
publication of the Maryland State Poetry and Literary Society). More 
information will be available later this month.

PLATFORM DETAILS
Oct.2nd – "Like a Mighty Army: The Impact of Conservative Christianity” 
by Fritz Williams, Leader, Baltimore Ethical Society
Not content with their influence on government at the highest levels, 
conservative Christians have set their sights on transforming every 
dimension of our lives. They now have a formidable educational network 
which includes Christian home schools, private schools, universities, 
and graduate schools, and they are training an army of missionaries who 
will represent their faith in every conceivable profession and 
institution. Fritz Williams examines this multi-dimensional Christian 
offensive and the challenge it poses for religious and social liberals.
Background reading: Fritz’s research for this talk included the 
following books --
• Nancy R. Pearcey, Total Truth: Liberating Christianity from It’s 
Cultural Captivity (Crossway Books, 2004); a historical-theological 
rationale for a world-transforming Christian mission. Robert J. Pennock 
(ed.), Intelligent Design Creationism and Its Critics (MIT Press, 2001); 
a major anthology of writings pro and con on Intelligent Design.
• Steve Bruce, Fundamentalism (Polity Press, 2000); an examination of 
the nature of fundamentalism within different religious traditions.
• Jim Wallis, God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left 
Doesn’t Get It (Harper San Francisco, 2005), a conservative Christian 
voice for peace and justice.
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.

Oct. 9th – “The Intolerance of Evangelicals” by Rev. Ralph Campbell, 
Lead Pastor at Twin Rivers Church
Just who are these people who have hijacked moral issues and exerted 
such power in the political landscape? We will be looking at the 
prevailing cultural assumptions towards evangelicals, as well as 
examining their successes and failures. Evangelicals espouse 
“compassionate conservatism” yet glaringly lack compassion and 
tolerance. Secularists embrace tolerance, yet that tolerance seems not 
to extend to people of faith. Ah, that leaves us seeing red and blue. In 
the immortal words of Rodney King, “Can’t we just get along?” This 
insider’s look will be given by…yes…(gasp) an evangelical, who is very 
proud to call some ethical humanists his friends.
Rev. Ralph Campbell is the Lead Pastor at Twin Rivers Church in 
Columbia, Maryland. In this capacity, he serves as the primary teacher 
and vision caster. Ralph is known for his warm, humorous, and engaging 
speaking style. He is working on his doctorate at Princeton with an 
emphasis in preaching.

Oct. 16th – “Creed and Deed: from the Words of Felix Adler, Ethical 
Culture Founder” by Stephen Meskin, BES member
This book presents lectures that Adler gave during the winter and spring 
of 1877, the first year of the Ethical Culture movement. In this book 
Adler discusses his views on religion. Indeed the title of one of the 
chapters is Religion. Some other chapter titles are Immortality, The New 
Ideal, Spinoza, and The Founder of Christianity. Page images of the text 
are available on line for free at MOA 
http://www.hti.umich.edu/cgi/b/bib/bibperm?q1=ajf2187 However, rather 
than typing that long URL, it would be easier to just Google "Creed and 
Deed."
Stephen Meskin has been a member of BES and Ethical Culture for about 20 
years. He has served as President of BES and as a member of the Board of 
the AEU. He is a graduate of the Humanist Institute and is currently its 
Treasurer

Oct. 23rd – “Israel: A Progressive Jewish Approach to Engagement with 
the Issues” by Valerie Kaplan and John Riehl, Jewish Reconstructionist 
Federation
The Jewish Reconstructionist Federation's Israel Policies Task Force 
Report is a progressive Jewish model for communal values based decision 
making on controversial issues. The Report (November 2004) is intended 
to provide a substantive framework to begin a process of in-depth 
engagement of the Reconstructionist Movement with Israel (nationally and 
congregationally).
 >From the standpoint of both substance and process, issues surrounding 
the approach of North American Jews to Israel and the spectrum of 
Israeli-Palestinian relations have shown the potential to create 
divisions within communities and community groups or result in the 
inability to even talk about Israel.
Valerie Kaplan, a member of the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation's 
Board of Directors since 1986, and President 1990-94, also serves 
currently on the Board of Governors of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical 
College and as Chair of the JRF External Affiliations Committee. She has 
also served on the JRF Task Force on Israel Policies, the 
Reconstructionist Commission on Homosexuality and the JRF Task Force on 
"Boundaries and Opportunities: The Role Non-Jews in JRF Congregations".
John Riehl is a long-time member of the Jewish Reconstructionist 
Federation Board, is a past and current President of the JRF's 
Chesapeake Region, and has served on the Reconstructionist Commission on 
the Role of the Rabbi, which produced the report "The Rabbi-Congregation 
Relationship: A Vision for the 21st Century".

Oct. 30th – Fall Family Festival: an interactive celebration
Our traditional “Stone Salad” story and feast, with thoughts on the 
season and our families to keep us warm in autumn’s dipping 
temperatures. Please bring an ingredient to be added to the salad. All 
else will be provided for a fun and tasty fall get-together!