[BES Friends] Season of Sharing and Eating

[Stephen Meskin]

Upcoming BES activities:

While many at BES don't get into the upcoming celebration of commercial 
excess, it is hard not to feel the mood of those around us.  Our next 
two platforms attempt to focus on those things from our environment that 
appeal to the best in us -- sharing, community, and food.

Sun Dec 23 Winter Festival Platform:  /Sharing and Community
*Mittens, scarves, hats, and other warm clothing/ for people of all ages 
will be used to decorate our "Mitten Tree"  and then will be donated to 
Viva House to warm the homeless.  Whatever you bring make sure it is NEW.  
/*Sun Gifts/ are low cost presents likely to bring a smile to someone's 
face (like the Sun).  All presents will be pooled and then randomly 
redistributed to those in attendance.  So don't make them too big.

Sun Dec 30 Annual Pancake Breakfast:  /Eating and Community
*Pancakes with maple syrup, coffee, and tea will be provided.  /You can 
supplement them with conversation and whatever other food and drink you 
like.

Sat Jan. 5 at 7:00 pm 1st Saturday Coffee House, Special Benefit, Water 
for the Wells
Poetry . Music . Refreshments . Open Mic . Donation Requested
     Baltimore Indymedia writes "Water for the Wells brings together 
Baltimore poets and musicians who are organizing benefit performances to 
raise $1,200 to build a single village well in Mali, East Africa. This 
may only be the beginning, says organizer Marcus Colasurdo." Performers 
include BES favorites Karla Mancero and Brian Langston, as well as Mike 
Monroe, Suzanne Diggs, Alan Barysh, Jasaga, and more.

(The BES Board will be holding an all day Board retreat on Dec 29.  
Members are welcome; call Dick Katz for more info and to make sure there 
is room for you.)

SUNDAY PLATFORMS IN JANUARY (See our newsletter or web site 
http://www.baltimoreethicalsociety.org/Calendar.php for speaker bios)
Jan. 6: "Taking Laughter Seriously" Fritz Williams, Leader, Baltimore 
Ethical Society
     Laughter is possibly the most contagious form of pleasure.  It 
spices up relationships.   It brings down pretensions and puts people at 
ease.  It works like medicine in times of sadness, anxiety, and grief.  
On the most basic level, it is a way of coping with the ultimate 
absurdity and purposelessness of life.  Fritz Williams includes laughter 
and a sense of humor in his year-long overview of the good life.  

Jan. 13: "Even the Black Sheep Has a Shrine" Mike Franch, Ethical 
Culture Leader 
     My brother died August 5, 2006. We had only reconnected about six 
years ago, after years in which his whereabouts were unknown to the 
family. He was the family black sheep. Now, as he was slipping away, I 
discovered that his circle of friends, coworkers, and neighbors held him 
in high regard and deep affection. There was more to David than I had 
realized.
     There's always more to other people than we realize. Our religion 
addresses part of that when it talks about worth and dignity. It should 
also provide a ladder so we can, in the words of Felix Adler, "surmount 
those walls which surround the shrine" in the other. If we don't try, he 
said, we ourselves are spiritually dead

Jan. 20: "Belated Justice for Nazi Resisters" Susanne Riveles PhD
     Susanne Riveles  will report on contemporary research findings 
about Nazi crimes against humanity. Only since the fall of the Berlin 
wall are new Nazi-Justice records accessible to researchers in a unified 
Germany. She will describe the organization, work and persecution of the 
largest Berlin based resistance organization fighting the Nazi regime on 
numerous fronts. The members of the group were driven underground and 
acted under the permanent threat of being arrested. Over 200 members 
were caught, tried by the infamous Peoples Court, and executed in the 
last months of World War II.

Jan. 27: "The Politics of Presidential Primaries" Richard Katz, 
Professor of Political Science, JHU
     By this time the two major parties will have had primaries or 
caucuses in Iowa, New Hampshire, Michigan, and Nevada. In addition, 
Republicans will have had a primary in South Carolina and county 
conventions in Wyoming. Our own president, Dick Katz will help us read 
the presidential tea leaves; describe how the primary process affects 
our democracy; propose a better primary process; and mention some things 
we might consider when Maryland holds its primary is on Feb 12.

OTHER ACTIVITIES IN JANUARY (See our newsletter or web site 
http://www.baltimoreethicalsociety.org/Calendar.php for more info)
*Poetry Group Sun Jan. 6 & 20, 9:30 am
*Moveable Treats Jan. 6, 10:30 am to Noon
*Board Meeting Sun Jan. 6, 12:30 pm (all members are welcome)
*Community Circle Jan. 13 & 27, 7:00 pm
*Newcomers' Meeting Jan. 27, 12:30 pm



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