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<big><b>NO MEETING THIS SUNDAY DECEMBER 26</b></big><br>
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 <a
href="http://www.baltimoreethicalsociety.org/index.html">www.BaltimoreEthicalSociety.org</a><br>
<h2 align="center">Sunday Platforms<br>
</h2>
January 2<b><br>
Colloquy</b><br>
By Karen Elliott, Associate Leader for Adjunct Services<br>
January 9<b><br>
Faith and Doubt<br>
</b> By Fritz Williams, Leader of the Baltimore Ethical Society<br>
January 16<br>
<b>Safety, Civil Rights and the Ethics of Discrimination</b><br>
By Bash Pharoan, Arab-American Anti-Discrimination League<br>
January 23<b><br>
The Intolerance of Evangelicals<br>
</b> By Rev. Ralph Campbell, Lead Pastor at Twin Rivers Church
in Columbia, Maryland<br>
January 30<b><br>
Reflections of Afghanistan</b><br>
By Fahima Vorgetts Director of Women for Afghan Women's (WAW)
Afghan Women's fund
<h3 align="center">Special Events</h3>
<p>Sundays Jan 2, 16, and 30: The poetry group will meet before our
Sunday morning Platform.<br>
Monday Jan 17: Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day with friends and
family<br>
Sunday Jan 30: Newcomer's Meeting at 12:30 pm.<br>
</p>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Upcoming Events </h2>
<p>Two additional workshops will be offered in the spring: "Jesus in
the Light of Modern Scholarship" and "The End of the World."<br>
</p>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Details of Platforms<br>
</h2>
January 2: COLLOQUY: Karen Elliott, Associate Leader for Adjunct
Services<br>
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.”<br>
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.<br>
<br>
January 9: FAITH AND DOUBT: Fritz Williams, Leader of the Baltimore
Ethical Society<br>
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.<br>
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. <br>
<br>
January 16: “SAFETY, CIVIL RIGHTS AND THE ETHICS OF DISCRIMINATION”
Bash Pharoan, Arab-American Anti-Discrimination League<br>
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.<br>
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.”<br>
<br>
January 23: THE INTOLERANCE OF EVANGELICALS: Rev. Ralph Campbell, Lead
Pastor at Twin Rivers Church in Columbia, Maryland<br>
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.<br>
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.<br>
<br>
January 30: REFLECTIONS OF AFGHANISTAN: Fahima Vorgetts, Director of
Women for Afghan Women’s (WAW) Afghan Women’s fund<br>
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.<br>
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. <br>
<br>
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