Welcome to Our Sunday Morning Programs in February

Every Sunday morning from 10:30 a.m. to noon.
These programs are free and open to the public.

Download this newsletter as a pdf.

•  DAVID SUTTON continues our World of Work series on Sunday, February 5th, when he speaks to us on “My Job as a Pet Photographer.” Sutton will describe his intriguing work as a nationally known photographer of pets and how his success has helped him to develop his self-confidence and open up his life.

• MELISSA PERRIN, a licensed clinical psychologist, speaks Sunday, February 12th, on “Sociopaths, Narcissists, and Human Nature.” Perrin will discuss how to recognize when a psychological tendency in a person has become a trait or a disorder. She will tell how we can protect ourselves from pathological behavior and how our responses can help to effect a positive outcome.

•  TRACY BAIM, co-founder and publisher of Windy City Times, speaks Sunday, February 19th, on “Windy City Times: Impact on Chicago and Its LGBT Community.” Baim will discuss how the LGBT media has been a powerful force in culture, sports, and business, and how it has been an active political participant in the wider community, especially in response to the issues of AIDS and civil rights.

•  RYAN FREEMAN, local balloon, juggling, and yo-yo artist, presents an entertaining intergenerational program, “RC Juggles: A Morning of Magic and Wizardry,” on Sunday, February 26th. Freeman will talk about his professional career and amaze us with magical tricks, yo-yo expertise, and elaborate balloon creations.

Coming Society Events

• Our Sunday Morning Colloquy topics this month are Ideals on February 5th, Learning on February 12th, Friendship on February 19th, and Simplicity on February 26th. This small, non-judgmental group, led by Ken Novak, carefully examines how we feel about our lives. We meet in the library, 9:30–10:00 a.m.

• Our Ethnic Dinner Out is on February 11th, the second Saturday this month. We’ll enjoy a fine Filipino buffet and lively conversation at Little Quiapo, 6259 N. McCormick Blvd., in Chicago. Free parking is at the lot in front. We order at 5:30 p.m. RSVP to Richard Curren at the Sunday platform, at richard_curren@yahoo.com, or at 773-743-7976.

•  Our bimonthly Ethical Humanities discussion has been changed to Sunday, February 12th, at 12:15 p.m. Led by Ken Novak, we’ll discuss Tom Paine’s Rights of Man, using as a guide Christopher Hitchens’ Thomas Paine’s Rights of Man: A Biography.

• Our annual Family Fun Night and potluck supper is on Saturday, February 18th, at 5 p.m. We’ll again have games, activities, and lots of conversation. The main course is tender spaghetti, with tasty meat and vegetarian sauces (with a gluten-free option). For the potluck please bring a salad, bread, dessert, or beverage for six hungry people. Those without potluck dishes pay $10. For suggestions of what to bring and how to help, contact Sue Walton (847-475-0392) or Katie Wokosin (847-361-5642) by February 17th.

• Our Film Discussion Group, led by John Ungashick, meets Monday, February 20th, at 7:15 p.m. We’ve chosen two current movies again. The Iron Lady is a depoliticized portrait of 1980s British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. It was directed by Phillida Lloyd and stars Meryl Streep and Jim Broadbent. The Artist, in black and white and no sound but music, is about a silent-film star pushed aside with the coming of sound. It was directed by Michel Hazanavicius, with Jean Dujardin, Berenice Bejo, and James Cromwell.

• Our Creative Writers group, led by John Taylor, meets on Sunday, February 26th, at 12:15 p.m. You are invited to share your short original works with us.   

• Our next Fiction Circle is on Sunday, March 4th, at 12:15 p.m. Led by Ken Novak, we’ll discuss Denis Johnson’s highly praised novella, Train Dreams. Taking place on the Northern Plains at the turn of the 20th Century, it is a story of people and place, life and loss. The book is available at libraries and from Ken, who also has an audio version.

•  Our Second Saturday Coffeehouse is skipping this month. It resumes on March 10th, when, hosted by Vicki Elberfeld, it will feature the Marne Glaser Trio.

Recent Sunday Programs

•  Pangratios Papacosta, professor of physics at Columbia College, spoke December 4th on “Astrobiology—Life Beyond Earth.” Evan Kane was the moderator.

“The science of finding life elsewhere in the universe is my passion,” Papacosta began. He marveled at “the vastness of the universe” and how little we know about distant galaxies. He listed various technological and scientific milestones in our learning about both the very small (through the microscope and microbes, genetics and evolution, and DNA) and the very large (through the telescope and spacecraft).

   Papacosta noted that the spacecraft “Curiosity” is now on its way to Mars, where the finding of water and the possibility of life “is most promising.” In the search for other planets and possible Earth-like conditions for life, he said that by detecting a wobble in a star’s path and the dimming of a star’s light as a planet passes across it, hundreds of planets have already been discovered. He also mentioned the hazards of space travel, legal issues of “who owns space,” and our reaction if we ever contact other intelligent life.

• Richard Graef, a principal flutist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, resumed our World of Work series on December 11th, speaking on “My Life as a Concert Musician.” Accompanying him was his wife, Emily, also a professional flutist. Marilee Cole was the moderator.

Graef related the CSO’s “colorful history,” from the time of Theodore Thomas and Frederick Stock to its rise as a world-renowned orchestra under Rafael Kubelik, Fritz Reiner, and Georg Solti. He amused us with the story of his audition with conductor Jean Martignon, who hired him in 1968. He disparaged “the ugly period” when women and minorities were excluded from the CSO. He noted how the musicians union was wrested from its mob connections and praised the orchestra for “the fairness of its union contract.”

Graef commented on the atonal works of 20th Century composers such as Gustav Mahler and Igor Stravinsky. He also demonstrated various historical flutes, and together with his wife played several flute numbers. He concluded by calling it “a great honor” to be part of the CSO.

• Jim Kenney, co-founder and director of Common Ground, opened our Living Ethics series on January 8th, speaking on “An Evolutionary Change in Religion?” Steve Julstrom was the moderator.

Kenney said, “Religious spirituality is part of a world cultural evolution.” Noting that all religions do not require “a belief in God,” he chided “aggressive atheists who don’t have knowledge of what actually is going on in religion.” He said most critiques and movements for change are coming from within the religious community, where “a religious left” is an advocate for “peace, justice, and ecological sustainability.” Religion itself “will not go away,” he declared.

Kenney spoke of a “First Axial Age” of religion associated with ancient empires and devoid of ethical content. He said religion was later transformed by the emergence of a personal spirituality that has led to a “Second Axial Age,” in which there have been great advances on social issues and toward pluralism. The “backlash can be disappointing and demoralizing” and places an “ethical demand on us,” he added. But he insisted that this backlash is “a last gasp.”

• Laurie Zoloth, director of the Center for Bioethics at Northwestern University, continued our Living Ethics series on January 15th, speaking on “Ethical Issues in Synthetic Biology Research.” Dan Kaplan was the moderator.

Zoloth questioned the wisdom of genetically modifying and creating new organisms. “What are the promises and perils of this new biology?” she asked. Science is based on increasing our understanding of the natural world, she pointed out. But, she asked, “What is natural?” Is science “an attempt to control nature?”

Zoloth went on to ask if biological research is “tempted by the marketplace?” And “who benefits?” She also cited the threat of bio-terrorism and the competition between countries for economic and military advantages. She said we “need to have a conversation about what is permissible.” She posed biological research as a struggle between good and evil. “What is a good scientist?” she asked. Concluding her probing philosophical lecture, she declared that “science should be free, open, and safe.”

Activities and Announcements

Our People

From the President. . .

   The political season is definitely upon us. While the goings-on have provided ample fodder for late-night comedy shows and have been instructive in their own odd way, it’s hard to claim they have been edifying or inspiring. It may be expected that the intolerance, even hate, and the hypocritical mud slinging fueled by mountains of anonymous money would crescendo as the elections approach. It’s hard to imagine that the scenario could get any worse, although historians tell us that elections in the early days of our country were.

   But is it too much to ask that in this most basic democratic task, we engage in civil, respectful, and informed dialog? As individuals we can seek out some of the many voices that enlighten, rather than merely enrage. My own rather short list includes the Tribune, National Public Radio, the Atlantic, non-fiction books, our own varied platform speakers, and friends. Amidst all the noise, we can still choose to keep ourselves informed and able to positively contribute to the decisions that will determine our country’s future.

—Steve Julstrom

Sunday School Scoop. . .

—Sharon Appelquist, Director
sundayschool@ethicalhuman.org