Our Sunday services at 11:00 a.m. feature a different guest speaker each week, either a member of our congregation or someone from the surrounding community. We address a variety of topics, from literature and history to politics, religious thought and social issues. We welcome suggestions for speakers, please contact Ray Ables fairhopeunitarianfellowship@gmail.com

​NOVEMBER PROGRAMS

November 3, 2019

BRIAN WILLKIE: Opportunity Growth for Alabama

Brian Willkie will address the challenge for those of us who believe Alabama extends opportunity to those at the top of the socioeconomic strata and denies it to those at the bottom and then explore some strategies to reversthe ​current polarization in our culture to move closer to each other and foster greater opportunity in our state.
Brian holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees in music composition and is ABD on a Ph.D. in music composition
from LSU. He currently works as a software developer. Along with his wife, Melita, and son, Emerson, he is a
member of this Fellowship, for which he runs the audio most Sunday mornings. He admits none of the above
makes him particularly qualified to speak on this subject, but he is nonetheless passionate about it.
Introducer: Melita Willkie

November 10, 2019
​
RODNEY HOFFMAN: Breaker Boys and Teddy Roosevelt

 Rodney will share information about the “Breaker Boys” and the role they played in the “Great Coal Strike of 1902”. Referring to Doris Kearns Goodwin’s recent book “Leadership in Turbulent Times,” he will also highlight the presidential leadership qualities displayed by Teddy Roosevelt in dealing with the coal strike of 1902.
​After retiring as Supervisor of Gifted Education for Whitehall City Schools, a suburb of Columbus, Ohio, Rodney and his late wife moved to Fairhope in 2002. Although his career in gifted education was satisfying, he claims he most enjoyed the pleasure of playing jazz trumpet in various groups from some forty-five years. Rodney recently served as FUF President for two years​
​​Introducer: Jane Finger

November 17, 2019

​GIORGI DILEMIS: Venice, the Sinking of a Culture

Giorgi DiLemis will describe his beloved city through the prism of history, art, geography, architecture, geology, and gastronomy, and the impact of tourism.
​After his first twenty-eight years were spent in Europe, from 1980, his hotel corporate career has taken him and his family to thirteen USA locations in thirty-six years. Though now retired in Fairhope, Giorgi continues to write articles specific to food and beverage topics for several hospitality industry magazines as well as consult in the industry. Giorgi and his wife, Ann, are the parents of Morgan and Anne-Marie and grandparents to Hudson.
​​Introducer: Ray Ables

November 24, 2019

​ARCH STOKES: This Fleeting Romance Called Life

Gratitude is a palpable practical illustration of a way to make this life a true fleeting romance. Using primarily Oxford University’s Seven Universal Moral Rules, Arch Stokes will illustrate why “doing unto others” can be a guiding tenet that can make us, as individuals, happier, as well as making the world around us a kinder, gentler, place to live.
​Stokes’s focus as a trial attorney for over forty-nine years, has been on trying to make the workplace better for all. The son and grandson of Methodist preachers and educators, a former marine, author, and speaker to thousands on labor law and fair employment practices, and the father of five children, he is an active member of the United Methodist Church. He and his wife, Maggie, live in Pensacola, surrounded by a large extended family, including two foreign exchange “daughters” and their families. . Introducer: Carol Barrett