Speakers for October

  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 Donna Orchard donnaforchard@gmail.com

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 October 1

Speaker: JEAN LAWRENCE
Title: Chapungu and Frogner Park Sculptures: Two Cultures, Common Values
Summary: Chapungu, from Zimbabwe, and Frogner Park, from Oslo, Norway, offer sculptural experiences which reflect commonalities and values, but which are expressed in very different ways.Jean Lawrence is an artist who has used her art in many different ways.  As a child, she focused on art in high school and did set design for the school theater. She was a comprehensive art major (art and art history) at Northern Illinois University, then worked as an art therapist for 13 yrs.  She then studied painting for 8 years at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.  She repaired porcelain, restored apartment buildings, and did color consulting at the time [and for the FUF!].  Her M.A. in counseling was from Loyola University of Chicago, intending to return to art therapy.  Instead, she opened and ran a B&B in Lakeside, MI, for 17 yrs, and bought and restored abandoned ruins.  She then retired to Fairhope, painting, and enjoying the fellowship and friends.
Introduction: Pinky Bass

October 15

Speaker: KENNETH HUDSON
Title:  The Dark Side of the Protestant Ethic: American Attitudes Toward the Poor
Summary: In his talk, Hudson will review Max Weber’s famous thesis about the origins of capitalism and early Calvinism, providing an entree into his current work on poverty and inequality. Dr. Kenneth Hudson is a professor in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work at the University of Southern Alabama.  He received his B.A. from the University of Mobile, majoring in Religion and Psychology, and then attended the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary followed by the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.   His M.A. from the University of Louisville dealt with the employment of white males before and after affirmative action and his Ph.D. thesis from the University of North Carolina concerned poverty and the labor market.
Introduction: Elaine Snyder-Conn

October 29

Speaker: RICHARD BOND
Title:  The Moral Limits of Tolerance 
Summary: The virtue of tolerance is crucially important in helping to maintain cohesion in society.  Its importance is affirmed in the basic principles that define Unitarianism.  However, there have to be limits to the moral principle of tolerance or the result is immoral action.  
Fairhope Unitarian member Richard Bond was born and raised in Alabama.  He earned a B.A. from Auburn University, a B.D. from Southern Methodist, and a Masters and Ph.D. from Yale University.  He taught philosophy at Yale, Smith College, and Ramapo College for 33 years before he and his wife Judy retired to Fairhope 15 years ago.
Introduction: Judy Bond

October 8  Please Note: ALL SUNDAY EVENTS AT FUF CANCELED DUE TO HURRICANE NATE  We hope everyone will stay safe during the storm and that we will be able to resume normal activities on Monday.

Speaker:  MARILYN SEWELL
Title:  The Meaning of Life
Summary: Thoughtful people at some point are led to ask the big questions, like what gives my life meaning?  Or, knowing that I will die, was do I want to leave behind?  Rev. Sewell will reflect on these questions. Dr. Marilyn Sewell is Minister Emerita of the First Unitarian Church of Portland, Oregon,  where she served as Senior Minister for 17 years, growing her congregation fro 650 to 1600 members, one of the largest Unitarian churches in the world.  Marilyn has authored 10 books and is also the subject of the prize-winning documentary film “Raw Faith.”She contributes often to the Huffington Post and volunteers on climate justice work.  She attended the University of California at Berkeley and received her Ph.D. in Theology from the Starr King School for the Ministry.
Introduction: Donna Orchard

October 22

Speaker:  ELAINE SNYDER-CONN
Title: Alexander von Humboldt:
A Forgotten Giant
Summary: This “once most famous person in the world” inspired Darwin and Wallace, Thoreau, Whitman, Goethe, Emerson, Muir, Simon Bolivar, and many others,  unifying  the many fragmented scientific pursuits of the early 1800 by his holistic view of nature, now shared by biologists and poets alike. His philosophy of human equality helped animate the antislavery movement as well as the overthrow of many South American dictatorships. Fairhope Unitarian Program Co-Chair Elaine Snyder-Conn is stuck with this spot, having failed to recruit another speaker.  She attended Antioch College before receiving an M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Arizona in Zoology.  She was a Visiting Professor at both North Carolina State University and the University of Alaska before working for 23 years as a biologist/environmental contaminants specialist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Alaska, Oregon, Washington D.C., and Daphne.
Introduction: Gwen Snyder