Center for Faith Studies Events Archive
Center for Faith Studies Presents: “A Story of Survival and Liberation”
Tuesday, March 6th, 2012Center for Faith Studies Presents: Dr. Grace Wolf-Chase
Sunday, February 5th, 2012
Center for Faith Studies Presents Frank Schaeffer
Thursday, January 26th, 2012
Freedom Riders
Monday, January 16th, 2012
Center for Faith Studies Presents Diana Butler Bass
Thursday, November 10th, 2011
Straight Talk From a Gay Man
Sunday, October 23rd, 2011Sunday, October 23, 2011 – 7:00 PM
Reverend Michael Piazza, presenting “Straight Talk From a Gay Man: Why We Should ALL Be Interested in LGBT Equality,” has been named one of the most influential people in the gay and lesbian movement. Having served as pastor of the liberal and inclusive Cathedral of Hope in Dallas, Texas, for over 20 years, Reverend Piazza led his congregation to be uncompromisingly devoted to reaching out to lesbian or gay persons who have been excluded by their churches of origin. Throughout his career, he has supported and equipped progressive people of faith to be champions for peace and justice in our conflicted world. Reverend Piazza joins us at the Center for Faith Studies to shed light on the vast scope of LGBT issues in our community, and how those issues not only lie at the intersection of faith and justice, but also have profound practical and societal effects on all of us, whether gay or straight.
Check out the Piazza Flyer for more information.
This event is co-sponsored by PFLAG
Radical Amazement Lecture
Thursday, October 13th, 2011
Author and Distinguished Professor Emeritus of English at Indiana University, Scott Russell Sanders is the author of twenty books of fiction and nonfiction, including Hunting for Hope and, most recently, A Private History of Awe and A Conservationist Manifesto. His Earth Works: Selected Essays is forthcoming in 2012. Dr. Sanders will present “The Way of Imagination”where he seeks to articulate the link between the shaping force we perceive in nature and the shaping force that gives rise to art, inventions, utopias, ethical ideals, stories, and other human creations. How do we nurture imagination in ourselves, our children, and our communities? How might we use this power to envision and create a way of life more in harmony with nature, a way of life less damaging to Earth and less costly to future generations? What does the power of imagination suggest about the role humans might play in the cosmos?
Suggested donation for tickets is $10. Advance tickets are available in person in the main offices or in the foyer on Sunday mornings. Tickets are also available by mail with a self-addressed, stamped envelope and a check made out to Countryside Community Church, 8787 Pacific St., Omaha, NE 68114.Students are free with ID. Checkout our Sanders Flyer for more information.
A Sense of Place: Discovering a New Way of Seeing the World Around You
Thursday, September 15th, 20112:00 – 3:00 PM Chapel
September 15th, September 29th and October 13th
When we really see, hear and feel our surroundings we begin to realize we are intimately connected to God and to place; we are not separate. Over the weeks of this class you will take time to slow down, observe, and bring reverent curiosity to some part your environment. You will develop a personal field guide or nature journal using words/drawings/photos/collection or other means to ground your prayer and study.
Facilitators are Rita Otis and Margaret McGrath. Rita is a Spiritual Director at Countryside Church and Margaret is a writer who occasionally blogs for Darkwood Brew.
To sign up for this class, please email cyndik@countrysideucc.org or leave a message at (402) 391.0350 ext.121.
There is neither cost nor required reading for this class, but you may find these books enjoyable additions to your experience:
Keeping a Nature Journal by Clare Walker Leslie & Charles E. Roth
Hunting for Hope: A Father’s Journeys by Scott Russell Sanders*
Staying Put: Making a Home in a Restless World by Scott Russell Sanders
*Dr. Scott Sanders will be a featured Center for Faith Studies presenter on October 13, 2011, at 7:00 PM and, as an added highlight, will meet with this group earlier that afternoon.
Then and Now
Sunday, September 11th, 2011Then and Now: Civil Liberties and Interfaith Relations Ten Years after 9/11
Sunday September 11, 2011 from 2:00-3:30 p.m. at Witherspoon Concert Hall in Joslyn Art Museum, join with fellow community members on the tenth of anniversary of September 11th to remember this tragic event and to reflect on its impact on religious and ethnic relations in our community and country. Esteemed civil rights attorney and writer Sahar Aziz will share her insights on the delicate balance between national security and civil liberties in our post-9/11 America and will offer thoughts on what the next ten years may hold.
Sahar Aziz is an associate professor of law at Texas Wesleyan School of Law and frequently writes about national security and civil rights issues for a variety of media sites including CNN.com, Huffington Post, altmuslim, and the Houston Chronicle. She has served as a senior policy advisor at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
You may pre-register for this free event online at 911omaha.eventbrite.com or in person at Countryside Community Church, 8787 Pacific Street. For additional reflection or discussion, check out Project Interfaith’s 9-11 Discussion Guide.
Center for Faith Studies 2011-2012 Lecture Brochure
Wednesday, August 24th, 2011Center for Faith Studies Lecture Series 2011-2012
SAVE THE DATES and make your plans!