Thursday Evening Speaker Series
Thank you to Pomeroy Living: Senor Living Communities for their generous sponsorship of the Thursday Evening Speaker Series. Speaker presentations will be at Next with seating dictated by room size for social distancing. A few speakers will still be held on Zoom, indicated in the topic description.
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Women of the Watch
Thursday, November 30, 2023 | 6:00-7:00pm
Anna Marck, Michigan History Storyteller, Theatre Performer and Climate Activist
Join Anna Marck for music, laughter and storytelling. The play follows Anna as she relives hilarious family trips to lighthouses in Michigan, which leads to a discovery of several spectacular stories of various female lighthouse keepers of the Great Lakes. As she steps into these brave women’s shoes, she uncovers the tragedy of the hardships they faced and the beauty of their spirits.
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J.R. Rosenwald & Sears and Roebuck
Thursday, December 7, 2023 | 6:00-7:00pm
Susan Goren Kalisky, B.A., M.Ed., MLIS - Volunteer Reference Librarian, Baldwin Public Library
J.R. Rosenwald epitomizes the American rags to riches story. A fi rst generation American, he rose to the presidency of Sears and Roebuck and became a very wealthy man. How he chose to spend his money is really quite remarkable and because he did not want his name attached to his good works, few know of him. This presentation will explore his early life, his contributions to public education for African American children in the South and his support of art and culture.
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Christians of the Near East: Decline in Iraq, Egypt & the Levant
Thursday, December 14, 2023 | 6:00-7:00pm
Tareq Ramadan, B.A., M.A., Ph.D. - Adjunct Professor, Wayne State University and Arab America Foundation’s 40 under 40 Award Recipient
The Near East is the geographic birthplace of Christianity and remains home to some of the world’s oldest Christian communities such as the Copts, Maronites and Assyrians, while also home to much of the world’s broader Christian denominational diversity, which includes ethno-religious groups like the Chaldeans, Syriacs and others. Today, Christian communities are facing uncertain futures in places like Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Palestine and even Lebanon. Political instability, cratering economies, internecine conflict and religious persecution have led to an increase in Christian emigration and more recently, even genocide and ethnocide in some places. State policies that target Christians, specifically, as well as the repressive acts of quasi-state and non-state actors have led to physical displacement, social dislocation and by extension, demographic declines of the ancient and indigenous Christians of the region.
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Holiday Traditions Around the World
Thursday, December 21, 2023 | 6:00-7:00pm
Michelle Feneberg Join international speaker
Michelle Feneberg for this festive holiday themed talk. Michelle has lived in five countries and will be our "tour guide" as we take a multicultural trip around the world. We'll roam the dark streets of Bavaria and face the Perchten Monsters frightening away the evil winter spirits. We will continue past Sweden and meet little St. Lucia bringing light into the dark winter and we will end in sunny Brazil as the people present offerings of perfume and flowers to the Water-goddess Lemanja in the hope that their wishes for the New Year are granted. Along the way we will see how Hanukkah and Kwanzaa are celebrated, meet Saint Nicholas and laugh at the downright nutty Shepherd Boy tradition in Catalonia, Spain.