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Religion In Our Times Discussion Schedule for Fall 2002 Held Sundays
from 12:00 noon to 1:00pm at First Unitarian Church of Church
members and their guests are welcome at these sessions. No special Fall 2002 A bumper sticker reads, “5% of the World’s people use a third
of the resources and make nearly half the waste - that 5% is US.” Does
this make you proud or embarrassed? Is our huge consumption excessive?
Does it really bring the happiness that our Constitution empowers us
to pursue? Must we consume more and more to have a healthy economy?
We’ll share reactions to these questions after discussing the concept
of AFFLUENZA, a disease defined by the authors of the book of that name
as “a painful, contagious socially transmitted condition of overload,
debt, anxiety and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more.” 9/29 Security Against Terrorists vs. Civil
Liberties - What’s the Right Balance? - Mark Miller Last October, Congress passed the USA Patriot Act as part of
the war on terrorism. In the Act, the definition of terrorism is broadened,
detention of aliens is permitted without the usual due process, and
restrictions on searches of suspected terrorists were loosened. In other
action, the Attorney General has limited suspects right to a lawyer
and trial by military tribunal is now available to our government. Clark
professor Mark Miller will help us to discuss such questions as: Are
people being deprived of basic constitutional rights? If so, is this
justified by the threat of more terrorist attacks? Should the average
citizen be concerned? Mark Miller is chair of Clark’s Government and
Political Science Department. He has a law degree as well as academic
credentials and served as a judicial fellow with the U.S. Supreme Court. 10/13 Global Warming - True or False? - Scott Jiusto What is the scientific consensus as to the climate impact of
world industrial and automobile emissions? What kind of ecological and
human impacts are possible? Who are the naysayers and how are they financed?
Are there good reasons to pursue renewable and efficient energy systems,
even if some of the undesirable effects of increasing greenhouse gas
emissions are still debated? In addition to scientific and economic
considerations, how should moral and ethical values influence decision-making?
Our resource person will be Scott Jiusto, a doctoral candidate at Clark
working on energy policy, global warming and a "Worcester Regional
Climate Change Response" initiative. 10/27 Compassionate End-of-Life Care - H. Brownell Wheeler, MD,
with Bill Densmore Since 1996, First U member Brownie
Wheeler has devoted much time and effort to improving the health care
system’s treatment of people with terminal illness. Now this is being
extended to a broad-based community effort. The Central Massachusetts
Partnership to Improve Care at the End of Life is a five year project
to move Central Massachusetts toward the long range vision that: All persons in Central Massachusetts live their last days in this
life as comfortably as possible, in the setting of their choice, according
to their expressed wishes. Both they and their families are supported
by a caring community. A Planning Committee lead by Brownie
and Bill has been working since early this year to develop specific
plans to reach this goal. We plan to outline these plans for your review
and advice. Brownie Wheeler is Professor and Chairman of the Department
of Surgery, Emeritus of the UMass Medical School and Past President,
Worcester District Medical Society. 11/10 Nuclear Power - Friend or
Foe? - James Muckerheide Last Spring, WPI professor emeritus
Jim Demetry provided a great overview of where our energy comes from,
how it is used, and the options for overcoming the impending shortage.
He then facilitated an interesting discussion of the options, including
reduced consumption, more use of nuclear power and alternative energy
sources such as wind, solar, wood,
fuel cells and geothermal. At the conclusion, a majority of those
present supported an ROT session on nuclear power with an informed advocate.
Jim Muckerheide has been the Massachusetts State Nuclear Engineer since
1990 and formed the Center for Nuclear Technology and Society at WPI
in 1997. He graduated from Lowell Tech in 1971 with a degree in nuclear
engineering and has had extensive experience in the nuclear power industry.
He sees nuclear power as a 21st Century imperative to save the planet
from the environmental impact of oil and coal and war over oil supplies.
11/24 Compassionate End-of-Life Care
-Part Two; Making Your Wishes Known - Janice B. Yost, EdD, with Bill
Densmore On October 27, ROT described the Central
Massachusetts Partnership to Improve Care at the End of Life and the
vision that: All persons in Central Massachusetts
live their last days in this life as comfortably as possible, in the
setting of their choice, according to their expressed wishes. Both they
and their families are supported by a caring community. To achieve this vision requires that each one of us consider, in consultation with
family, how we wish to be treated during our last days in this life,
and to prepare a health care directive that records our wishes and appoints
an agent to make decisions if one is incapacitated. In Part Two of our
series, we will describe the process and documents that the Central
Massachusetts Partnership to Improve Care at the End of Life is considering.
Participants will be encouraged to share personal experiences - good
and bad - and to provide advice and criticism on what we are proposing.
First U member Jan Yost is president of The Health Foundation and a
member of the Partnership Planning Committee with Brownie Wheeler and
Bill Densmore. 12/8
Cultural Creatives -
Are You One? - Virginia Swain There are people in the US and around
the world who are concerned about and active on the major issues of
our time. They have much in common, according to Sociologist Paul Ray
and his wife Sherry Anderson in their research-based book, Cultural
Creatives: How 50 million People are Changing the World. Ray
believes that if they joined together, they could become an important
political force -- what Ray calls the New Progressives, going beyond
Big Business Conservatives, Social Conservatives, and Liberal Lefts.
Virginia Swain will outline a few of the key themes of Ray's and Anderson's
book and then lead a discussion of the potential of the Cultural Creatives
in our society. First U member Virginia Swain is Director of the Institute
for Global Leadership and has had extensive experience in consulting
with and educating cultural creatives. Virginia's mediation and reconciliation
experience is focused toward achieving a just, sustainable, inter-cultural
and multiethnic world peace by inviting cultural creatives into courses
at the United Nations.
For questions or comments regarding Religion In Our Times, please contact the church office. First
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