February 5

Rev. Nina D. Grey

Contemplating Empty Bowls

For the past month our young people have turned empty bowls into beautiful art. Today we contemplate empty bowls, symbol of scarcity and hunger. We think about food, health, and power. After church we are invited to buy a beautiful empty bowl filled with soup, gather for food and fellowship, and support the Hyde Park and Kenwood Interfaith Council Food program all at the same time.

February 12

Dr. Melissa Harris-Lacewell

The Ethics of Getting Away With It

People of faith often wonder why bad things happen to good people. This Sunday we will turn this question on its head and ask, why do good things happen to bad people? How can our diverse religious and humanist traditions help us to understnad why bad acts so often seem to bring prosperity and reward?

Melissa Harris Lacewell is assistant professor of political science and the Center for the Study of Race, Politics, and Culture at the University of Chicago. She holds an honorary degree from Meadville Lombard and she's Parker's mom!

February 19

Dr. Arthur Waskow

Oil: Addiction, the"drug pushers," and recovery

Rabbi Arthur Waskow is founder and Director of Shalom Center, a center for peace and justice grounded in Jewish wisdom, in Philadelphia, PA. He has been active in mideast peace and justice, economic justice, and environmental justice. Rabbi Waskow was a neighbor and colleague of Rev. Grey's when she served the Unitarian Society of Germantown in Philadelphia. We are pleased to have him in the pulpit this morning, and as presenter for the First Forum today.

February 26

Rev. Nina D. Grey

A Pluralistic World: Diversity in Nature and Spirit

Theologian Eugene March wrote, "There are in the neighborhood of fifty million species of plants and animal life currently to be found...variety seems to be the way things are supposed to be...So why should there not be different religions...different ways to express spirituality? Certainly religious expression is at least as important...as the variety of canine breeds." This morning we reflect on spiritual pluralism in a world of natural variety and abundance.

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