Trailside Center, 4700 Dublin Ave. in Midland
The nonprofit TED, standing for Technology, Entertainment, Design, offers knowledge and inspiration from the world’s foremost thinkers in video presentations online for free. Their Mission: Spreading Ideas. Join educator Tom Lowrey on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month during lunch to watch a TED talk (typically 10-20 minutes each) and participate in lively discussion about the ideas presented. Please register by calling 633-3700.
Religion and Change
Tuesday, May 9, 11:45am-1:00pm
It’s time to reclaim and reinvent religion
At a moment when the world seems to be spinning out of control, religion might feel irrelevant or like part of the problem. But Rabbi Sharon Brous believes we can reinvent religion to meet the needs of modern life. He shares four principles of a revitalized religious practice.
I grew up in the Westboro Baptist Church. Here’s why I left
What’s it like to grow up within a group of people who exult in demonizing everyone else? Megan Phelps-Roper shares details of life inside America’s most controversial church and describes how conversations on Twitter were key to her decision to leave it. She shares her personal experience of extreme polarization, along with some sharp ways we can learn to successfully engage across ideological lines.
How I’m working for change inside my church
How do we respect someone’s religious beliefs, while also holding religion accountable for the damage those beliefs may cause? Chelsea Shields has a bold answer to this question. She was raised in the orthodox Mormon tradition, and she spent the early part of her life watching women be excluded from positions of importance within the LDS Church. Now, Chelsea is working to reform her church’s institutionalized gender inequality.
