September Announcements

On the Calendar

• Sept. 8-9: GRFMM 50th anniversary celebration, on the campus of Aquinas College and at Marywood Dominican Center.
• Sept. 15: Peace Festival, East Town Fair.
• Sept. 18: “Why Did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha and Mohammed Cross the Road?” That’s the unlikely title of a talk to be presented by author Brian McLaren, an activist, public theologian and frequent conference speaker, at the GVSU Eberhard Center, 301 W. Fulton St., GR, at 7 p.m.. McLaren will present his ideas on how Christians should treat members of other religions, an issue he thinks has become more and more urgent since Sept. 11, 2001. He believes the answer lies neither in an us-versus-them attitude, which fuels mutual misunderstanding and hostility, nor in buying tolerance for other faiths at the cost of lost commitment to our own. Instead he proposes a third alternative, one built on benevolence and solidarity. Advance tickets are $15 (contact Whitney Belprez, belprezw@gvsu.edu or 616-331-5702 to order). Tickets are $20 at the door.
• Oct. 30: More opportunity for broadening interfaith horizons will be provided at the Triennial Jewish-Christian-Muslim Dialogue, featuring Rabbi Dr. Donniel Hartman, Dr. Cynthia Campbell, and Dr. Omid Safi. Note that this will be an all-day conference at GVSU’s Eberhard Center, with both lunch and dinner served. Advance registration (before Oct. 1) is $40. Information about the conference schedule and speakers is available at http://www.gvsu.edu/2012interfaith/2012-triennial-jewish-christian-muslim-dialogue-24.htm.

News and Notes

• Friends General Conference announces matching funds are available for all contributions to the FGC annual fund made by September 30. Two Quaker families will generously match up to $35,000 in donations made by that date.
• A $400,000 grant has been awarded to FGC to work with yearly meetings and others to support the formation of new Quaker meetings and worship groups. A gift of the Thomas H. and Mary Williams Shoemaker Fund, the grant provides for a full-time new meetings project coordinator, a travel team of volunteers to help nurture and support new groups, the development of written and online resources and other services. Find current information on this unfolding two-year project at www.fgcquaker.org/services/new-meetings-project.