Spring 2012 Adult Religious Education 

Wednesday Night Classes

Click here for an enrollment form. Enrollment forms can be e-mailed to dcl@ucdsm.org or given to Lori Emison Clair, Director of Congregational Life.

Click on a class title to see more information.
All classes are 6:45 - 8:00 pm, unless otherwise specified

Islam: Past & Present
Wednesday Evenings, January 18 - May 16
Objective discussion on Islam: its history, its crisis and its evolution from the birth of Mohammed and beyond. The range of diversity and perspectives among Muslims is very wide. Our open discussion will focus on understanding the religion and its adherence, without assuming them "as a block of like-minded people".
Facilitators: Ahmed Choudhury and Serhat Tekinalp
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From Exile to Embrace: Understanding and Repairing the Rift Between Religious Community and LGBT Community
Wednesday Evenings, January 18 & February 1
This 2-session class explores two issues as they relate to LGBT people: Spiritual violence and spiritual development. We will identify what spiritual violence is, how it has affected LGBT people in particular, and what religious communities can do to reduce it. We will also seek to understand how spiritual violence and other factors influence the path of spiritual development for many LGBT individuals, as well as how religious communities can use this information to be more welcoming to the LGBT community.
Facilitator: Doug Aupperle
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ARAOM (Anti-Racism, Anti-Oppression, Multiculturalism) Study Group
3rd Wednesday Evenings, January 18 - May 16
We meet to provide an opportunity for participants to think and talk about race and culture, and to stimulate critical thinking and transformative learning. We read agreed-upon texts and reflect outside of our meeting time, and then come together once a month to share our thoughts and learn with and from each other. Our purpose is not to provide quick answers or solutions. Rather, we are committed to becoming better listeners, understanding and accepting the experiences of others, especially experiences that are different from our own, allowing for the practice of an expanded awareness. The group is open to newcomers. Please RSVP to Mark at minister@ucdsm.org if you plan to attend so that Mark can let you know the reading assignment.
Facilitator: Rev. Mark Stringer
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Truth: A Guide to the Perplexed
Wednesday Evenings, January 25 - May 30
Clearly good people disagree. When faced with the difficulty of knowing anything for sure, there seem to be two main choices: Relativism, where 'your guess is as good as mine'; or Absolutism, where we plant our stake and work to convince the most people of our Truth. Blackburn thinks we can do better. It is hard to know anything for sure, but our ignorance is not complete. Likewise, we should beware of dogma. Blackburn concludes that both sides have merit, and that neither has exclusive ownership of truth. If we care about our beliefs, we will want to know their strengths and weaknesses and what can be said for other views. This short book provides the philosophical ideas and tools for assessing claims to knowledge. Based on the book A Guide to the Perplexed by Simon Blackburn.
Facilitator: Don Severs
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Immigration as a Moral Issue (UUA Immigration 101)
2nd and 4th Wednesday Evenings, January 25 - April 11
Using the UUA Immigration Study Guide for a broad overview and background information, we will explore immigration issues on a more personal level here in Des Moines and Iowa through a series of guest speakers and discussions. Readings will be assigned before each class, guest speakers will provide personal perspectives on each topic with discussion following. Class location and time for one or two sessions may change to accommodate special speaker circumstances. Readings for each class will be distributed a week and a half in advance by email—hard copy only if you do not have email. Contact Elaine Imlau at eimlau@dwx.com or 277-1668 for readings.
Facilitators: Elaine Imlau and Susan Huber
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TechnoUU
Wednesday Evenings, February 8 - 29
Facebook (Feb. 8 & 15)
Curious about Facebook, but unsure about all it can do? Worried about privacy issues or just a bit intimidated? Don't be! Victor and Michelle will be on hand with laptops and smart phones to show you everything you ever wanted to know about Facebook (& maybe some things you didn't even realize were possible!) Bring your laptop and/or smart phone (or you can use ours.) We'll get you taken care of-and we'll also show you how to get updates from the church's Facebook page.
Facilitators: Victor Tonelli & Michelle Heater

Twitter (Feb. 22)
What is Twitter anyway? Is it worth the hype? This session will explore the basics of Twitter, including how (and why) to establish your own Twitter presence and how to get the most out of following others.
Facilitator: Adam Kurth

Social Media Ethics (Feb. 29)
The development of social media has dramatically increased our ability to interact instantaneously with friends, family, and with total strangers. There are tremendous benefits to this connectivity, as evidenced by tremendous academic research devoted to the implications of online relationships, marketing, and news. With these benefits, however, come serious questions. What is online privacy, and how is it to be protected? What are some of the pitfalls of online political discourse? How do we balance online and face-to-face interactions, and is there a distinction between online and "real" life? This session will not include an attempt to provide a single answer to these questions, but instead will provide some background and a forum for discussion of these pressing topics.
Facilitator: Adam Kurth
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The Senior Moment: Aging with Meaning, Purpose and Joy
Wednesday Evenings, April 4 - May 30
Older adulthood brings a time to sort and reflect on what has meaning for us, and an opportunity to find or reaffirm purpose and joy. We face an unknown with unlimited possibilities, but only when we awaken to the idea that we have entered a new realm. Age is more than an extension of youth. If you have had the moment of clarity that allows you to move beyond what you’ve experienced, this is an opportunity to share your vision of the great adventure that lies ahead. If you haven’t, it’s a time to share fear and apprehension.
It’s all good. We will use “Successful Aging” as our core text, with participants sharing personal experiences, books and excerpts for discussion. The book, written by John W. Rowe, MD, and Robert L. Kahn, PhD, is based on the famous MacArthur Foundation study that many consider one of the most extensive, comprehensive looks at aging in America ever. It is available at the Des Moines Public Library, with new and used copies on Amazon.
Facilitator: Jim Baker has awakened to the fact that he will be Medicare eligible in three months. After a long career in healthcare marketing management, most of it in California in senior care, he has settled in Des Moines with his wife, Diane. In addition to starting a home health and wellness technology business, Helping Home, he is writing a book about aging based on his experience and interviews with a range of subjects from across the country.
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"The Necessity of Virtue" by Galen Guingrich
Wednesday Evenings, April 4 - May 30, 3:30 -5:00 pm
The Necessity of Virtue is a class based on a workshop presented at the 2010 GA by Rev. Dr. Galen Guengerich, Senior Minister at All Souls UU Church in New York City. The key to happiness, Aristotle insists, is virtue: the state of character in which we fulfill our potential by living as human beings ought to live. Each of us has the capacity to be wise, courageous, compassionate, just, temperate, transcendent, and hopeful. This nine part workshop will explore each of these capacities through a combination of videos, exercises, and discussion.
Facilitators: Bob Henderson and Harvey Harrison
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Elite: Uncovering Classism in Unitarian Universalist History
Wednesday Evenings, May 2 - 16
Written by the Reverend Mark W. Harris, this book and three week discussion explores historical events and trends that have led Unitarian Universalist congregations to serve primarily upper middle class, educated, professional people. The book traverses the centuries of Unitarian, Universalist, and Unitarian Universalist history in the United States through the lens of these questions: Who are we? What do we believe? Who is welcome to belong with us?
Facilitators: Rolland Riley and Mia Countryman
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