Forum Discussion Group

May 2023 Forum Schedule

All sessions are at 9 a.m. Sunday in the Lower Level-Forum Room/Library

May 7 – Great Decisions program

Connie Johnmeyer will lead a Great Decisions program on Chapter 7, “Foreign Policy, Economic Power, and U.S. Industrial Policy.”

May 14 – “Tulsa’s Black Wall Street (and the Trail of Tears)”

Sue Tillema will report on the 1921 massacre of blacks in Tulsa, as well as the earlier Trail of Tears, which included the forced displacement of the Cherokee Nation from Georgia and Alabama to Oklahoma, sometimes through Missouri. Sue will draw upon her recent studies in Oklahoma as well as the missionary work of her grandparents in China and the efforts of her parents in Japanese-American internment camps.

May 21 – “To Chair or Not to Chair”

Pack Matthews will focus on the health and cultural issues between squatting or sitting on the floor vs. the western chair. Pack is the designer of “My Soul Seat” and the founder of the Ikari Design Company. My Soul Seat offers a variety of sitting positions and sitting heights, thus encouraging more bodily movements.

May 28 – No meeting – Memorial Day Holiday

The Forum Discussion Group is an adult issues-and-answers discussion program that meets year-round from 9 to 10 a.m. each Sunday. Forum meets in the Forum Room/Library at the southeast corner of the lower level of our church.

The lower level is wheelchair-accessible from the lower-level parking lot entrance.

Forum began in 1980 shortly after our church transitioned from a lay-led fellowship to a community with a full-time minister in October 1980. Forum did not meet starting in March 2020 because of the Covid pandemic but resumed meeting on Sept. 11, 2022.

bill_clark — **Bill Clark was the long-time programmer for Forum**

Among Forum leaders in its nearly four decades of existence have been George and Lois Parker, Arthur McArthur, Bob Breitenbach, Dan Spies, Charlie Atkins, and Carla and Wayne Anderson, and Bill Clark.

Forum looks into community, state, national and international issues, including issues in society, the arts, history, the sciences, and the environment, and occasionally issues within the church. Guests have included musical performers, educational and political leaders, political candidates, representatives of other religions, and leaders in the arts, music, theater, and city and county government.

A typical program format consists of remarks by a guest speaker followed by a question-and-answer period.

Forum is not intended to be a spiritual experience, though spiritual matters such as the soul of dogs occasionally appear on the schedule. The entire community is invited to attend Forum. Church membership or an enrollment is not a requirement – all that is needed is an interest in contemporary issues. A dollar in the coffee can on occasion is appreciated, however. Just show up – you’ll be an immediate Forum member.

Child care is available during the Forum sessions from September through May; however, it is seldom needed because most Forum attendees are older adults. Forum leaders hope to remedy this situation by attracting younger adults, whom the group cordially invites to stretch their horizons and expand their UU experiences. In addition to the listing at the top of this page, scheduled Forum topics are included on the Home Page and on the church calendar.