The Series Continues: Good News On Cancer, Music As A Message, Barbara Bush Steps In For Her Sister, And...

The Dogwood Lobby

This week the January Series, the consistently enlightening talk fest continues its remote site run at the Dogwood Center. The free presentations start at 12:30pm and end promptly at 1:30pm and with a 24 hour notice you can enjoy a satisfying lunch (a mere five bucks, just call 231.924.8885 ) as you listen and perhaps even learn a bit.
We asked our friend Sherrie Harris, a veteran of this annual exercise of education in edification, to share her thoughts about the first two folks who took to the lectern last week.

“I'm hooked - AGAIN.  Been enjoying the Calvin Series at the Dogwood from the first year Fremont was added as a remote webcast site. And the first two sessions were just as thought provoking and enjoyable as sessions of previous years.
“The Calvin Prison Initiative was eye opening and amazing - the accomplishments and testimonials of the men at Handlon prison in Ionia that are a part of the program and were shared during the presentation will stay with me for a very long time.
“The words of Arthur Brooks on Friday remind me that "civility" and "tolerance" are not a high enough standard to bring America together - we need and deserve love. We need to stand up to people who agree with us on behalf of those who disagree with us - hard to do.  We need to break the bad habit of talking contemptuously of people by practicing warm-heartedness - answer with kindness and love. Thirteen more sessions for this year and looking forward to everyone of them!”

 MONDAY
FINALLY, SOME GOOD NEWS ABOUT CANCER
Dr. Cheng-Ho Jimmy Lin is the Chief Scientific Officer of Oncology, at Natera. Most recently, he led the clinical genomics program at the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health. He was part of one of the first clinical genomics labs in academia at Washington University in St. Louis and led the computational analyses of the first ever exome sequencing studies in cancer, including breast, colorectal, pancreatic, glioblastoma, medulloblastoma, and melanoma at Johns Hopkins. He has published in top academic journals, such as Science, Nature, and Cell, and has been an expert in national and international media outlets, such as The New York Times, Forbes, Bloomberg Businessweek, and The Washington Post.

 TUESDAY
GROWING YOUNG: HELPING YOUNG PEOPLE DISCOVER AND LOVE THE CHURCH
In the midst of the discouraging reports about the aging and decline of churches today, what steps do savvy churches take that help them best love and serve teenagers and young adults?  Kara Powell is the executive director of the Fuller Youth Institute and associate professor of youth and family ministry at Fuller Theological Seminary who will be addressing this question and many like it in her talk.  Named by Christianity Today as one of “50 Women to Watch,” she is the author or coauthor of several books, including Growing Young and Sticky Faith, and a regular speaker at national leadership and youth ministry conferences across the country.

WEDNESDAY
FINDING REFUGE ON THE STAGE
Mariela Shaker is an accomplished Syrian violinist and award winning refugee advocate who survived the war in Syria and the University of Aleppo attack in January 2013.  During her time at the university, she was the youngest violin teacher at the Arabic Institute of Music, where she risked death every day commuting between home and the Institute to create beauty through her violin and inspire children to pursue their dreams.  Having received a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, she fled to the United States to further study music with a full scholarship to Monmouth College. Unable to return home, Mariela was granted refugee status in the US. She was named a “Champion of Change” by President Barack Obama and appointed a UNHCR High Profile Supporter in 2015.  Since then she has received a number of additional awards including the Points of Light Award in 2017 and the Anne Frank Honorary Award in 2018. She has performed at prestigious venues such as The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, United Nations, among others and has traveled to Hong Kong, Netherlands, UK, Geneva, UAE and all over the US using her music to build bridges, promote peace, and raise awareness of the plights of refugees.

THURSDAY
NOTE: Due to unforeseen scheduling conflicts with NBC, Jenna Bush Hager is unable to fulfill her commitment to speak at the January Series. Her sister, Barbara Pierce Bush, has graciously agreed to fill in.

A MODERATED CONVERSATION WITH BARBARA PIERCE BUSH
Barbara Bush co-founded Global Health Corps (GHC) in 2009 to mobilize a global community of young leaders to build the movement for health equity. To-date, GHC has fostered over 900 young leaders who believe health is a human right and who take an innovative approach to solving some of the world’s biggest global health challenges. In 2015, Barbara was recognized as one of Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People in Business. Previously, she worked at the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, Red Cross Children’s Hospital in South Africa, UNICEF in Botswana, and the UN World Food Program. Barbara is a member of UNICEF’s Next Generation Steering Committee and on the Board of Directors of Covenant House International, PSI, and the UN’s Social Entrepreneurship Council.
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 FRIDAY
SEARCHING FOR THE IMAGE OF GOD IN A DIGITAL AGE
Craig Detweiler is an author, filmmaker, theologian, and cultural commentator recently named the third president of The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology.  Previously he was professor of Communication and creative director of the Institute for Entertainment, Media and Culture at Pepperdine University. He is the author of several books on technology and culture including iGods: How Technology Shapes Our Spiritual and Social Lives and most recently Selfies: Searching for the Image of God in a Digital Age.  Craig’s cultural commentary has been featured on ABC’s Nightline, CNN, Fox News, NPR, and in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

There you go, folks. A great way to take an early afternoon break from a winter’s day while gathering some interesting information along the way.
And be sure to peruse the selection of books on display in the lobby courtesy of the Friends of the Fremont Library.