The Annual Pre-Kwanzaa Celebration will be celebrated at 7 p.m. Dec. 2 at the Gaines/Oldham Black Culture Center at the University of Missouri. There will be fellowship and fun that’s both educational and entertaining. It includes a candle-lighting ceremony to discuss the seven principles of Kwanzaa and a free soul food dinner. Call the center at (573) 882-2664 with questions or for additional information.
‘Buddha and Buddhism’ seminar
Anthony Alioto will present “Buddha and Buddhism” at a Noel P. Gist Brown-Bag Luncheon Seminar On International Affairs at noon Thursday, Dec. 2.
Alioto, professor and Althea and John A. Schiffman Endowed Chair in Ethics, Religious Studies and Philosophy at Columbia College, is the author of A History of Western Science.
He will speak in Memorial Union S304 at the University of Missouri.
Photo: Columbia College
Brown Bag seminar to discuss noted theologian
Larry Brown, a member of the advisory board to CORP sister group World Religions in Missouri, will present the Noel P. Gist Brown Bag Luncheon Seminar on International Affairs at noon Thursday, Nov. 11.
Brown will present “Faith in the face of tyranny,” about Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German theologian executed by the Nazis during World War II.
He will speak in Memorial Union room S110.
Activist and speaker to headline Islam Awareness Week at MU
Updated with more details on Webb’s speech and more Islam Awareness Week events.
Imam Suhaib Webb
Webb will speak on Thursday, Oct. 28, at 6:30 7 p.m. The Center is co-sponsoring the lecture, titled “Voice of an American Muslim: How Islam and America shaped me,” to be held in the Black Culture Center. Other Islam Awareness Week events include:
- Muslims in the Media panel discussion, 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 25, Memorial Union South 110
- Movie screening: “Bilal’s Stand,” 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 26, Ellis Auditorium
- Pink Hijab Day: Women in Islam panel, 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 27, Mumford 133
Photo: umar nasir / CC
Send your nominations for Columbia diversity awards
Do you know an individual, family or organization (community group, business, school, church, etc.) who has significantly impacted Columbia by promoting appreciation for diversity and cultural understanding?
Each year, the Columbia Values Diversity Celebration Planning Committee recognizes citizens who make significant contributions to our community through the Columbia Values Diversity Award program.
These awards honor those whose work exemplifies the life and teachings of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in fostering individual dignity, racial equality, understanding, peacemaking and solving problems through non-violence.
Two awards are presented annually at the Columbia Values Diversity Celebration, one for individuals and families, and one for organizations.
Nominations for the 2011 Columbia Values Diversity Awards are now being submitted. To submit a nomination, go to the City of Columbia’s website.
Potluck and interfaith discussion in Columbia
There will be an interfaith dialog and potluck at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 17, at Flat Branch park and the Islamic Center of Central Missouri, at Fifth and Elm streets, in Columbia.
Religious leaders will speak and there will be activities for children. Please bring a picnic blanket, potluck dish (no pork, please), dinnerware, drinks, cookies or a dessert to share.
The picnic is sponsored by the Islamic Center of Central Missouri. For more information, call Monta Welch at (573) 443-4717.
Director Ineke Smits bringing award-winning ‘Transit Dubai’ to MU
Film director Ineke Smits will show her 2008 documentary film “Transit Dubai” at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 20, in the Fred W. Smith Forum at MU’s Reynolds Journalism Institute. A discussion of the film will follow the screening.
The city of Dubai is a travel destination and home for people from all over the world. Many of its inhabitants are temporary visitors from Europe, Asia, America and the Middle East. This film looks at Dubai through the eyes of four photography students. It uncovers multiple layers within this modernized and at the same time traditional society. It also shows how Western influences and information technology have changed the local culture and people.
“Transit Dubai” premiered at the International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam. It won the Audience Award at Gdansk Film Festival in 2009.
In addition to directing and writing fiction and documentary films, Smits is a script advisor, creative producer and lecturer. She studied at the Art Academy in Rotterdam and the National Film and Television School in England. Her 2010 feature film “The Aviatrix of Kazbek” is currently showing at film festivals internationally.
The event is sponsored by the Center for the Digital Globe at MU.
‘Ethics & the Brain’ syposium to feature Steven Pinker keynote
Acclaimed psychologist Steven Pinker headlines the seventh annual MU Life Sciences & Society Symposium, March 19-20, 2011. This year’s theme is “Ethics & the Brain” and will feature leading researchers from neuroscience, law, psychology, philosophy, anthropology and theology.
For several decades now, neuroscientists have used technology to produce images of the brain in action. But what do such pictures tell us? Should they change the way we think about personal identity and free will? Can they reveal whether a person is capable of making moral decisions, or whether a person is telling the truth? The symposium will address these issues and more.
The symposium will take place on the MU campus. It is free and open to the public and is designed to encourage dialogue across methodologies and backgrounds.
For more information, visit the Life Sciences & Society Program website.
Gist luncheon seminar on Heifer Project
Mel West will present “Passing on the Gift: The Heifer Project in Nicaragua and Thailand” during the Gist Brown Bag Luncheon Seminar on International Affairs, noon Thursday, Sept. 30.
Mel was raised on a dairy farm outside of Golden City, Missouri.
After his service in the Marine Corps during WWII he obtained a Bachelors Degree in Dairy Husbandry from MU and operated a dairy farm for 12 years outside of Golden City.
Starting in 1965 until he retired in 1985 he developed and directed the Office of Creative Ministries for the Missouri area where he created over 20 mission projects.
He has served on the boards of several international organizations including among others: the Heifer Project, Habitat for Humanity, the Society for Appropriate Technology, Alphabet Literacy, and the National Association of Churches Concerned about The Environment.
In 1995 he started and now directs the PET or Personal Energy Transportation project that is providing wheel-chairs to low income disabled people in 61 countries.
The seminar will be held in N52 Memorial Union. For more information, visit the Gist Seminar’s website.
Conference on ‘healing power of food’ in Columbia
The First Presbyterian Church in Columbia will host “The Healing Power of Food,” a conference on food’s relationship to the self and the world, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sept. 29. Dr. Shannon Jung will provide addresses during the day on food in consumer culture, and food and the soul. Jung is the Franklin and Louise Cole Professor of Town and Country Ministries at Saint Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, Mo. and the author of Hunger and Happiness: Feeing the Hungry, Nourishing Our Souls.
The even will focus on a luncheon featuring food from Columbia’s Main Squeeze Cafe. Main Squeeze owner Leigh Lockhart will also speak on the joys of preparing and sharing food.
Registration is $65. For more information and to download a registration PDF, visit the website of the Missouri Conference of The United Methodist Church.