Our Annual Lecture Series

The Cade Community Lectures

“On Being Human”

Annual Lecture Series

Lethbridge Public Library

Wednesdays

7:00 pm

January 19th - “What collecting has taught me about being human”

Erin Phillips, Chaplain, Ecumenical Campus Ministry

January 26th - “What policing has taught me about being human”

Hugh Richards, Criminal Justice, Lethbridge College

February 2nd - “What facebook has taught me about being human”

Jennifer Davis, General Studies, Lethbridge College

February 9th - “What volunteering has taught me about being human”

Mike Mahon, President, University of Lethbridge

Sponsored by Ecumenical Campus Ministry, the President’s Office, University of Lethbridge, the President’s Office, Lethbridge College, and Lethbridge Public Library

Internet friendships

Peter Leclaire, vp academic.
Our final lecture in the friendship series took place last night and it was a big success. Peter Leclaire, the VP Academic, came from the college to introduce Marko Hilgersom who is a very popular teacher at the college. He's receiving a NISOD Excellence in Learning Leadership Award this spring (I think learning leadership is some new way of saying 'teaching'). He teaches all sorts of culture/film/religion courses at the college and is developing a new course on narrative. And he's my neighbour.

Marko brought clickers along to allow him to poll the audience (about 50 people ranging in age from 15-70+) which was a lot of fun. For the first half of his talk he mostly polled us about our attitudes towards friendship, how many friends we had, what qualities we most valued in friendship... Then he introduced Aristotle's categories of friendship and related what we had identified to those. And then he talked about the qualities of friendships mediated solely by the internet and asked the question of whether these really counted as friendships. His answer was a qualified yes. He suggested the same qualities can be present in these relationships but they are easier to fake. And he suggested that ultimately true friendship required face to face meeting although we debated that in the discussion afterwards. My counter example was the friendship between Helen and Frank that is described in the book 84 Charing Cross Road - a true story of two people who become significant friends through letters but never meet.

It was a great evening and a really good way to end our series. Now we look forward to the fall when we will do another mini series, this one of religion and fiction.

Friendship Series

Our series on friendship continues tonight at the library and I'm looking forward to hearing what John von Heyking has to say about the possibilities of friendship in a liberal democracy.

Last week I spoke about the tension within the Christian tradition between the recognition of the ways in which friendship can deepen our love of God and can be seen as a gift of grace from God and the commitment to a more universal, non-exclusive love of neighbour. This dance between exclusive, particular committed relationship and an openness to others plays itself out in so many places and in so many kinds of relationships. Here's to being light on our feet.

Friendship Talk

Last night we began our lecture series on friendship. Bill Cade, the president of the U of L, gave a very funny and interesting introduction to the series using examples of friendship from the insect realm and then I gave my talk on whether it is possible for Christians to be friends. More on that later.

Lecture Series about to begin

Next Monday we begin our 7th annual lecture series. It is a joint project of the university, college, public library and chaplaincy and a lot of fun. If you are in town check it out!


“And On the Seventh Day You Shall Do
No Work”: Contemporary Attitudes Towards
Work and Rest

Mondays
7:00 PM
Lethbridge Public Library

“Cell Phones and E-Mail: New Shackles for a Modern Form of Slavery”
Erin Phillips, Chaplain, Ecumenical Campus Ministry
Monday, January 29th

“The Snack Mom Syndrome: Is There Anything left of Me After Work and Volunteering?”
Lisa Lambert, Project Coordinator, Women and Political Participation Project, Womenspace
Monday, February 5th

“Living the Sabbath: Discovering the Rhythms of Rest and Delight.”
Norman Wirzba, Department of Philosophy, Georgetown College, Kentucky
Monday, February 12th

7th Annual Lecture Series Sponsored by the Office of the President (U of L), the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (U of L), the School of Health Sciences (U of L), the Office of the President (LCC), Lethbridge Public Library and Ecumenical Campus Ministry