My Year of No Shopping – Leslie Bryant

Leslie Bryant will be speaking about her ongoing “year of no shopping”, how it has impacted her thoughts on consumerism and influenced her behavior in a manner that allows her to be more mindful and more able to share her resources of time and money with her community.

7/21 Bohm Dialogue — Human Reasoning

For July our topic is Human Reasoning.

“To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead.”
―Thomas Paine

“In a republican nation, whose citizens are to be led by reason and persuasion and not by force, the art of reasoning becomes of first importance.”
―Thomas Jefferson

“We must trust to nothing but facts: These are presented to us by Nature, and cannot deceive. We ought, in every instance, to submit our reasoning to the test of experiment, and never to search for truth but by the natural road of experiment and observation.”
―Antoine Lavoisier

“NOUMENON, n. That which exists, as distinguished from that which merely seems to exist, the latter being a phenomenon. The noumenon is a bit difficult to locate; it can be apprehended only by a process of reasoning – which is a phenomenon.”
―Ambrose Bierce

“The philosophy of reasoning, to be complete, ought to comprise the theory of bad as well as of good reasoning.”
―John Stuart Mill

“All of our reasoning ends in surrender to feeling.”
―Blaise Pascal

“When the intensity of emotional conviction subsides, a man who is in the habit of reasoning will search for logical grounds in favour of the belief which he finds in himself.”
―Bertrand Russell

“To say that man is a reasoning animal is a very different thing than to say that most of man’s decisions are based on his rational process. That I don’t believe at all.”
―Rex Stout

“The purpose of writing is to inflate weak ideas, obscure pure reasoning, and inhibit clarity. With a little practice, writing can be an intimidating and impenetrable fog!”
―Bill Watterson

Is reasoning our noblest faculty? It has been suggested that human reasoning evolved as a group process, with speakers arguing to persuade the group and listeners trying to poke holes in the arguments. By this reasoning, individual reasoning is apt to go astray.

Join us to listen to what others think and to share what you think.  The Religious Exploration Salon is a group that meets 3rd Sundays to discuss various topics in the format called Bohm Dialogue which emphasizes respectful listening and balanced, synergistic sharing. For more details about how Dialogue works, please see this intro.

Everyone is welcome. You are welcome to think about the topic beforehand but no preparation is required or expected — come as you are with whatever thoughts/intuitions you have, ready to listen, learn and contribute.  We next meet Sunday July 21 at 7pm in the Brackett Room.

Contact Paul Reising, Tom Yelton or Jan Hardenbergh for more information.

The Financial Social Worker — Fred Pryor

What Is Church For? A Dialogue. — Tom Yelton

What is church for? What is it not for?
What is life for? 

The service will not have a sermon or lecture. It will use the format called Bohm Dialogue which emphasizes respectful listening and balanced, synergistic sharing. For more details about how Dialogue works, please see this intro. Basically we will sit in a circle with a talking stick in the center. Whoever wishes to speak on the topic “What Is Church For?” will take the talking stick (or ask for it if they need help) and return it to the center when done speaking.

Bohm Dialogue is a cooperative endeavor to explore a topic. People are therefore allowed to refer to what others have said, build on it, ask questions about it, or even disagree with it, as long as it is done thoughtfully, respectfully, sticks to the topic, and is addressed to the whole group rather than to individuals. Dialogue is mostly about respectful, attentive listening.

Everyone is welcome. You are welcome to think about the topic beforehand but no preparation is required or expected — come as you are with whatever thoughts/intuitions you have, ready to listen, learn and contribute.

First Parish Sudbury presents a July 4 Cook Out

The First Parish grilling team of chefs is ready for our annual summer cook out on Thursday July 4. We’ll be selling beef and vegetarian burgers, beef hot dogs, sausages with peppers and onion, french fries, popcorn, cookies, cakes and cold drinks at 12 noon on the front lawn. We’re at the corner of Concord and Hudson Roads. The weather is going to be perfect, ie. hot and sunny. Bring your family and neighbors to the First Parish lawn for a picnic and parade viewing. This is the best spot to see the Sudbury July 4 parade.