Applied Faith Issues Featured for Adult Education

Christ Episcopal Church will host eight Applied Faith Issues forums beginning Sunday, February 5. All sessions are free and open to the public; those interested are encouraged to attend one or multiple forums, 9:15 to 10:15 a.m. in the Parish Hall downstairs. Elevator transportation is available. (Use the East entrance).
     According to The Rev. Dr. William J. Pugliese, Christ Church Rector, “The Adult Forum Committee has invited well-versed and qualified people from local colleges and universities to speak on current topics about which our faith should have something to say. All are practicing Christians. Each session will be moderated by someone in the parish who is prepared to ask some of the questions that, as Christians, concern us.”
     Presenters will give a full picture of the issue, including diverse perspectives, as well as clearly stating why, as a Christian, she or he has come to hold a particular view. There will be time for questions and dialogue.

February 5, Moderator: Nancylee Ziese
“Stem Cell Research: What is it exactly and what are its ethical implications?”
Dr. Roger A. Williamson, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Iowa College of Medicine
     Dr. Williamson has served as Professor of Ob-Gyn since 1990. He is currently the Director of the Stem Cell Core Facility at the University of Iowa. Dr. Williamson is a widely-published author and researcher, and has been particularly concerned with genetics and birth defects.

February 12, Moderator:  Kate Hogg
“Is it just food? The ethics of eating” 
Cassi Johnson, Program Assistant, Women, Food and Agriculture Network  
     What ethical issues are involved in contemporary food production and processes? How can consumers make a difference in their kitchens, communities, and the world?
     Ms. Johnson has a master’s degree in sustainable agriculture from Iowa State University. She is a resident of Iowa City. Women, Food, and Agriculture Network links and empowers women to build food systems and communities that are healthy, just, sustainable, and that promote environmental integrity.

February 19, Moderator: Arlena Pugliese
“Health Care Issues”
Dr. William Galbraith, Director, Community Health Free Clinic, Cedar Rapids
     Dr. Galbraith will explore issues related to health insurance and how best to provide medical care for all people.
     The founding chair of the Community Health Free Clinic, Dr. Galbraith was a full time practitioner of internal medicine from 1961 to 1998. During that time he also served as President of Linn County Medical Society and on the medical staff of Mercy Medical Center. At the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine he was Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine from 1961 to 1965, and Professor of Clinical Internal Medicine from 1994 to 1998.  

February 26, Moderator: Arlena Pugliese
“Disaster Medicine: A Christian Ethical Perspective”
Dr. Robert Garrett, chair, Clinical Ethics Committee, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
     Dr. Garrett will speak about the ethical aspects of care for an acute catastrophe, such as Hurricane Katrina, or a more “subacute” catastrophe, such as an influenza pandemic. This issue ties in with resource allocation problems and reflects on end-of-life care issues.
     Dr. Garrett, member of Trinity Episcopal Church, Iowa City, has been a family physician for more than twenty years and is currently Associate Professor of Clinical Family Medicine at the University of Iowa’s Carver College of Medicine.

March 5, Moderator: Ron Andreatta
“Time to Live: the Forgotten American Dream.”
Dr. Benjamin Hunnicutt, Professor of Leisure Studies, University of Iowa
    Dr. Hunnicutt will discuss consumerism and government policy designed to perpetuate wealth creation and create new work, as well as the rise of new values systems and ethical ideas concerning what he terms the rise of the “religion of work” that has debased and trivialized “leisure,” a time that was once hoped for as an opening arena for the development and expression of our humanity.
     Dr. Hunnicutt has a PhD in history from the University of North Carolina and has been Professor at the University of Iowa from 1976 to the present. He has served as a consultant to unions and businesses and has won international recognition as a historian of work and leisure. He is author of many books including Work Without End; Abandoning Shorter Hours for the Right to Work; and Kellogg’s Six-Hour Day. His next book is Saving Work, A Failing Faith, documenting the rise of the “religion of work.” Dr. Hunnicutt is a member of Trinity Episcopal Church, Iowa City.

March 12, Moderator: Kate Rose
“The United Nations’ Millenium Development Goals: Eight in One”
Dr. Paula Sanchini, Professor of Biology, Coe College 
     The UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which range from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education – all by the target date of 2015 – form a blueprint agreed to by all the world’s countries and all the world’s leading development institutions. Learn the targets and indicators that are part of this ambitious plan and find out why the eight goals are actually one big opportunity to make the world a better place.
     Dr. Sanchini has been Professor of Biology at Coe College since 1987. She also serves as Chair of the Biology Department and as Coordinator of the Environmental Science Program. She is particularly interested in how the MDGs are related to the work of Christ Church with the Anglican Diocese of Swaziland in Africa. Dr. Sanchini attends Christ Episcopal Church.

March 19, Moderator: Ellen Bruckner
“My Evacuation Plan: How do I decide when it is my time to stop the heroics and die?” 
The Rev. Barbara Schlachter, Associate Rector, Christ Episcopal Church
     Most of the cost of medical care occurs in the last six months of life when it prolongs life for a short while, often at great cost both to the medical system and the individual. How can we develop guidelines for knowing what constitutes adequate quality of life for us, and when we would rather pass our place in the medical world on to someone who might benefit from it more?
     Dr. Schlachter has been ordained in the Episcopal Church for 32 years and has served parishes in New York and Ohio before coming to Iowa. She has also served as a hospital chaplain in both states. Her parents were each enrolled in Hospice and certain decisions were made to preserve quality and dignity, but not length of life. She is a breast cancer survivor who was given a dire prognosis, and did inner work on decisions related to life and death.

March 26, Moderator: Kate Hogg
“Gender Benders vs. Yards for Kids”
Dr. Kamyar Enshayan, University of Northern Iowa’s Center for Energy and Environmental Education
     What are the basic problems with commonly used lawn chemicals? What do they do to our kids, pets, and water? There are some practical solutions.
     Dr. Enshayan is an agricultural engineer who works at University of Northern Iowa’s Center for Energy and Environmental Education. He coordinates “Yards for Kids,” which strives to reduce the use of lawn chemicals in the Waterloo metro area. He also directs the UNI Local Food Project, linking institutional food buyers to nearby farms. His recent book, Living Within Our Means, deals with understanding renewable energy options. Dr. Enshayan is a member of the Cedar Falls City Council.

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