January 6

"Spiritual and Legal Interpretation"
Scott Rost

Are you a literalist? A constructionist? Something else? Attorney Scott Rost returns to compare these different styles of thought and show how different interpretations and perspectives influence our understanding of our country’s founding documents and spiritual scriptures. Scott will build on part one of this talk from October 2018.

January 13

“A Process Philosophy of Hope”
Rev. Bryan G. Fulwider  

Drawing on Alfred North Whitehead and his work entitled "The Function of Reason" we will explore a process understanding of how our lives unfold. As we consider Whitehead's claim that the function of reason is to ‘promote the art of life’ we will look at what he means by this and how this can become a context for hope in our current age. Rev. Fulwider is a frequent guest of our congregation and always provides much food for thought.

January 20

"The Struggle Continues”
Dr. LaVon Wright Bracy

Dr. Bracy, a Florida native, graduated from Gainesville High School in 1965, a tumultuous time in our nation’s history. Dr. Bracy will share her story of integration in the 60’s and the progress we’ve made in the last 50 years. You will definitely find her story compelling and inspiring and hearing where we are today from her perspective will help us understand how much more there is to do as we move forward with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s vision for a Beloved Community.

January 27

"What Did Emerson Say?”
Stoic Dan    

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) was a philosopher and poet in the transcendentalist movement. He was one of the leading intellectuals in the United States in the 1800s and was once a Unitarian minister. His name is often mentioned in discussions of Unitarian history. Why then was Emerson’s 1838 Divinity School Address to a graduate class at Harvard so controversial? Stoic Dan, a frequent guest at our Inquiring Mind’s morning discussion group will help us understand why.