Human Rights, Peacemaking and Religious Liberty Examined at Spring Lecture Series

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The Unitarian Church in Westport announces a new series of lectures exploring current ethical and philosophical issues of our day.  “Bridges to Belief:  Three Community Lectures on Values and Vision” will feature prominent experts on topics from the state of human rights to peacemaking and the role of religion in the U.S.  There will be a reception following each lecture.  They will be held the first Sunday of March, April and May, 2008 at 3:00 pm at the church, 10 Lyons Plains Road in Westport.  All lectures are free and open to the public.  For more information, please call (203) 227-7205

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On Sunday, March 2, The Rev. Dr. William F. Schulz, former Executive Director of the international human rights organization Amnesty International USA, will discuss  "Restoring America's Good Name: Human Rights in a Post-9/11 World.” He is currently a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress in Washington, DC, working in the area of religion and public policy.  A frequent guest on television programs such as Good Morning America, The Today Show, Hardball and Nightline, Schulz is the author of two books on human rights, In Our Own Best Interest:  How Defending Human Rights Benefits Us All (2001, Beacon Press) and Tainted Legacy: 9/11 and the Ruin of Human Rights (2003, Nation Books).  He is an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister and served as President of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations (UUA) from 1985-93.  Schulz is Chair of the Board of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

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On Sunday, April 6, Dr. Sharon Welch, will examine notions of peace and peace building in our world in her lecture “A Theology of Peacemaking.”  Dr. Welch is Provost and Professor of Religion and Society at Meadville Lombard Theological School in Chicago.  Previously, Welch held positions as Professor and Chair of Religious Studies, Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies and Adjunct Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at the University of Missouri. Before that, she was associate professor of Theology and Religion and Society at Harvard Divinity School. Welch is the author of four books: After Empire: The Art and Ethos of Enduring Peace; A Feminist Ethic of Risk; Sweet Dreams in America: Making Ethics and Spirituality Work; Communities of Resistance and Solidarity: A Feminist Theology of Liberation, and many articles.

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On Sunday, May 4, The Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy, President of The Interfaith Alliance, will talk about religious liberty in his lecture entitled, “Is American Religion Destroying American Values?”  The lecture will be based on his new book, “First Freedom First: A Citizen’s Guide to Protecting Religious Liberty and the Separation of Church and State,” co-authored with Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Executive Director of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State.  As head of The Interfaith Alliance, Gaddy leads the national nonpartisan organization that works to promote religion as a positive and healing force in the life of the nation.  He also serves as the Pastor for Preaching and Worship at Northminster Baptist Church in Monroe, Louisiana.  Gaddy is the host of State of Belief, a weekly radio show by The Interfaith Alliance that is carried on AirAmerica. In addition to being the author of over 20 books, he provides regular commentary to the national media on issues relating to religion and politics.