I’ll be presenting a talk on Dies irae, dies illa: Music in the Apocalyptic Mode, based around my forthcoming book to be published in the Brill Word and Music series.

The Forum is a First Congregational Church (FCC) tradition dating back to February 1982.  It is a speaker series involving the exchange of a diverse set of spiritual, contemporary, historical, scientific, ecological, and other ideas selected for engaging with Christian faith creatively and critically.  The Forum satisfies both the soul and the intellect.  We start each session with the phrase “where all ideas are safely spoken”.  FCC is a progressive Christian community with a long history of support to peace and justice issues.  Deepening one’s spiritual and societal awareness has many rewards.

Each Sunday morning the Forum meets in the chapel (or sanctuary) to listen to a member of our own congregation as well as selected outside speakers.  Forum attendees are very inquisitive and love to delve into topics by asking questions and engaging in discussion.  There are usually between thirty five and fifty people at each session.  Held on most Sundays from September through  May 9:45-10:45am, the duration is one hour with the likelihood of people coming up afterward for one-on-one questions.