February

We’ll hear the latest from representatives of three organizations on the frontlines of addressing the challenges of the unhoused in the Des Moines area:

8th - Doug Romig, Executive Director of Polk County’s Housing Solutions Alliance, a newly formed public-private coalition charged with implementing a five-year strategic plan called the Blueprint to Address Homelessness in Polk County.

15th - Melissa O’Neil, CEO, and Angie Ginkel, Director of Farm and Food, from Central Iowa Shelter & Services, one of the largest providers in Iowa of shelter, meals, and support services to people experiencing homelessness.

22nd - Last Minute Change Joe Stevens from Joppa, a faith-based Des Moines nonprofit focused on outreach to the homeless, on that group’s more-recent initiatives—including a drop-in center and a tiny home village.

March

1st - Jim Blume on the history and architecture of the beautiful St. John’s cathedral building, which marks its 90th anniversary this fall.

8th - Jacque Warming on the history and symbolism of the stained glass and other art in the St. John’s sanctuary. (For this session, we’ll meet in the sanctuary.)

15th - Pastor Stephanie on her pilgrimage tour of Egypt this winter.

22nd - Sarah Green of the Iowa Environmental Council on the results of that group’s study of the relationship between environmental factors and Iowa’s high cancer rates.

29th - No Adult Forum (Palm Sunday)

April

5th - No Adult Forum (Easter Sunday)

12th - Retired professor and pastor Ken Sundet Jones, who is leading a pastor-mentoring program called the Iowa Preachers Project, on how laypeople can more critically assess what they hear in Sunday sermons.

19th - Representatives from the DMARC Food Pantry Network on hunger-related issues in our area.

26th - TBD

May

3rd - Retired professor and pastor Gary Kinkel on a theological topic to be announced later.

10th - Chris Cowan, a retired ELCA pastor from Ames with extensive knowledge of Palestine and Israel, on the current crisis in that region.

17th - Representatives from Lutheran Services in Iowa on the challenges and successes of that organization’s refugee resettlement efforts given the current political climate.

Have a suggestion for a speaker or topic? Please contact Jim Blume at jamesdblume@gmail.com or 515-360-8370.