First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh

  605 Morewood Avenue
  Pittsburgh, PA 15213-2999
  412-621-8008

SUNDAY FORUM

Forum is the Sunday Service weekly lecture/discussion forum in the First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh in Shadyside.

Forum considers the broad weft and warp of topics that engage our heads and our hearts. Our speakers are often from local universities, organizations, church members, or government institutions. The format is a short presentation (20 to 40 minutes) followed by a vigorous discussion for another half hour. We usually have an audience of about 20 to 40 people. There is a digital projector and screen for PowerPoint and video presentations.

Forum is open to all and is coordinated by Michael Lotze [lotzemt@upmc.edu] and a committee of interested individuals including Ernesto Aravena, Barry Farkas, Roy Frye, Joan Harvey, Ali Masalehdan, Audrey Geer Masalehdan, Kathleen Parker, Suzanne Powell, Jane Steranko and Vikram Iyengar. Ralph Gurley serves as our Treasurer and Cinematographer.

Past Forums are available on loan in the 1st Church Library for viewing at other times. We have instituted a Program to allow our speakers to present their material uninterrupted except for clarification until the question and answer period.

FEBRUARY 5, 2012 Optimism: Dealing With the Impact of Life Experiences. George Merrick.

There is only one element of equality that all humans are born with and that is the restrictions and limitations of a 24 hour day! Each 24 hour cycle of our lives exposes us to experiences that in some part change us either mundanely and inconsequentially or dramatically. As we mature and evolve in both physical and mental acuteness and capability we continue to add to our archives of 24 hour segments. From the trivial to the sublime, each day invites questions that may challenge us for answers or leave us with a problem unsolved. I continually look at each day and the challenges it presents and search my memory for previous days’ experiences to shape the best perspective for confronting tomorrow's 24 hour cycle. This approach has served me well for over 78 years and continues to bring joy to my life, my family, and I hope to my friends, as may be observed.

February 12, 2012 Health Care Reform and Personalized Medicine: The Revolution in Medicine is Here. Arthur Levine, M.D.

Personalized medicine is a medical model proposing the customization of healthcare, with all decisions and practices being tailored to the individual patient by use of genetic or other information. Practical application outside of long established considerations like a patient's family history, social circumstances, environment and behaviors are very limited so far and practically no progress has been made in the last decade. The University of Pittsburgh and UPMC are planning to change this with the development of the University of Pittsburgh Institute for Personalized Medicine.

FEBRUARY 19, 2012 The New World: Technology, Religion and the Utopian Ideal. Chuck Lanigan.

The presentation title echoes Bacon's New Atlantis and will explore the historically-evolving role of technology in our lives along with its promise and ambiguities as a path toward fulfillment, enlightenment and selfimprovement (viz Saint Steve Jobs and The Gospel of Facebook).

FEBRUARY 26, 2012 As the Worm Turns: Sex and Meiosis Revealed. Judith Yanowitz, PhD.

Not to be confused with miosis, mitosis, or myositis, meiosis is a special type of cell division necessary for sexual reproduction. The cells produced by meiosis are gametes or spores. Animals' gametes are called sperm and egg cells. Meiosis begins with one diploid cell containing two copies of each chromosome—one from the organism's mother and one from its father—and produces four haploid cells containing one copy of each chromosome. While the process of meiosis bears a number of similarities with the 'life-cycle' cell division process of mitosis, it differs in two important respects.