Adult Ed. April 7
April 7 — “Congregational Care of People with Dementia” presented by Gerry Derksen. He was on the pastoral team at River East Church for eleven years and finished his career as Spiritual Care Worker at Concordia Place Home in the Dementia ward. He will help us better understand dementia and how to support people struggling with it.
April 14 – Beginning a series, "Faiths of Our Neighbours” coordinated by John Wiens.
Session 1: “Exploring Religion” with Dr. Karen Zoppa. This introduction to the series will review the history of the concept “religion” and suggest how, in light of this history, inquiring minds can fruitfully approach learning about other traditions.
Dr. Zoppa has taught as an instructor in Humanities at the University of Winnipeg Collegiate for 35 years. Her assignment includes teaching as an adjunct instructor in the Departments of Philosophy and Religion and Culture. She holds a B.Ed. in English and History, and earned her PhD in Religion from the University of Manitoba. She has been shortlisted for the American Academy of Religion Book Awards 2022 for her monograph, Playing the Scene of Religion: Beauvoir and Faith. Her research focuses on Critical Theory of Religion, and the philosophies of Simone de Beauvoir and Jacques Derrida.
April 21 – Session 2: “Religion, Faith and the Media” with John Longhurst
Is the media anti-religion? You might think so considering that the Winnipeg Free Press is the only daily media outlet in the country with a faith page and a religion beat held by John Longhurst. The lack of religion coverage is troubling, but understandable – as John will explain when he talks about faith and the media in Canada and his Religion in the News project at the Free Press.
Since 2003 John has been the Faith Page columnist for the Winnipeg Free Press. Starting in 2019 he has been reporting about religion for the Free Press throughout the week via his Religion in the News project, which is supported by various faith groups and individuals in Winnipeg. (https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/support-faith) In addition to the Free Press, he writes for Anabaptist World, Canadian Affairs, Canadian Jewish News, and others. In 2021 John received the Manitoba Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Inter-religious Understanding.
