February 3 Pete Tolton and Stan Parker Return
War stories are, at once, both universal and deeply personal. While the weight carried by veterans forges a common bond between them, that weight, too, forces a gulf between them and those who were not there. Pete and Stan will touch on issues related to PTSD, family healing, catharsis, and change through experience.
February 10 Craig Morton II A Local Perspective on Black History Month
Growing up African-American in Billings is an experience shared by a true minority of citizens.
Craig Morton II, a graduate of Billings Senior High School, decided to stay in Billings while many young people can’t wait to move on to what they might perceive as bigger and better things.
Morton not only decided to stay, but attended Rocky Mountain College where he also played football, married his high school sweetheart, and works in management for a local business. While reflecting on how Billings helped raise him, he will also reflect on how African-American history and culture has informed and shaped who he is as an individual.
February 17 A UU Search for Truth and Meaning – Margaret English, Master of Religious Studies
Because Unitarian Universalism draws from so many canons of “truth” in so many religious and secular sources, it is hard to do a thorough search and have a source of comparison to selected precedents or beliefs. It takes great maturity and independence to find one’s own truth and meaning. UU’s are given some basic principles for evaluation and it is to those that we must turn for guidance, not answers. This is just a brief look at one person’s experience of over 40 years of searching.
February 24 Dr. Janine Pease Crow Language Revitalization Initiatives in 2019
The Crow People are renowned for a strong language and culture, despite serious assimilation pressures since 1885. However, the Crow language fluency rates among children have dropped precipitously over the past three decades. In response, Crow language revitalization initiatives have begun to turn that perilous tide around: language immersion primary grade classrooms, a rapid word collection dictionary project, online apps, a Crow lullaby curriculum, textbooks, and picture book development. Janine Pease, principal of the Chickadee Lodge Language Immersion School at Crow Agency, will present, in a narrated photo essay.