We have planned a fantastic spring series for our newly-branded “Wednesday Night Live” program with expert speakers on a wide variety of topics. The evening begins with dinner at 5:30pm in Deasy Hall, followed by conversations with the experts starting at 6:10pm. No RSVP required.
March 1 Substance Use in Our Communities: What We ALL Should Know
The experts:
- Stephen Taylor, MD, psychiatrist, addictionologist, medical director of anti-drug programs for the National Basketball Association
- John Bayles, executive director, Recovery Resource Center Birmingham
March 8 Church, Music, & Musicians
The experts:
- Dwight Burrell, Christian guitarist/vocalist
- Marie Kim, pianist/organist
- Tim O’Brien, vocalist/guitarist
- Cheri Poole, vocalist/flutist/POP’s music and liturgy director
March 15 Prisons, Prisoners, and Us
This program welcomes Carla Crowder and Mary Scott Hodgin. Carla is the executive director Alabama Appleseed Center for Law & Justice, Alabama’s only nonpartisan research and advocacy organization working exclusively on justice system reform in Alabama. Mary Scott works for WBHM and is the host and journalist behind the podcast Deliberate Indifference: Inside Alabama’s Prison Crisis.
We will open this program with a brief summary of how Catholics are urged to understand the need for a criminal justice system based on the fundamental teaching on the human dignity of victims of crimes and perpetrators of those crimes. Following that we be a conversation with our guests about some of the problems in Alabama’s prison system.
March 22 Why Catholic Education Is (Still) Important
The experts:
- Rev. Jon Chalmers, president, John Carroll Catholic High School and pastor, Prince of Peace
- Margaret Dubose, superintendent of schools, chair Catholic schools office
“Jesus says to go out and teach, to bring souls to heaven, to ‘tell the good news.’ To tell the good news, we must teach it, both in the classroom and through the communal support of the Church and its liturgy, tradition, and sacraments.”
--Margaret Dubose, superintendent of schools, Diocese of Birmingham
This program will feature Margaret Dubose, superintendent of schools for our diocese, in conversation with our Pastor Fr. Jon Chalmers, who also serves as president of John Carroll Catholic High School, and Dr. Dale Wisely, our director of family life and adult education, who has experience in child psychology and K-12 education.
April 12 Hispanic Catholic Culture
The experts:
- Liset Martinez, Hispanic ministry coordinator, Prince of Peace
- Other guests to be announced
April 19 Mental Health, Counseling—and Catholics
The experts:
- Dale Wisely, PhD, psychologist, director of adult formation and family life, Prince of Peace
- Other guests to be announced
April 26 Science and Faith
The experts:
- Fr. Jon Chalmers, pastor, Prince of Peace
- Neal Kay, MD, professor emeritus, UAB, cardiologist, and deacon, St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church
May 3 Youth and Technology
The experts:
- Rev. Cameron Cole, director of children, youth, and family at Cathedral Church of the Advent and chairman of Rooted: Advancing Grace-Driven Youth Ministry
- Dale Wisely, PhD, psychologist, director of adult formation and family life, Prince of Peace
(Rev. Cole and Dr. Wisely co-chair a community task force on youth and technology)