Lessons in Moral Courage is a six-class course of intensive contemplation and discussion. The series is for those who feel a deep call to put principles of moral courage into practice. The goal of the course is for each participant to self-identify areas in which you want to improve and grow and to encourage others in their desires for growth. While this is an advanced course and will deal with difficult and complex moral issues, beginners are also invited to join these discussions. Those from any or no religious belief or discipline are also welcome. There is no age restriction; however adult themes and issues will be discussed.
The only prerequisite is that all participate with an open heart and mind and bring to the discussion an attitude of love, support, and an honest commitment to become a better human being.
Classes will be about 90 minutes in length and include a brief video or other presentation followed by a discussion of the issues presented. The classes will be on alternate Tuesday evenings at 7:30 p.m., beginning February 19 and will be held in the Des Moines Catholic Worker Berrigan House at 713 Indiana Avenue in Des Moines.
For those seeking to do even deeper work, there will be an ongoing support group at the same time and the same place on Tuesdays in between the class sessions.
Lesson One, February 19
What is Moral Courage? (Doing the right thing because it's the right thing to do.)
Home of the Brave a video documentary about the murder of Viola Liuzzo will be screened. Liuzzo was a white woman who was shot to death while shuttling civil rights marchers across the Pettis bridge in Selma in 1963. Following the video, we will discuss choosing to do good when it requires risk and sacrifice and determining the amount of risk to take.
Lesson Two, March 4
Race and Class and War: the Inextricable Triplets
Citizen King a documentary focusing on the last three years of the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, jr. will be screened. In this documentary we see how King discovers the inextricable operatives of race, class, and war and King's efforts to confront poverty and to speak out against the war in Vietnam. After the screening, we will discuss current events that may or not parallel those witnessed by Dr. King.
Lesson Three, March 18
Civil Disobedience and the Incivility of Obedience
A brief video overview of the history and practice of nonviolent civil disobedience in the U.S. will be screened with a discussion of when and if civil disobedience is timely and appropriate.
Lesson Four, April 1
The Relevance of Mercy, Its Work or What do the Decent Folk Do?
Many religious and secular disciplines include some version of the "works of mercy" that are intrinsic to the practice and lives of those committed to social justice. An overview of these practices and their applicability to contemporary social justice activities will be discussed.
Lesson Five, April 15
Wealth, Greed, and Voluntary Poverty
A brief video of the realities of the working poor will be screened. This will be followed by a purposeful discussion of our contemporary collective and individual relationship to property and status. We will consider such questions like "Are we guilty of American Apartheid?", "What is greed?" or "Should I apologize for being rich?"
Lesson Six, April 29
Building Community and the Practicality of Love and Forgiveness
This class will be a review of what we have learned and how to move forward to build and strengthen our community including the roles of compassion and forgiveness in public as well as private life.
Lessons in
Lesson One
Lesson Two
Lesson Three
Lesson Four
Lesson Five
Lesson Six
When: 7:30 p.m. Next series, tba
Where: Des Moines Catholic Worker Berrigan House, 713 Indiana Ave., Des Moines.
More information? Contact, Mona Shaw monashaw@aol.com
“A moment of forgiveness,” Vivian Malone Jones, (pictured left with former Governor George Wallace) is one of two black students whose effort to enroll at the University of Alabama led to George Wallace's infamous “stand in the schoolhouse door” more than 30 years earlier.
New series in the fall!