Forum at Grace Cathedral
Encyclopedia
The Forum at Grace Cathedral is a series of stimulating conversations about faith and ethics in relation to the issues of our day. Leading public figures, musicians, theologians, economists, artists, scientists and writers bring some of the most innovative and interesting thinking to these public conversations at the cathedral, with the express aim of engaging minds and hearts to think in new ways about the world. It is moderated by the Very Rev. Dr. Jane Shaw
, Dean of Grace Cathedral.
On September 11, 2011, the Forum will relaunch after a two year hiatus. Please visit gracecathedral.org/forum to learn more about upcoming guests, and to listen to podcasts of past Forums.
Jane Shaw
The Very Revd Dr Jane Alison Shaw is Dean of Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, a British Anglican priest and scholar.Shaw read Modern History at Regent's Park College, Oxford , and Theology at Harvard University , and completed a PhD in History at the University of California, Berkeley...
, Dean of Grace Cathedral.
Overview
The Forum takes place on Sunday mornings, from 9:30-10:30 a.m., in Grace Cathedral's Gresham Hall. The Forum is an open, inclusive environment where all views are welcome in the spirit of civil dialogue. There is no admission charge to attend, and is always open to the public.On September 11, 2011, the Forum will relaunch after a two year hiatus. Please visit gracecathedral.org/forum to learn more about upcoming guests, and to listen to podcasts of past Forums.
History
Past guests have included:- Nancy PelosiNancy PelosiNancy Patricia D'Alesandro Pelosi is the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives and served as the 60th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011...
, Congresswoman, House Democrat minority leaderMinority leaderIn U.S. politics, the minority leader is the floor leader of the second largest caucus in a legislative body. Given the two-party nature of the U.S. system, the minority leader is almost inevitably either a Republican or a Democrat, with their counterpart being of the opposite party. The position...
, 60th Speaker of the House - Gavin NewsomGavin NewsomGavin Christopher Newsom is an American politician who is the 49th and current Lieutenant Governor of California. Previously, he was the 42nd Mayor of San Francisco, and was elected in 2003 to succeed Willie Brown, becoming San Francisco's youngest mayor in 100 years. Newsom was re-elected in 2007...
, San Francisco Mayor - Willie Lewis Brown, Jr., San Francisco Mayor
- Alan CranstonAlan CranstonAlan MacGregor Cranston was an American journalist and Democratic Senator from California.-Education:Cranston earned his high school diploma from the old Mountain View High School, where among other things, he was a track star...
, former U.S. Senator for CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area... - Khaled HosseiniKhaled HosseiniKhaled Hosseini , is an Afghan-born American novelist and physician of ethnic Tajik origin. He is a citizen of the United States where he has lived since he was fifteen years old. His 2003 debut novel, The Kite Runner, was an international bestseller, selling more than 12 million copies worldwide....
, author of The Kite RunnerThe Kite RunnerThe Kite Runner is a novel by Khaled Hosseini. Published in 2003 by Riverhead Books, it is Hosseini's first novel, and was adapted into a film of the same name in 2007.... - Anne LamottAnne LamottAnne Lamott is a novelist and non-fiction writer. She is also a political activist, public speaker and writing teacher. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, her nonfiction works are largely autobiographical...
, author - Reuel Gerecht, resident scholar, American Enterprise Institute
- Daniel DennettDaniel DennettDaniel Clement Dennett is an American philosopher, writer and cognitive scientist whose research centers on the philosophy of mind, philosophy of science and philosophy of biology, particularly as those fields relate to evolutionary biology and cognitive science. He is currently the Co-director of...
, professor, Tufts UniversityTufts UniversityTufts University is a private research university located in Medford/Somerville, near Boston, Massachusetts. It is organized into ten schools, including two undergraduate programs and eight graduate divisions, on four campuses in Massachusetts and on the eastern border of France... - Ward ConnerlyWard ConnerlyWardell Anthony "Ward" Connerly is an American political activist, businessman, and former University of California Regent . He is also the founder and the chairman of the American Civil Rights Institute, a national non-profit organization in opposition to racial and gender preferences...
, founder, American Civil Rights Institute - Kamala HarrisKamala HarrisKamala Devi Harris is an American attorney. She is the 32nd and current Attorney General of California following the 2010 California state elections. Harris has worked as an author and a politician and has served as District Attorney of San Francisco since 2004...
, San Francisco District Attorney - George LakoffGeorge LakoffGeorge P. Lakoff is an American cognitive linguist and professor of linguistics at the University of California, Berkeley, where he has taught since 1972...
, Professor of Linguistics, UC Berkeley - Huston SmithHuston SmithHuston Cummings Smith is a religious studies scholar in the United States. His book The World's Religions remains a popular introduction to comparative religion.-Education:...
, philosopher, author The World's Religions - Marcus BorgMarcus BorgMarcus J. Borg is an American Biblical scholar and author. He is a fellow of the Jesus Seminar, holds a DPhil degree from Oxford University and is Hundere Distinguished Professor of Religion and Culture, an endowed chair, at Oregon State University, from which he retired in 2007...
, theologian, author Meeting JesusJesusJesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
Again for the First Time - Thomas MooreThomas MooreThomas Moore was an Irish poet, singer, songwriter, and entertainer, now best remembered for the lyrics of The Minstrel Boy and The Last Rose of Summer. He was responsible, with John Murray, for burning Lord Byron's memoirs after his death...
, author The Soul’s Religion - Diana Eck, religion scholar, author A New Religious America
- Elaine PagelsElaine PagelsElaine Pagels, née Hiesey , is the Harrington Spear Paine Professor of Religion at Princeton University. The recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, she is best known for her studies and writing on the Gnostic Gospels...
, best-selling author, professor, Princeton UniversityPrinceton UniversityPrinceton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution.... - Ram DassRam DassRam Dass is an American contemporary spiritual teacher and the author of the seminal 1971 book Be Here Now. He is known for his personal and professional associations with Timothy Leary at Harvard University in the early 1960s, for his travels to India and his relationship with the Hindu guru Neem...
, spiritual guru, best-selling author Be Here NowBe Here Now (book)Be Here Now is a seminal 1971 book on spirituality, yoga and meditation by the Western born yogi and spiritual teacher Ram Dass. The title comes from a statement his guide, Bhagavan Das, made during Ram Dass's journeys in India... - Donald SpotoDonald SpotoDonald Spoto is an American celebrity biographer, Catholic theologian, and former monk. He is best known for his best-selling biographies of film and theatre celebrities such as Alfred Hitchcock, Laurence Olivier, Tennessee Williams, Ingrid Bergman, James Dean, Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly,...
, best-selling author, activist - Stephen Privett, SJ, president, University of San FranciscoUniversity of San FranciscoThe University of San Francisco , is a private, Jesuit/Catholic university located in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1855, USF was established as the first university in San Francisco. It is the second oldest institution for higher learning in California and the tenth-oldest university of...
- John Shelby SpongJohn Shelby SpongJohn Shelby "Jack" Spong is a retired American bishop of the Episcopal Church. He was formerly the Bishop of Newark . He is a liberal Christian theologian, religion commentator and author...
, former Episcopal Bishop and best-selling author - The Right Reverend NT Wright, Bishop of Durham, England, best-selling author
- Anne RiceAnne RiceAnne Rice is a best-selling Southern American author of metaphysical gothic fiction, Christian literature and erotica from New Orleans, Louisiana. Her books have sold nearly 100 million copies, making her one of the most widely read authors in modern history...
, best-selling author - Rabbi Michael Lerner, Beyt Tikkun Temple
- Jane GoodallJane GoodallDame Jane Morris Goodall, DBE , is a British primatologist, ethologist, anthropologist, and UN Messenger of Peace. Considered to be the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees, Goodall is best known for her 45-year study of social and family interactions of wild chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National...
, famed primatologist, activist - Dr. Judea PearlJudea PearlJudea Pearl is a computer scientist and philosopher, best known for developing the probabilistic approach to artificial intelligence and the development of Bayesian networks ....
, Executive Director, Daniel PearlDaniel PearlDaniel Pearl was an American journalist who was kidnapped and killed by Al-Qaeda.At the time of his kidnapping, Pearl served as the South Asia Bureau Chief of the Wall Street Journal, and was based in Mumbai, India. He went to Pakistan as part of an investigation into the alleged links between...
Foundation - Marian Wright EdelmanMarian Wright EdelmanMarian Wright Edelman is an American activist for the rights of children. She is president and founder of the Children's Defense Fund.-Early years:...
, president, Children’s Defense Fund - Larry HarveyLarry Harvey]Larry Harvey is the main co-founder of the Burning Man festival, along with his friend Jerry James. What started in 1986 as a summer solstice evening ritual burning of their artistic creation of an effigy of a man with a group of just a dozen people at San Francisco's Baker Beach, which then...
, founder, director, Burning ManBurning ManBurning Man is a week-long annual event held in the Black Rock Desert in northern Nevada, in the United States. The event starts on the Monday before the American Labor Day holiday, and ends on the holiday itself. It takes its name from the ritual burning of a large wooden effigy on Saturday evening... - Richard BlumRichard BlumRichard Blum may refer to:*Richard C. Blum, American investment banker and husband to Dianne Feinstein*Richard Manitoba, born Richard Blum, American musician with the MC5 and The Dictators...
, founder American Himalayan Institute - Van JonesVan JonesAnthony Kapel "Van" Jones is an American environmental advocate, civil rights activist, and attorney. Jones is a co-founder of three non-profit organizations. In 1996, he founded the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, a California non-governmental organization working for alternatives to violence...
, Executive Director, The Ella BakerElla BakerElla Josephine Baker was an African American civil rights and human rights activist beginning in the 1930s....
Institute - Jan WahlJan WahlJan Boyer Wahl is an American children's book author.Jan was born in Columbus, Ohio. His father is physician Russell Rothenberger, and his mother is Nina Marie Boyer Wahl.Jan Wahl is also well-known as a collector of old films....
, movie critic - Alissa Quart, writer, New York Times
- Bill ViolaBill ViolaBill Viola is a contemporary video artist. He is considered a leading figure in the generation of artists whose artistic expression depends upon electronic, sound, and image technology in New Media...
, acclaimed video artist, MacArthur Fellow - Mickey HartMickey HartMickey Hart is an American percussionist and musicologist. He is best known as one of the two drummers of the rock band the Grateful Dead. He was a member of the Grateful Dead from September 1967 to February 1971, and from October 1974 to August 1995...
, musician, former percussionist, The Grateful DeadGrateful DeadThe Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long... - Lewis HydeLewis HydeLewis Hyde is a scholar, essayist, translator, cultural critic and writer whose scholarly work focuses on the nature of imagination, creativity, and property.-Early life:...
, author "Trickster Makes This World: Mischief, Myth, and Art" - Pamela Rosenberg, general director, San Francisco Opera
- Lotfi MansouriLotfi MansouriLotfollah “Lotfi” Mansouri is an Iranian-born opera director and manager. He was an opera director from about 1960 onwards, and is most well known for being the General Director of the Canadian Opera Company and of the San Francisco Opera from 1988 through 2001...
, general director, San Francisco Opera - Leonard NimoyLeonard NimoyLeonard Simon Nimoy is an American actor, film director, poet, musician and photographer. Nimoy's most famous role is that of Spock in the original Star Trek series , multiple films, television and video game sequels....
, actor, director, artist - Diane MiddlebrookDiane MiddlebrookDiane Helen Wood Middlebrook was an American biographer, poet, and teacher. She taught feminist studies for many years at Stanford University. She is best known for critically acclaimed biographies of poets Anne Sexton and Sylvia Plath , and jazz musician Billy Tipton...
, professor, Stanford UniversityStanford UniversityThe Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San... - Donald RunniclesDonald RunniclesDonald Runnicles is a Scottish conductor who has worked extensively in other countries, particularly Germany and the USA....
, conductor, San Francisco OperaSan Francisco OperaSan Francisco Opera is an American opera company, based in San Francisco, California.It was founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola and is the second largest opera company in North America... - Carl DjerassiCarl DjerassiCarl Djerassi is an Austrian-American chemist, novelist, and playwright best known for his contribution to the development of the first oral contraceptive pill . Djerassi is emeritus professor of chemistry at Stanford University.He participated in the invention in 1951, together with Mexican Luis E...
, Professor Emeritus, Stanford UniversityStanford UniversityThe Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San... - Dr. Dean OrnishDean OrnishDean Michael Ornish, M.D., is president and founder of the nonprofit Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, California, as well as Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco....
, founder, Preventive Medicine Research Institute - Dr. Jay Levy, AIDS researcher, University of California, San FranciscoUniversity of California, San FranciscoThe University of California, San Francisco is one of the world's leading centers of health sciences research, patient care, and education. UCSF's medical, pharmacy, dentistry, nursing, and graduate schools are among the top health science professional schools in the world...
- Vida BlueVida BlueVida Rochelle Blue Jr. is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. During a 17-year career, he pitched for the Oakland Athletics , San Francisco Giants , and Kansas City Royals He won the American League Cy Young award and Most Valuable Player Award in 1971...
, All-star pitcher - Dr. Randy SchekmanRandy SchekmanRandy W. Schekman is an American cell biologist at the University of California, Berkeley and Editor-in-Chief of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. In 2011 he was announced as the editor of a new high profile open access journal published by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the...
, Stem cell researcher, UC BerkeleyUniversity of California, BerkeleyThe University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA... - Meredith MaranMeredith MaranMeredith Maran is a journalist and writer. She has written eight books, several of them San Francisco Chronicle best-sellers...
, Author, Dirty: A Search for Answers Inside America’s Teenage Drug Epidemic - Dr. Len Saputo, founder, The Health Medicine Forum
- Jack CanfieldJack CanfieldJack Canfield is an American motivational speaker and author. He is best known as the co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series, which currently has nearly 200 titles and 112 million copies in print in over 40 languages...
, founder, Chicken Soup for the SoulChicken Soup for the SoulChicken Soup for the Soul is a series of books, usually featuring a collection of short and dense inspirational stories and motivational essays. The 101 stories in the first book of the series were compiled by motivational speakers Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen.There have been over 200 titles... - Dr. Grant Colfax, AIDSAIDSAcquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
researcher, San Francisco Department of Health - Bill JoyBill JoyWilliam Nelson Joy , commonly known as Bill Joy, is an American computer scientist. Joy co-founded Sun Microsystems in 1982 along with Vinod Khosla, Scott McNealy and Andy Bechtolsheim, and served as chief scientist at the company until 2003...
, chief scientist Sun Microsystems - Paulina Borsook, journalist, author
- Tom ChappellTom ChappellThomas Matthew "Tom" Chappell is an American businessman and manufacturer and co-founder of Tom's of Maine in 1970.Chappell graduated from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut with a B.A. in English in 1966. Chappell and his wife, cofounder Kate Chappell, moved to Kennebunk, Maine in 1968 to...
, founder, CEO, Tom's of MaineTom's of MaineTom's of Maine is a brandname and manufacturer of natural-ingredients-only personal care products, a partially owned subsidiary of Colgate-Palmolive since 2006. The company's products are intentionally made without ingredients that are either chemically derived, have a negative environmental... - John O'NeilJohn O'NeilJohn O'Neil was born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1915. He was a painter, educator and writer best known for his Abstract Imagery and Early Modern styles. He received his B.F.A from the University of Oklahoma in 1936, and his M.F.A. in painting from the University of Oklahoma in 1939...
, president, Center for Leadership Renewal - Mary Bitterman, former Executive Director KQEDNorthern California Public BroadcastingNorthern California Public Broadcasting was formed on May 1, 2006 when the boards of KQED, Inc., and the KTEH Foundation agreed to merge, forming the "most watched public television broadcaster and the second most listened-to public radio broadcaster in the country."NCPB operates:*KQED Public...
, Inc.