Thanks to everyone who helped make the Darwin Day program such a great success. Nearly 500 adults and children celebrated Darwin’s birthday with a piece of cake following the inspiring and enlightening worship services. Special thanks to John Jensen, Janice Hunton, the choir and Jim Riccardo for Darwin-related music; to Ben Cooper for his portrayal of Darwin and to Rev. Kate Tucker for her “Unfinished Business” sermon, which is now available as a podcast on the main www.firstuniv.org site under Resources & References. Many children helped to paint “Chuck,” a paper mache Galapagos tortoise created by the RE staff.
110 people gathered in the Social Hall after a catered lunch for a panel presentation on "Darwin, Science and Religion, Then and Now." Thanks to our panelists David Rhees, Ken Waters, Minister Emeritus John Cummins and moderator (and program chairperson) Kim Stelson for their fascinating presentations. Thanks also to sound specialist Frank Bacon and to Martha Joy and Barb Melom, lunch and clean up coordinators, and crew Polly Hudson, Geoff Lenox, Nancy McCall, Catherine Dorr, Joy Throm, Phyllis Stenerson, Gary Melom, Phil Burke, Joyce and Jim Sutherland, Mary Beth Hoelzer, Caren Stelson, Judy and Dick Carlson, Marlene Walth, Martha Joy, John Cushing, Cecilia Newton and David Thomas.
Darwin's groundbreaking work Origin of the Species was published the same year our church was founded. The Rev. Dr. Marion Shutter, our minister for 48 years, drew crowds of over a thousand for each of the ten sermons he preached on evolution in 1900. You can read excerpts from his sermons in the Articles page on this site, and on the Events page article about he October Kickoff workshop.
Darwin Day is celebrated around the world on or near February 12, Darwin's 200th birthday. Find more information about those events on the Darwin Day website.Click on Read More to see the press release announcing this event.
