Fireside Details

Saturday night, September 18, 7:30 p.m., 172 Presland Road.

      Martin is one of the young dyn___ of the Ottawa Bahá’í community, and he returns to our place for another gathering. A recent university grad, budding businessman, relentlessly eligible bachelor and all-around stylin’ dude, Martin lived much of his young life in Florida, but has been in Ottawa for a couple of years now. He plans to argue that goodness is, well, good.
      Call me an Old Fella if you like—and maybe I’m dazzled and bewildered by youth-speak—but I’m not sure it’s coincidence that what was once “neat” or “fantastic” or “cool” or “groovy” is now “sick” or “ill” (or, not so long ago, “bad”, if you’ll forgive the Michael Jackson reference). We’re pretty cynical about a lot of things, and it seems to me that virtue, just being a Good Person, is pretty retro. Pretty much dismissed, I’d say, in pop culture. (And yes, I must confess that I prefer the innocent, sweet-singing Juicy Fruit troubadour to the hip Nazis who smash his guitar!)
       Enough o’ that. Martin will take us mind-travelling, exploring ideas about goodness that go more than complexion-deep, and trying to discuss virtues in a bigger, nobler and more hopeful context.

{Written by the venerable Jay Howden}

"Why Religion?
What's It Do for Me? &
Why Would We Need Another One?”
with Ayafo r   T.  Ayafo r

Saturday night, October 16th, 7:30 p.m., 172 Presland Road  (842-7363)

     Well, here's an interesting young man, and not just because his name repeats! Ayafor is originally from Cameroon, and is the son of that African nation's ambassador to the United Nations. He describes his background this way: "I am of a Catholic/Presbyterian background (Dad/Mom), but was very active as a Pentecostal Christian, even being baptized (for a second time) 2 months prior to becoming a Bahá'í. My degree is in Computer Engineering from the University of Ottawa, and I now work in software development. I'm very much interested in anything intuitive/argumentative, with recent readings ranging from Einstein's theory of relativity to Darwin's 'Origin of Species' (which I happen to be reading now). If it wasn't fairly obvious, I like discussing religion!" He is also a killer soccer player and, so I've heard, has one of the worst basketball shots in the entire Ottawa Bahá'í community! (Sorry, Aya!)

   In a world where religious conflict, the corruption of faith institutions, and cynicism about the place of religion are front and centre all the time, Ayafor is going straight at these challenging questions: What is the purpose of religion? What use is it to humanity? Has it outlived its usefulness? And where does the Bahá'í Faith, the youngest of the great world religions, fit into all this? Bring your own questions, too--it is sure to be a lively conversation. As always, our purpose is to get closer to what's real, to understand each other and the world better. Hope you'll join us!

   We look forward to welcoming you and your friends and your ideas. Come anytime after 7 p.m. for a 7:30 start (he said hopefully) with words and sounds and silence to bring us all together. Bring some good words if you'd like to share. We're at 172 Presland Road, which runs parallel to and between Queen Mary and Coventry, just a few dozen metres east of the Vanier Parkway. The number 3 bus will drop you off a very easy walk from our place, and the 18 also comes very close when it crosses the Parkway. If you're unsure, Mapquest (www.mapquest.ca) will help, but so will a call to 842-7363.