Find the program information online HERE. Find the pictures posted individually HERE. Direct link to the audio of the program HERE. Credit for all photos: Bob Howard.

From WFSU: “The subject is religion in politics and public policy and three members of the Village Square’s “God Squad” bring their unique views to the subject. On the program, Reverend Betsy Oullette of Good Samaritan United Methodist Church, Reverend Dave Killeen from St. John’s Episcopal Church, Rabbi Jack Romberg of Temple Israel and Liz Joyner, executive director of the Village Square.” Listen to the full program online here. Find more information about our “Faith, Food, Friday” series by clicking here.

This morning three members of the Faith, Food, Friday “God Squad” (Rabbi Jack Romberg of Temple Israel, Reverend Dave Killeen of St. John’s Episcopal Church and Reverend Betsy Ouellette of Good Samaritan United Methodist Church) will be joining WFSU’s Tom Flanigan for an hour of what promises to be lively conversation on living in a diverse country leading into the holiday season. There’s never a dull moment with this crew, so we hope you’ll tune in! Besides, there are five more days of deciding whether to say “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays!”

Learn all about the pros and cons of Amendment 8, who supports it and who is opposed by clicking on our wiki page on Amendment 8. You can learn about all the amendments HERE and register for our FREE amendments-made-(relatively)-painless Amendments 101 forums on October 16 and 23 HERE.

The wiki page on each amendment is fully editable by you, simply register then add information, links, and sources. Or you might want to add to the pro/con list for the amendment or even write an op-ed!  Remember, the content of our Wiki is made greater by factual, civil, diverse contributions from people like you.  So, go ahead — check it out.  And if you’re a first-time user, be sure to check out the Tools & Tips page, too.  If you have trouble with the site using Internet Explorer, try switching over to Google Chrome, Firefox or Safari.

You can view these photographs as a set online HERE. All photos are courtesy of Bob Howard.

Editor’s note: Tomorrow we host Dr. Byron Johnson, author of “More God, Less Crime” at Faith, Food, Friday. In the beginning of his book, Dr. Johnson tells a pretty convincing story about how he was discriminated against in his academic career over his religious beliefs. The person responsible for bringing Dr. Johnson to town is the very Reverend Allison DeFoor (a close friend of the author) mentioned in this piece. The irony of that required a peanut gallery observation: Perhaps we’ve got ourselves in a bit of a do-loop, with aggressive behavior begetting aggressive behavior – lather, rinse and repeat endlessly? And perhaps it’s a cycle we could reverse? Read all »

This week presidential candidate Rick Santorum made a fairly audacious claim, were it true: President Obama wants to send more kids to college because he wants to indoctrinate them against faith. Santorum:

“I understand why Barack Obama wants to send every kid to college, because of their indoctrination mills, absolutely … The indoctrination that is going on at the university level is a harm to our country… 62 percent of kids who go into college with a faith commitment leave without it.”

One of my enduring frustrations driving the invention of The Village Square concept is the all-too-human tendency to assume we know the malevolent motivation of another individual we don’t agree with. Of course we don’t. Usually people at least consciously exercise good will, even if it’s shot-full of distortion, rationalization and self-interest (again, alas, all human).

Likely the determinative factor in Santorum’s decision to blurt this particular bit of hostile mind-reading out there is that he was on the Glenn Beck show… we’ve covered the subject of how like-minded company can twist and torque rational thinking (click here for C.S. Lewis on the topic). In this particular case this is – of course – just making stuff up, whether Glenn Beck was nodding his head at the time or not (studies show like-minded groups make stuff up too). Read all »

Wanted to catch Faith, Food, Friday but couldn’t quite get there yet? We’ve done the legwork for you with an audio archive of the programs! Find them here. You can also make reservations for our next program on February 3rd (our Superbowl Special Edition) “Faith, Football, Tebow” HERE.

(Read at Tallahassee.com here OR listen to an audio recording of the program HERE.) It’s time once again to queue up the annual media spectacular known as “The War on Christmas.”

Americans don’t see eye-to-eye about the role of faith in public life and it’s that time of year when that disagreement reaches a dull roar, often so loud that you can barely make out the “peace on earth, goodwill to men” we might otherwise be sharing.

The Village Square has now officially waded into the treacherous waters where faith meets the public square with our monthly forum “Faith, Food, Friday.” Thankfully, we have the good help of local clergy we’re calling the “God Squad.” On Dec. 9, they facilitated a lunchtime conversation on the “December Dilemma” before a packed house at First Baptist Church.

Turns out the “Squad” thinks that if there is a war on Christmas, it might be a little close to home for comfort. Read all »

Lunch is now $10 or you can just join us and brown bag it! Starts at noon, lunch served beginning at 11:30. Get details and RSVP here.

A reminder that you’re running out of days for the $8 pre-registration price (but free if you don’t eat)! After next Tuesday it’s $10.
But you should probably know that Laurinda’s favorite day to order the food is today, so if you know you’re planning to be there already, please let us know.
Click here for all the information on menu and to RSVP. Bring your friends!

We’re officially announcing the schedule for Faith, Food, Friday this season! The programs are as follows: Friday, December 9, “The December Dilemma” (but you already knew that); Friday January 13, “Spiritual But Not Religious”; Friday February 3, “Faith, Football, Tebow” (our Superbowl Special); Friday March 2, “Faith & Science”; and ending the year on Friday April 20 with “Morality and Faith.” You can get general information on the forums and even RSVP to any of these programs (page down to the very bottom of the page) online HERE.

Be sure to join us on Friday December 9th as the “God Squad” will tackle all those thorny issues of the holiday season, like how you greet people consistent with your beliefs without either making a political statement or stuttering uncomfortably (you’re still on your own to pick out the gifts…) RSVP for the program and get some great info on the “War on Christmas” and other thoughts on the holiday season HERE. In the meantime, the first person who correctly identifies the God Squad member pictured below playing Joseph in his kindergarten Christmas pageant (to the right of baby Jesus in the cradle) gets treated to lunch at his or her choice of upcoming Faith, Food, Friday programs! Email your answer (limit of one guess per person) to joseph@tothevillagesquare.org. (Find info on God Squad here.) **WE HAVE A WINNER! The adorable child who played Joseph is none other than Rabbi Jack Romberg!