The Village Square is delighted to bring you a packed schedule of programs throughout the year. Scroll down to find your favorites, click on the links to learn more, and register today. We can’t wait to see you there!
Fall 2023/Spring 2024 with more soon…
Join or Die with Robert Putnam and Shaylyn Romney Garrett
Thursday, October 5th 7:00-8:30 p.m. via Zoom
Dr. Robert Putnam first sounded the alarm about a half century of declining social capital in “Bowling Alone”, now he’s teaming up with his co-author of “The Upswing” Shaylyn Romney Garrett to convince us that we really should join a club. And that the fate of America depends on it. This program is part of the UNUM: Democracy Reignited digital series.
Learn more here!
Dinner at the Square: Collective Illusions with Todd Rose
Tuesday, October 17th 6:00-8:00 p.m. @ St. John’s Episcopal Church
Join us for Dinner at the Square as author Todd Rose explains how we are finding ourselves in a collective illusion, where we as individuals are making assumptions about our own side of the aisle, helping to exacerbate political divisions.
Learn more here!
God Squad: Shut Up and (Don’t) Sing?
Friday, October 27th 12:00-1:00 p.m. @ Temple Israel
We’re gonna sing (metaphorically)! With our culture wars at a full rolling boil, apparently all it takes to send our enmity over the edge is…a good old-fashioned country song??
Learn more here!
Over Zero with Rachel Brown
Tuesday, November 14th 7:00-8:30 p.m. via Zoom
Rachel Brown joins us via Zoom to discuss the roots of belonging and the risks of othering and how to fight identity-based politics. This program is part of the UNUM: Democracy Reignited digital series.
Learn more here!
God Squad: Ending the Cycle of Mean
Thursday, November 30th 5:30 p.m. @ WFSU Studios
With depression and “deaths of despair” on the rise, over half of us say that no one knows us well. As if matters weren’t bad enough, we’re not just sad and alone—we’re becoming more mean to each other, and it’s likely part of the same cycle of pain.
Learn more here!
God Squad: Everyone is Canceled
Friday, February 23rd 12:00-1:00 p.m. @ First Baptist Church
We’re living in a time when a bad choice of words (much less a deeply held countercultural opinion) can tank your career, in a media environment where some are doing a near-professional job of elevating being offensive to an art form.
Learn more here!
Dinner at the Square: Fragile Neighborhoods with Seth Kaplan
Tuesday, March 5th 6:00-8:00 p.m. @ St. John’s Episcopal Church
Too many of us live in neighborhoods plagued by rising crime, school violence, family disintegration, addiction, alienation, and despair. Even the wealthiest neighborhoods are not immune; while poverty exacerbates these challenges, they exist in zip codes rich and poor, rural and urban, and everything in between.
Learn more here!
God Squad: Seeking High Ground in the School Wars
Thursday, April 18th 5:30 p.m. @ St. John’s Episcopal Church
Maybe we shouldn’t be surprised that the culture wars have Officially Hit Our Schools. When you clear away the noise, at the core of the struggle is this: what should our schools teach our children—and who decides?
Learn more here!