We welcome Arne Duncan as our January 2019 speaker.
We welcome Auxiliary Bishop Ron Hicks, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Chicago
The First Friday Club welcomes our guest, Fr. Thomas Hurley
The First Friday Club of Chicago
Welcomes
Ms. Maureen Maher
Award-Winning Investigative Journalist
for the CBS News Magazine, 48 Hours
Who Will Address the Topic
“The World I want for my Daughter...and Son.
Using Lessons from Our Time to Create a Better Future.”
On Friday, April 6, 2018 in the Main Lounge of the Union League Club
The First Friday Club Welcomes
Mr. Kenneth L. Woodward
Former Religion Editor, Newsweek Magazine
Who will address the Topic?
“Religion and American Politics: The Recent History of a Stormy Relationship”
We have been told to avoid two topics in our conversations: religion and politics. On April 6 th
our speaker, Ken Woodward, will address both of them!
One of the people most qualified to address this issue is Ken Woodward who for 38 years covered the
topic of religion in America for Newsweek Magazine. And since then he has continue to speak on and
write about the place and impact of religion in our country.
His most recent book is titled Getting Religion: Faith, Culture, and Politics from the Age of Eisenhower to
the Era of Obama.
Ken Woodward’s intent during his First Friday Club presentation is to begin with an analysis of the
present situation of Evangelicals in current American politics and then go back to JFK and move
forward to a discussion of Religion and the GOP and Religion and the Democrats.
This should be very interesting!
Ken Woodward has authored over 750 articles for Newsweek, including nearly 100 cover
stories. He has been a news commentator on NBC, ABC and CBS. Among his numerous awards
are the National Magazine Award, the Pulitzer Prize of the magazine industry, and the Robert E.
Griffin Award for Outstanding Achievements in the Art of Writing from the University of Notre
Dame.
Mr. Woodward grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, graduated from St. Ignatius High School there and
from the University of Notre Dame (1957). He and his wife, Elizabeth, have three children and
seven grandchildren.
His current book, Getting Religion: Faith, Culture, and Politics from the Age of Eisenhower to the Ascent
of Trump will be available in paperback after his presentation.
Violence is a Three-Sided Coin
The out-of- control violence that plagues so many pockets of Chicago focuses on two elements:
the perpetrators and the victims. Often they are described as opposite sides of the same coin, the 2
sides of a violent action.
Yet there is another element that very often encircles those two sides. Violence between perpetrator
and victim often occurs in the same territory, neighborhood, or community: the third side of the coin.
Fr. Dave Kelly and other members of his religious congregation began the Precious Blood Ministry of
Reconciliation. This Ministry reaches out to those who have been harmed, the one who has done the
harm, and the community.
Our criminal justice system asks what law was broken and what the punishment is. There is very little
energy offered to the victim or to the process of healing.
Fr. Kelly's Restorative Justice Program seeks to restore the peace, to fix the harm and pain by
working together with the victim, the offender, and the community.
In the great Tradition of our Faith rooted in Christ, he sees all life as precious: the offender, the
victim, and all in the community. He believes that healing and hope can be restored by all three sides
of this coin coming together in Peace and Justice.
Violence among us may be defined as out of control. But Fr. Dave Kelly's ministry has proven that
can change.
Father Dave Kelly has earned his Doctorate of Ministry from the Catholic Theological Union. His
thesis is entitled: "Responding to the Violence Among Urban Youth: a Restorative Approach."
On the first Friday in February we are dealing with the issue of Homelessness. We want to get beyond the stereotype and, look deeply and honestly at this growing sad cultural issue that surrounds all of us. Too many social issues have become the victims of dishonest and unfair stereotypes.
Yes. There are homeless people who beg on many of the street corners in downtown Chicago.
But did you know there are college students in the Chicago area who return to homeless shelters each night? Yes, there are.
There are also many homeless people who hold jobs and work every day, but cannot make enough money to rent a place to live for themselves and their children. So they travel night after night from town to town with their children, to the humiliation of a shelter - trying to get back on their financial feet.
This is occurring during these cold winter nights throughout the city and even in many of the best Chicago suburbs.
Our February speaker, Mark McGreevy, made a commitment 27 years ago in London to bring an end to homelessness. That has led to 100 projects in 6 countries supporting over 23,000 people. We have much to learn about this issue that surrounds us all.
The first Friday Club welcomes Father Gregory Boyle, founder of Homeboy Industries
On Friday, December 1, 2017, At Noon
In the Main Lounge of the Union League Club
The First Friday Club of Chicago
Welcomes
John Shea
Author, Poet, Theologian, Storyteller
Who will address the topic
“Christmas: It Never Grows Old.”
It will happen again very soon. We will gather around tables, in church pews, and on chairs and sofas in family rooms, living rooms and great spaces for our celebrations of Christmas 2017. It is inevitable. The calendar tells us so.
Yet, it is possible that our Christmas can get lost amid all the expressions of Christmas we are about to encounter. Somewhere woven between the layers of Christmas shopping, retail discounts, gift giving, favorite seasonal movies and music from classic to pop, charming stories about a Grinch and another about a reindeer with a red nose, there is found yet another story, a Gospel story about a young Jewish woman who birthed her first-born son, wrapped him in love and placed him in a manger. All expressions of Christmas are rooted in this Story that never grows old.
It has been the practice of the First Friday Club to invite a speaker each first Friday in December to raise our consciousness of the spirituality of this wonderful season culminating on Christmas Day. There might be no one better this year than John Shea to speak to the spirituality of this special time of the year. He is a very creative writer, theologian, storyteller and poet.
John (Jack) Shea is the former Professor of Systematic Theology and former Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program at the University of St. Mary of the Lake. He was Research Professor at the Institute of Pastoral Studies, Loyola University Chicago. He was also Senior Scholar in Residence at the Park Ridge Center for the Study of Health, Faith and Ethic.
He is a very popular speaker in parishes, organizations and programs throughout the Chicago area and beyond.
Our Children, our future - protecting their health and well-being Health Care has been a major topic of political and social conversation for the past eight months as well as a recurring theme in our country for almost eight years.
We welcome Justice Anne Burke, who discusses the founding of the Special Olympics
riday, May 5, 2017, At Noon At the Union League Club
The First Friday Club of Chicago
Welcomes
David Axelrod
Political Commentator and Author
Who will address the issue:
“The Evolving Media and Political Landscape”
David Axelrod was motivated by a sense of idealism at an early age. At 5 years old, he witnessed an inspiring speech by John F. Kennedy, in New York, which would set his life on a political course. Axelrod credits this formative experience with arousing a life passion for politics, and, in 1972, Axelrod moved to Illinois to study political science at the University of Chicago.
Upon graduating from college, Axelrod began working for the Chicago Tribune. In 1981, by the age of 27, he gained acclaim for being the youngest political writer in the newspaper's history.
After eight years of political reporting, Axelrod left the paper to pursue a career in campaign consulting. This included being the media strategist for 150 state, local and national political campaigns. He is the former chief strategist and senior advisor to President Barack Obama.
He currently serves as Director of the University of Chicago's non-partisan Institute for Politics; senior political commentator for CNN; and host of The Axe Files, a top-rated podcast jointly produced by CNN and his institute. Axelrod is also the author of The New York Times best- selling memoir, Believer: My Forty Years in Politics.
On Friday, April 7, 2017
The First Friday Club of Chicago in Cooperation with the Authors Group (Union League Club)
Welcomes
Mr. Mark Shriver
President, Save The Children Action Network
Author, PILGRIMAGE - My Search for the Real Pope Francis
Who Will Address the Topic
"My Search for the Real Pope Francis"
Pope Francis very quickly has become one of the most fascinating and one of the most popular people in the world. He is adored by millions and disdained by many others. Who is he? Where did he come from? What motivates him? How did he become so compassionate to the poor and marginalized?
Mark Shriver set out to find answers to those and many other elements in the life of Jorge Marie Bergoglio. In his journeys through Argentina to the places where Pope Francis was born, lived, educated and ministered as a Jesuit, Shriver not only entered into the heart of Francis, he also came into deeper contact with his own faith, values and his motivation for doing good for others. His biographical journey into the life of Pope Francis has also led him to question even his own work as head of the nonprofit, Save the Children.
Mark Shriver is the son of Sargent Shriver, who ran the Merchandise Mart here in Chicago and became the first head of the Peace Corps, and Eunice Kennedy Shriver, one of the founders of The Special Olympics here in Chicago.
Mr. Shriver will be joined in conversation by Rev. Pat McGrath, S.J., president of Loyola Academy and visiting priest at Old St. Pat's Catholic Church.
Cardinal Cupich will offer some thoughts on how believers can respond in a time marked by moral whiplash and acrimonious public discourse. The present moment seems to demand that we Christians choose between seemingly competing issues from protecting the unborn to caring for the marginalized, from defending religious freedom to preserving the environment. What is the average Catholic to do?
On Friday, February 3, 2017
At Noon at the Union League Club
The First Friday Club of Chicago Welcomes
Dr. Jo Ann Rooney
24th President, Loyola University Chicago
Who will address the issue: "IS THERE A CHANGING CATHOLIC IDENTITY IN CATHOLIC UNIVERSITIES TODAY?"
Contemporary America is experiencing two amazing phenomena: cultural/religious/social diversity and a rapidly increasing secularity. These phenomena are incarnated in the student and faculty populations of Catholic Universities. What is Catholic today in a Catholic University? Is there a Catholic world view that is taught and promoted? Is there a Catholic ethic and moral compass that clashes with a secular ethic?
Dr. Jo Ann Rooney, JD, LLM, EdD, is the 24th President of Loyola University Chicago and the first lay president in the University's history. She holds a Juris Doctor from Suffolk University Law School, a Master of Laws in taxation from Boston University School of Law, and a Doctor of Education in higher education management from the University of Pennsylvania.
Jeanne Bishop, Attorney, Author, Social Justice Leader
On Friday, January 6, 2017, at Noon
At the Union League Club
The First Friday Club of Chicago
Welcomes
Attorney and Author Jeanne Bishop
Who will address the topic
“Forgiveness: The impossible virtue”
Many people in Chicago remember the horrible events of an unspeakable crime that took place in the northern suburbs 26 years ago. Newspaper and television coverage was extensive and emotionally exhausting. The story is familiar but the names of the people involved appear to have been forgotten.
Our speaker, Jeanne Bishop and her family, seemed to be living the American Dream. She and her siblings were born and raised in a quiet, safe, well to do suburb. She attended Northwestern University and had a good job at a top Chicago law firm.
The world changed for them on a dark night in 1990, just before Easter. After a family dinner to celebrate the impending birth of her younger sister’s baby, tragedy struck. Jeanne received a phone call the next morning. Her sister Nancy, brother-in-law Richard, and the unborn baby were gone. Murdered in their own home, in the sleepy village of Winnetka. … How? … Why?
Did the family experience crushing sadness? Yes. Was there anger and bitterness? Maybe at first. Was there a Desire for Revenge??
Jeanne will share her long journey of Forgiveness. A journey that started when she told the police investigators that she didn't want to hate anybody. Along the way she spent time with the author of Dead Man Walking, Sister Helen Prejean, lobbied Gov. George Ryan about the death penalty, and met others who challenged her to examine her faith and Christian beliefs.
Would you have the courage or compassion to go to the prison where your sister’s murderer was incarcerated? Could you tell him he was Forgiven? Is Forgiveness an impossible virtue?
On Friday, December 2, 2016
At Noon
At the Union League Club
The First Friday Club of Chicago
Welcomes
Father William Moriarity
Associate Pastor, Holy Name Cathedral
Chaplain Extraordinaire, Northwestern Memorial Hospital
Who will address the topic
"Living the Festival of Light
Yes. Light is Stronger Than Dark"
December is the month that plunges the Northern Hemisphere into the deepest darkness of the year. Less and less natural light occurs until several days before the great feast of the Return of the Sun/Son, Christmas.
Judaism and Christianity both celebrate Festivals of Light in December: Hanukkah and Advent/Christmas. These festivals of light, one candle more a night for eight nights, one candle a week for four weeks, are true metaphors for the spiritual Faith that firmly believes that the Light of the World conquers any and all darkness that life throws at us.
The personification of that element of Faith is Fr. Bill Moriarity. For the past 50 years Fr. Moriarity's priesthood has offered life, healing, light, and hope in some of the darkest moments people have ever experienced. In this Season of Light, in the midst of darkness, the First Friday Club invites Father Moriarity to share some of his powerful experiences of bringing light in people's lives through his ministry as priest, pastor, and as chaplain to the sick and suffering at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. His inspiration will be a call to all of us to "go and do the same.”
On Friday, November 4, 2016
at Noon
at The Union League Club
The First Friday Club of Chicago
Welcomes
Ms. Carol Marin and Ms. Mary Ann Ahern
NBC 5 Chicago
Addressing the topic
"The Finish Line Is in Sight!"
It has been neither a sprint nor a marathon. It has been an Ultra-Marathon that only the strongest athletes can endure. However, this "Ultra" involves politicians, not athletes. And, for most of us, crossing that finish line cannot come soon enough!
Political pundits, nearly every journalists and every adult across America, have said that we have never seen a race like this before. From the start line to that impending finish line are two of Chicago's finest journalists: Mary Ann Ahern and Carol Marin.
The First Friday Club is honored that they have accepted the invitation to address us on Friday, November 4th, a few days before those candidates cross the finish line.
Carol Marin and Mary Ann Ahern need no introduction to most of us. They have been in our homes for many, many years through the magic of television. Carol Marin, a graduate of Palatine High School, returned to Chicago in 1978 when she was hired by NBC 5 Chicago. Mary Ann Ahern, joined NBC 5 Chicago in 1989. She has reported on many of the Catholic stories in our city. In 1991, she was the first journalist to report on the priest sex/pedophile crisis. She has covered the stories of the lives and deaths of Cardinals and Popes.
Who will address the issue
During the years of the Vietnam Conflict the Defense Department released, on a weekly basis, the number of U.S. military forces killed and wounded in battle. Needless to say, many weeks, those figures were staggering.
Presently, media outlets in Chicago report the number of people killed and wounded in Chicago at the end of each weekend. Many weekends and weeks those figures are staggering. Sadly, they rival war zones. Over the Labor Day holiday weekend 13 people were killed, victims of gun violence. Another 52 were shot in Chicago. After eight months and one week 500 people were murdered in the neighborhoods of Chicago.
In every video scene of the shootings in Chicago, there is one common picture: Chicago police officers. The expectation is that these men and women are called upon to stop this seemingly out-of-control situation.
The First Friday Club is honored that Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson will speak to this issue. It is no longer a Chicago neighborhood issue, or a city issue, or even a national issue. The violence in Chicago is now headline news internationally.
At the time of his birth, Superintendent Johnson was born into the toughest community in Chicago, Cabrini Green. At the age of nine his family moved to the south side of Chicago, where he still lives. During the last three decades he has held nearly every position within the Chicago Police Department, from ordinary cop to Chief of Patrol.
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace...
The first Friday Club welcomes Fr. Michael Pfleger as our February 2016 speaker
“A City in Turmoil - News to Some – Just Another Day to Others”
Fr. Michael Pfleger became pastor of St Sabina Catholic Community at the age of 31. He has spent over 1/2 of his life pastoring that community. He has transformed St. Sabina into one of the largest African-American Catholic Churches in the United States. The parish school is one of the largest and most successful Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese. Fr. Pfleger and the people of St. Sabina have accomplished both of these without accepting any money from the Archdiocese.
However, Fr. Pfleger's reputation reaches far beyond the boundaries of St. Sabina. As a champion for issues of civil rights, justice and equality, he has no boundaries. Any where there is injustice, Fr. Pfleger leads his people. His own foster son, Jarvis, became a victim of gang crossfire in 1998.
Most recently Fr. Pfleger is embroiled in the turmoil confronting the City of Chicago, its Police Department, its Public Schools, its gang violence, and the murder of our children.
We are asking Fr. Michael Pfleger to share his wisdom with us, and give us some insights into reversing the course of the deep-seated racism which might be the root of all this turmoil.
The First Friday Club of Chicago welcomes the Reverend Shannon Kershner, pastor of Fourth Presbyterian Church, as our March speaker.
"Resurrection Moments In A Time Of Lent"
When the Christian Church calls us again this Lent to participate in a 40 period of prayer, fasting and generosity, it seems that fewer people are listening to that call. Church attendance continues to decline and the influence of Churches seems to be waning.
To many it appears that the Good Friday experience of suffering and death trumps the hope and fullness of life proclaimed at Easter.
Reverend Shannon Kerschner, pastor of one of the most significant Churches in Chicago, Fourth Church, will reveal to us in the middle of Lent 2016 the “resurrection moments” she perceives in the Christian community today. Those “resurrection moments” are to be incorporated in each one of our lives.
The Reverend Shannon Johnson Kershner is Pastor of the Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago, a vibrant and diverse worshiping community of more than 5,000 members. A presence in the city of Chicago since 1871, this downtown congregation is committed to serving the needs of the community, both locally and globally, a commitment that can be seen in its many well-regarded outreach programs, most notably its nonprofit organization, Chicago Lights.
She was called as Pastor of Fourth Church in 2014, after having previously served as Head of Staff at Black Mountain Presbyterian Church in Black Mountain, North Carolina. She has also served congregations in Texas and Georgia. Reverend Kershner also serves on the Board of Trustees at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia and as a member of the strategy team of the NEXT Church movement in the PCUSA.
Her sermons have been published in the Journal for Preachers and Lectionary Homiletics, and she has been a preacher and worship leader at various worship and preaching conferences.
First Friday Club of Chicago presents our January 2016 speaker, David Anderson:
“When A Real Good Idea Becomes a Real Big Problem - Student Loans”
What a great idea – make money available for more young people to attend college, earn their degree, enter the work force, earn a living and begin making their mark in the business community and the entire American society. Today that great idea is also becoming an albatross around the necks of young people and their families that it was designed to help succeed. How many people are leaving school with a student loan debt greater than a mortgage and paying interest on those loans twice the current mortgage rate?
And the current student loan situation goes far beyond the students themselves. It is affecting the finances of their parents, who need to add their assistance with loan payments. It is affecting the make-up of the culture with more “graduates” unable to afford their own housing. A significant number continue to live at home for an indefinite period of time. It is affecting the buying power of so many people. Too many college graduates are under-employed yet need to keep paying down those student loans. If a person defaults on a student loan, it will affect their employment opportunities in the future.
Perhaps this situation is best summed up in a now famous sentence: “Houston, we have a problem.”
Mr. David Anderson will address the “student loan problem” on Friday, January 8, 2016. Mr. Anderson is a graduate with honors of Chicago State University in the field of Finance and Economics. In 2009 he was a part of the Diversity and Explorations Program at Harvard University. He worked as an Analyst for both J.P. Morgan Asset Management and Goldman Sachs. During 2011 Mr. Anderson worked in the Executive Office of the President in the White House.
Student Loan 411, the organization which he co-founded, offers student loan consultative and advisory services to individuals and institutions in the following areas: medical student loans, student loans forgiveness, repayment options, loan consolidation, and parent plus loans.
The First Friday Club not only is encouraging you to attend our January lunch, but also we are hoping you will extend an invitation to your own college-age children and grandchildren, who are still home for the holidays.