John Sledge
2025-08-24 11:00 - 12:00 (America/Chicago) | Fairhope Unitarian Fellowship, 1150 Fairhope Ave., Fairhope, AL, 36532, United States
Mobile and Havana: Two Sisters Across the Gulf

John Sledge is one of the authors of the recent book, “Mobile and Havana: Sisters Across the Gulf.” He will provided an overview of the long linkage between two most exotic cities. They share stories of European conquest, trade, high-society connections, knowledge, and culture. It should be a rich visual, immersive experience into both the history and the architectural heritage of these two places.

John is currently Maritime historian-in-residence at the National Maritime Museum of the Gulf. He retired as a senior architectural historian with the Mobile Historic Development Commission in 2024. He was a newspaper Book Page editor for the Mobile Press-Register and is a National Book Critics Circle member. He has published many books about the Gulf Coast region and its history.

Kelsey Lovett
2025-08-31 11:00 - 12:00 | Fairhope Unitarian Fellowship, 1150 Fairhope Ave., Fairhope, AL, 36532, United States
Impact 100 and Baldwin County

Kelsey will discuss how Impact 100 works in the Baldwin County Community. Kelsey will share the process for application and award of grants and also discuss support that the organization gives throughout the county. She will highlight the most recent grants, how to join and how to support in other ways.

Kelsey Lovett is a Certified Financial Planner and Investment Wealth Manager with Ameriprise Financial. Her passion is helping people learn how to invest and save their money so that they can be more generous with their wealth. She has 17 years of experience working with and serving clients.

Kate Carver & Sarah Laurio
2025-09-07 11:00 - 12:00 | Fairhope Unitarian Fellowship, 1150 Fairhope Ave., Fairhope, AL, 36532, United States
Baldwin Family Village: Transitional Housing for Homeless Women & Children

Dumas Wesley Community Center approaches poverty, homelessness and inequity by offering long term transformation. By using a connected web of services: transitional housing, youth enrichment, senior wellness, emergency aid and workforce training as well as food, clothing and transportation- the Center addresses a wide spectrum of human need. Dumas Wesley recently expanded its mission with the launch of the County’s first housing program for homeless women and children in Fairhope.

Kate Carver has served in a number of key positions with the Salvation Army, the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office and Volunteer Mobile. She is currently the Executive Director of the Dumas Wesley Community Center and has been leading the Center for 15 years. Sarah Laurio is Associate Executive Director of Dumas Wesley Community Center overseeing the Sybil Smith Family Village & Baldwin Family Village.

Frank Barragan
2025-09-14 11:00 - 12:00 | Fairhope Unitarian Fellowship, 1150 Fairhope Ave., Fairhope, AL, 36532, United States
The Work of the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice

Frank in conversation with Nick Coulson will talk about the history and role of the Hispanic immigrant community in this country. He will discuss the effect of the current administration’s policies, and their impact on Hispanic communities. Email questions you would like to have asked to njcoulson@gmail.com

Frank Barragan is the Community Engagement Coordinator for the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice and a mainstay of the local Hispanic community.

Mike Turner
2025-09-21 11:00 - 12:00 | Fairhope Unitarian Fellowship, 1150 Fairhope Ave., Fairhope, AL, 36532, United States
Celebrating the International Day of Peace in Poetry and Song

Mike Turner celebrates the UN International Day of Peace (Sunday, September 21, 2025) with a selection of his original songs and poems to advocate peace and oppose war and violence.

Mike Turner is a songwriter/poet living in Fairhope. He was named 2025 Poet of the Year by the Alabama State Poetry Society. Mike has more than 450 poems published in over 100 literary journals and anthologies, and numerous original songs receiving radio and streaming play. His poetry collection, Visions and Memories, is available on Amazon.

Frye Gaillard
2025-09-28 11:00 - 12:00 | Fairhope Unitarian Fellowship, 1150 Fairhope Ave., Fairhope, AL, 36532, United States
Heroes and Other Mortals

Frye Gaillard will select stories from his most recent book, Heroes and Other Mortals. This is a collection of inspiring profiles Gaillard has written throughout his career, telling the stories of activists, artists, musicians and others who worked to make the world a better place.

Frye lives in Mobile, Alabama, and is the writer-in-residence in the English and History departments at the University of South Alabama. He is the author of thirty books, the winner of the Lillian Smith Book Award and the Gustavus Myers Award.

Dr. Suzanne Tormoen
2025-10-05 11:00 - 12:00 | Fairhope Unitarian Fellowship, 1150 Fairhope Ave., Fairhope, AL, 36532, United States
The Chalice

The flaming chalice is the official logo of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA). It is enshrined in stained glass at the head of our fellowship hall, and our most significant symbol. But what is its meaning and significance ? Suzanne will unpack its history & relevance to the Unitarianism.

Suzanne has been a Unitarian since Junior high school and loves the Fellowship, which is an important part of her life She is a physician in internal medicine in Fairhope after working in Mobile and has a Masters in nutrition. She studied martial arts with Yosekan Budo for 5 years. She likes to garden, walk, do yoga, cook and be civically minded. She has 2 sons, 3 grandchildren, & 3 siblings.

Members' Summer Stories
2025-10-12 11:00 - 12:00 | Fairhope Unitarian Fellowship, 1150 Fairhope Ave., Fairhope, AL, 36532, United States
Some of us have been running away from the heat and humidity and most of us are back. We’re even beginning to welcome back snowbirds. Some have remained steadfast in Baldwin County weathering what the climate threw at us.

We will sit in a circle and tell stories of our summers; of foreign parts, of travel disasters, of beautiful moments and dreams of vacations to come. No pressure; come even if you want to stay mum.

Rachel Wright
2025-10-19 11:00 - 12:00 | Fairhope Unitarian Fellowship, 1150 Fairhope Ave., Fairhope, AL, 36532, United States
Art, Wonder, and the Wheel of Life

In this presentation, artist Rachel Wright will discuss a brief history of her art making culminating in the Cryptic Underwing exhibition, on now at the Mobile Museum of Art. She will explore the themes of mortality and beauty, and how they compelled her to explore the Mobile-Tensaw Delta as part of her creative process. https://www.mobilemuseumofart.com/exhibitions/cryptic-under-wing-rachel-wright/

Rachel Wright is a self-professed biophiliac: she has a deep love of the natural world. She received her BFA from the Art Institute of Chicago and her MFA from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Rachel has exhibited nationally, had her work included in the Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum, and has received two Artist Fellowships from the Alabama State Council for the Arts. Rachel loves to share her passion with students in workshops and teaching at University of South Alabama.

Dr. Harvey Joanning
2025-10-26 11:00 - 12:00
How Politicians Manipulate Our Brains

For millennia leaders have used rhetoric to persuade others to follow them. Neuroscience has revealed why this is possible. Politicians now employ neuroscience to assist them in manipulating us to support them. This talk will explain how this is done, and what we can do to avoid being manipulated.

Dr Harvey Joanning is Emeritus Professor at Iowa State University and an Adjunct Professor at USA in the Department of Psychology and College of Education. He is licensed as a Psychologist and Marriage & Family Therapist. He been a consultant for NASA & the U.S. Department of Defense.

Carl Couret
2025-11-02 11:00 - 12:00
“Survival of the Fittest”This phrase was not coined by Darwin. It was from an English polymath, Herbert Spencer, who used it after reading Origin of the Species. He was well known in his time and has been credited for the basis of social Darwinism.

Carl Couret is a retired fish and wildlife field biologist, ukulele enthusiast, military veteran, and Past President of FUF. Born and raised in New Orleans, he has lived in Denver, Yokota AFB in Japan, Albuquerque, Vero Beach FL and Mobile Bay’s Eastern Shore.

Miranda Estes & Christina Okarmus
2025-11-09 11:00 - 12:00
Healthy Youth Education

Miranda and Christina will discuss the state of adolescent education in our region. They will look at measures to empower young people to make good decisions and at the ways in which this is being undercut by legislative action, misleading advertising and reduced funding.

BIOS: Miranda Estes (she/her) is the State Policy Action Manager at SIECUS where she has connected advocates across 30 states, helping more than 90 members strengthen their skills in advocacy, coalition-building, and strategy. Originally from Mississippi, she earned her bachelors and master’s in Social Work from the University of Southern Mississippi and began her career in community organizing.

Christina Clark Okarmus (she/her) led ACASH as its Executive Director. With over 13 years working in adolescent health, she started their first Youth Advisory Council program, developed an online foundation course, and successfully stopped repressive legislation from passing in 2024 and 2025. Christina is a member of AASECT. She has her Masters of Public Policy from the University of Northern Iowa.

Skip Jones
2025-11-16 11:00 - 12:00
Golden Years: How Americans Invented & Reinvented the Golden Age

Skip will review and discuss this book by James Chappel. In it Chappel examines how we Americans have viewed and responded: individually and socially-to the fact of aging.

Skip is a native of Mobile and a resident of the Eastern Shore since 1980. He is the proud father of three and grandfather of nine. He has been building and restoring homes for the past 29 years. In his spare time, he has been building and restoring boats. He currently lives in a 1925 cottage in Fairhope with his wife, Barbara, and dog, Archie.

John Brown
2025-11-23 11:00 - 12:00
Comprehensive Estate Planning 101

John will discuss the five essential documents in a comprehensive estate plan including their primary uses and their limitations. He will also identify the most overlooked aspects of a good estate plan.

John Brown is a qualified as a certified Financial Planner Emeritus. He is the retired owner of the financial planning form he founded and managed for 27 years until he retired in 2010. John currently serves as a volunteer at Thomas Hospital and regularly conducts estate planning seminars at Fairhope Library.

FUF Board Candidate Panel
2025-11-30 11:00 - 12:00
The nominating Committee has finalized the Candidates that they are recommending for the Executive Board next year. Candidates for positions on the FUF Board will describe their plans and suitability for board positions. This will be followed by a Q & A when members can put questions to candidates.

Unitarian Universalists hold up democratic values as one of the cornerstones of our faith and we trust that folks will not be shy of undertaking that responsibility seriously. So please come prepared with good questions!

Annual Member Meeting
2025-12-07 11:00 - 12:00
This is the major opportunity for the FUF Board members to outline the developments over the past year and plans for the future to members. It is the opportunity for members to vote in a new Board and to comment on and question what they are hearing. Stay for pizza and holiday decorating after!

Dr. Bill Goetter
2025-12-14 11:00 - 12:00
A Brief History of Vaccination

Dr. Goetter will talk about the trials and tribulations of vaccines.

Dr. Goetter is a retired physician, Board certified in internal medicine and pulmonary disease. He has served on the Alabama State Board of Health for 9 years.

Bah Humbug!
2025-12-21 11:00 - 12:00
See the true story of the origin of our American celebration of Christmas with a cast of Fellowship members. Irene Wegner will direct this 5th Annual event. Contact Irene if you are interested in being in the cast!

Hopes and Resolutions for the New Year
2025-12-28 11:00 - 12:00
We’ll meet in an oval seating arrangement so everyone can see and engage with one another. As the microphone is passed around, each person will have the opportunity to share a brief reflection, hope, or resolution for the year ahead. Participation is welcome but never required.

FUF Programs Over the Ages
2026-01-04 11:00 - 12:00
Sharing their history, a panelist of FUF members will talk about what has proved successful and challenging for Sunday Service Programs over the years. Having no minister, FUF as a lay-led congregation creates the opportunity to engage a variety of speakers on a variety of subjects. Rather than centering on individual tastes and preferences, collective gathering is an act of generosity and hospitality. Not every program may be to the liking of everyone, but just our presence that hour may be what our fellow congregant needed. The next program may be the very one that speaks directly to YOU. Your input on Program Planning will be welcome.

Sonny Brewer
2026-01-11 11:00 - 12:00
More information coming soon!

Claire Helton
2026-01-18 11:00 - 12:00
Good Grief Without God: A Spiritually Inclusive Approach to Loss

Religious folks often balk at the idea that anyone could make it through a loss without a faith to support them, and yet people of all persuasions – spiritual, secular, and everywhere in between – cope successfully with loss every day. In this talk, Claire will share her learnings as a hospice bereavement coordinator offering spiritually inclusive grief support in the Pensacola area, with particular attention to the gap in community bereavement resources for non-religious or spiritually wounded grievers.

Claire Helton is a hospice bereavement coordinator with a background in chaplaincy & congregational ministry, and is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Pensacola. She finds life in creating spaces for deep reflection, community-building, and personal transformation, and puts that passion to use as a Mentor with OutoftheBox (www.outofthebox.org), a group dialogue tool she currently uses to facilitate her own spiritually inclusive grief support group called Mindful Grief, which meets in Pensacola.

Chad Bedwell
2026-01-25 11:00 - 12:00
From a Hacker’s Perspective explores cybersecurity and how we can stay more secure as our daily lives become increasingly connected in a digital world. Using real-world examples and attacker tactics, the talk helps attendees better understand the risks we face and how those risks translate into everyday decisions.

Chad Bedwell is the Operational Technology (OT) Cybersecurity Lead for Mott MacDonald, a global engineering firm, specializing in securing critical infrastructure through ethical hacking and attacker-focused defense. He is passionate about helping people understand digital risk by explaining how real-world attackers think and how that knowledge helps protect the systems that keep the world running.
