Category: Uncategorized

Everyday Miracles: Above + Beyond Cancer Journeys
Thursday, February 15, 7:00pm
Cowles Reading Room, Cowles Library, Drake University

 

Dr. Richard Deming, founder and chairman of Above + Beyond Cancer, will speak about the small miracles he experiences with patients and survivors every day.  Dr. Deming is medical director of Mercy Cancer Center in Des Moines, Iowa. He received a bachelor’s degree at South Dakota State University and his medical degree at Creighton University. Dr. Deming is known in the community for the compassionate care he provides cancer patients and their families. He is involved in many national, state and community organizations and is the recipient of numerous awards. He was awarded the Lane Adams Award by the American Cancer Society for excellence and compassion in patient care. He is the recipient of “the one hundred” Award by Massachusetts General Hospital for his work with cancer survivors. He was awarded the Iowa Cancer Champion Award for his tireless efforts in the field of advocacy. He is dedicated to the principals of human dignity, social justice, and compassion. His greatest ambition is to encourage others to pursue lives of meaning, purpose, passion and compassion.

 

Michael Zimmerman will give a personal narrative about his own journey with cancer. Zimmerman is the Director and founder of RipRoar Events, a Des Moines-based company focused on endurance event creation and production. He also is a nationally recognized sports announcer commentating and inspiring endurance athletes from youth to professional. In 2016, Michael was diagnosed with a rare case of composite lymphoma with both curable and non-curable elements. For the past two years Michael has undergone both aggressive and moderate chemotherapy to stabilize and cure his disease. Michael’s documentation and intentional awareness throughout his cancer journey gives his journey a raw and authentic account.

Above + Beyond Cancer takes cancer survivors on incredible adventures, leading participants to places like Mount Everest Base Camp and the top of Mount Kilimanjaro.  But their work isn’t about getting to the tops of mountains. Through transformational journeys, participants inspire the public by devoting themselves to a life of advocacy and leading an example for healthy living and cancer prevention in their communities.

 

(photo credit: Dylan Hue)

 

Please join us for our next “Meet My Religious Neighbor” open house, which will be held on Saturday, February 3rd , from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m., at the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint George.

This open house actually is just that! – a two-hour window of time during which to drop in, tour the church, meet the congregation, and learn how they practice Greek Orthodox Christianity.

Come to the fellowship hall to sample refreshments and music from the various cultures of St. George! Also enjoy traditional music in the worship space. Father Basil and other members of the community will be on hand to answer your questions and share the history of St. George as well as their experience of worship.

Meet My Religious Neighbor is a monthly open-house series. Each open house allows the public the opportunity to tour a sacred space, learn how religion is practiced in it, and meet the congregation who worships there.

 

Religions of Des Moines: An Anthropology of Religion Poster Session
Friday, December 8th
4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Upper Olmsted Conference Rooms

 

Come meet seventeen different religious communities of Des Moines and the Drake students who researched them this semester. Students from Prof. Trentini’s Anthropology of Religion course will share posters and pictures of their research. These students, along with some members of their communities, will also speak about some of the most memorable experiences from this research.

Light refreshments, including kosher/hallal food from Maccabees Deli, will be served.

For more information, contact Prof. Daria Trentini: daria.trentini@drake.edu

Support of this event is made possible by Drake’s Humanities Center, Drake’s Principal Financial Group Center for Global Citizenship, Drake’s Department for the Study of Culture and Society, and Drake’s Comparison Project.

Reverend Heng Sure
Director of the Institute for World Religions at the Berkeley Buddhist Monastery
Wednesday, December 6th, 7:00 p.m.
Sussman Theater

Reverend Heng Sure will give a talk on “Buddhist Views on the Environment.”

Please join us on Sunday, December 3rd, from 10:45 am – 12:45 pm for the next open house in our Meet My Religious Neighbor series.

This open house is hosted by Burns United Methodist, the oldest African-American church in Iowa, which is now located at 1909 Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway in Des Moines. (For more background info about Burns, see our “Religions of Des Moines” entry on this site.)

Burns’ Sunday service begins at 11:00 am and lasts until 12:30/12:45 pm. Guests can dress as they desire — Burns’ parishioners come in everything from suits to sweats! Those guests who want a brief orientation to the service and tour of the facilities should arrive by 10:45 am.