Panera Tuesday Chats

Our popular faith and conversation gatherings at the Freehold Panera continue this summer with four sessions on themes of Compassion, Faith, Joy, and Hope.

Join us on select Tuesdays in July and August listed below at 10 AM or 7 PM to share conversation on the day's topic. All we ask is that you prepare by listening to the linked podcasts before you come.

Each session is unique, so you do not have to come to all four. If you don't have time to prepare but the topic interests you, come anyway! 

 

Panera Bread
531 Solomon Way
Freehold NJ 07728

Tuesday, July 10
10 AM & 7 PM

Tuesday, July 17
10 AM & 7 PM

Tuesday, August 7
10 AM & 7 PM

Tuesday, August 14
10 AM & 7 PM

 
 
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Tuesday, July 10 - Compassion I
10 AM & 7 PM

Author and scholar of religions Karen Armstrong says that compassion is the core value that is shared across all of the world's faiths. Join us as we discuss compassion from the Christian perspective and how we can make such a nebulous value real in today's world.

To prepare, listen to these three TED talks:

Dr. Karen Armstrong introduces the Charter for Compassion and the Golden Rule as the central global religious doctrine. (21 minutes)

Join Rev. James Forbes at the dinner table of his Southern childhood, where his mother and father taught him what compassion really means day to day -- sharing with those who need love. (18 minutes)

Krista Tippett, host of the On Being podcast, uses stories to develop an attainable definition of the word "compassion."
(15 minutes).

 
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Tuesday, July 17 - Compassion II
10 AM & 7 PM

Preparation: Listen to the linked podcast.

"Where does it hurt?" That’s a question the civil rights legend, Ruby Sales, learned to ask during the days of that movement — a question she found to have a power to drive to the heart of the matter. It’s a question we scarcely know how to ask in public life now. Ruby Sales says we must be as clear about what we love as about what we hate, if we want to make change.

 
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Tuesday, August 7 - Joy
10 AM & 7 PM

In "Catching Song," singer Bobby McFerrin shares with host Krista Tippet, "This is what I want everyone to experience at the end of my concert is everyone has this sense of rejoicing. I don't want them to be blown away by what I do, I want them to have this sense of real, real joy from the depths of their being. Because I think when you take them to that place then you open up a place where grace can come in."

 
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Tuesday, August 14 - Hope
10 AM & 7 PM

In "A God of Surprises," Anglican Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, say to On Being host Krista Tippet, "There's no question about the reality of evil, of injustice, of suffering, but at the center of this existence is a heart beating with love." In this podcast, Archbishop Tutu speaks on how his understanding of God and humanity has unfolded through the history he's lived and shaped.