THE NEW SEASON STARTS
A new era starts for SUES this September. Our 2019-20 programme includes three seven-session courses as well as four of the usual Friday afternoon meetings. Details of the long courses were included in the last newsletter and will be found on our website. We are now able to supply information on the single day meetings (see below).
The first seven-session course starts shortly on September 30th at 10.30 am at All Saints Church Hall, Rawlinson Road, Southport, PR9 9JR. This will be the first meeting on The Reformation in Sixteenth Century Europe, led by Peter Firth. Anyone wishing to attend this course and has not yet registered should contact John Sharp as soon as possible.
The later courses on The Victorian Country House led by Roger Mitchell and The Human Brain, led by Alan Potter will start on January 20th and April 27th respectively.
We are pleased to announce a considerable increase in paid-up membership and an encouraging registration for the subsidised courses and feel confident that that our new strategy will prove successful.
SINGLE DAY EVENTS 2019-20
We are now able to provide the following information about the single-day events, which take place on Fridays at 2pm at All Saints Church Hall, Park Road, Southport.
22nd November 2019
THE WHAT, WHEN, HOW AND WHY OF SCIENCE AT SOUTHPORT’S NATIONAL NATURE RESERVES
David Mercer, Natural England, Ainsdale
10th January 2020
VIOLENT VOLCANOES
Hazel Clark, University of Liverpool
6th March 2020
PHARAOHS AND WARLORDS
Dr Glenn Godenho, University of Liverpool
5th June 2020
POETRY WE LIKE
Members’ contributions led by John Sharp
Attendance at these talks is free to all subscribing members of SUES.
MEMBERSHIP
Access to all events is available on payment of a small annual subscription £5 to SUES. There will be no further charge for single-day events, but there is a fee of £35 for each of the seven-session courses.
Application for SUES membership and registration for a seven-session course (or courses) are made to the membership secretary, who will also apply further information if required (details below). Cheques should be made out to Southport University Extension Society.
John Sharp
51 Rawlinson Road
Southport
PR9 9NE
johnesharp@uwclub.net
01704 533698
07740 656057
AN INTRODUCTION TO MARTIN LUTHER
At our meeting on 27th July Peter Firth presented a talk on Martin Luther. As well as being complete in itself, it also served as an introduction to Peter’s seven-session course on the Reformation in Europe, starting in September. This was the last meeting of the 2018-19 season and our first at a new venue, All Saints Church Hall.
Whatever one’s religious outlook it cannot be denied that Luther had a major impact on European history, both in triggering the Protestant Reformation and, indirectly, the Catholic Church’s response, the Counter-Reformation. The immediate consequence was a period of destructive religious warfare and the long-term one a divided Christendom. Peter presented the basic information about Luther’s life in an entertaining but essentially factual cartoon film. He then explored the Church as it was and what Luther wanted to reform. He extended the discussion to illustrate other Protestant movements in Switzerland and concluded by raising some broad historical questions, both in terms of the relevance of the Reformation in the modern world and in what he described as ‘the law of unintended consequences’.
This was an informative and challenging presentation, establishing the basis for wide-ranging discussion of the seminal series of events which surrounded the life of Martin Luther. Those who attend Peter’s course in the Autumn will be able to study these issues in much greater depth.
COMMITTEE
Records of committee meetings are on the website. The committee consists of the following members.
Chair: Hazel Fort
Treasurer: Bob Neate
Membership Secretary: John Sharp
Peter Firth Roger Mitchell Alan Potter