ALP Preview Meeting
Dates: Thursday Sept. 10th. 2026
Time: 9:30 to 11:30
Location: Seabury Chapel
Multi-Session Classes
| FS-01 Movie Buffs - Zoom Teleconference James Hanley, Retired Co-Director of Cinestudio * , 10/7, 11/4, 12/2 * 10:30-12:00 Do you ever wonder which movies are really worth your time, or what you should be looking for in a film? This is your opportunity to hear what others think and to listen to a very knowledgeable expert who provides insight into films and the film industry - people and technology. Movies discussed can be viewed at any theater or in the comfort of your own home on TV or other sources. You will also usually find the films playing at Cinestudio on the campus of Trinity College. | ||
| FS-02 Life on the Mississippi: Huckleberry Finn - Seabury Heritage Hall Jane Newpeck, ALP Member and Educator * , 10/13, 10/20 * 1:00-3:00 Samuel Clemens, a.k.a. Mark Twain, had to live through the first to garner the material that informs the structure of the second. Twain evolved from Cub Pilot to published author and gave us a moving and controversial novel that I believe still belongs in America’s literary canon. Come, glide down the Mississippi River, meet characters sympathetic and repulsive, and discover how you weigh in on the book's merits. | ||
| FS-03 Sex and the Christian Church: a History - Seabury Heritage Hall Borden Painter, Professor of History, Emeritus, Trinity College * , 10/14, 10/21, 10/28 * 1:00-3:00 Inspired by and based in part on Lower Than the Angels: A History of Sex and Christianity (2025), this three-session course examines the development of Christian attitudes toward sexuality from the early Church to the present. Topics include Paul, Augustine, and monasticism; the Protestant and Catholic Reformations; and the impact of the Enlightenment and the modern world on Christian teaching and practice. | ||
| FS-04 Hikes - Offsite Other Kevin Gough and Paula Jones, Traprock Ridge Land Conservancy * , 10/23, 11/6, 11/20 * 9:30-12:00 We will visit hiking trails within a 20-mile radius of Bloomfield which have been recommended for their natural beauty, historical significance, flora and fauna, or other unique characteristics. Carpooling will often be suggested. Participants should be able to walk 2.5 to 3 miles over uneven terrain. There is an additional fee to offset ALP's insurance cost for this program. | ||
| FS-05* Creative Writing - Zoom Teleconference Kim Hunt, Ret. Attorney, Author and Poet * , 11/9, 11/16, 11/23, 11/30, 12/7, 12/14, * 1:00-3:00 This is a discussion group for both the beginner and the more experienced writer. The spectrum of creative writing: essay, fiction, memoir, poetry, free verse - commonly involves guided reflection. Issues of trust, motivation, privacy, habit, goal, structure and quality entwine to both hamper and clarify the beckoning impulse, enticed by discoveries in 'creativity'. Reflection offers vast reprieve for much that causes us to grieve. Size Limit: 15 | ||
| FS-06 Beyond the Silk Road: Geography of the Crossroads of Eurasia - Zoom and In-Person Teleconference and Chapel Steve Law, Ph.D., world traveler and ALP Member and presenter of "Geographies of Africa" * , 11/10, 11/17 * 1:00-3:00 We will learn the forces that have driven the spread of peoples, faiths, and cultures across the greatest stage of humankind from prehistoric times to the present day. Among those drivers, recent research shows, premodern climate change was a major factor. Steve Law will illustrate these learnings with observations from his travels across these lands. We will also glimpse the Asian shrine where some Muslim traditions say Jesus preached after surviving the crucifixion. | ||
| FS-07* The Poetry of Robert Frost and Emily Dickinson - Seabury Garden View Room Don Werner, Retired Headmaster and English teacher and coach, Westminster School * , 11/24, 12/1, 12/8, 12/15 * 1:00-3:00 Join us for a discussion of selected poems by Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost, two of America's most celebrated poets. Together we will explore their distinctive voices, enduring themes, and the insights their poetry offers into nature and the human experience. Size Limit: 15 |