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News From CALL September 2023
The CALL membership year ends August 31st. Thanks to all those members who have renewed for the 2023-2024 CALL year. If you do not get a chance to renew your membership before September 1st, we will continue to send you CALL newsletters and announcements for a few months, but you will not be able to register for an event or sign-up for an Interest Group until your membership is renewed.
President’s Message
-Linda Flanagan, CALL President
With another summer winding down, many of us are looking forward to resuming our usual fall activities, including getting back to regular CALL group meetings and events. Your dedicated CALL volunteers have been busy planning an exciting year of learning, reconnecting with old friends and welcoming new members.
A glance at the Interest Group page on CALL’s website shows the amazing variety of over 50 programs available to our members. From A to Z – “Alberta and Quebec Through the Looking Glass” to “Zentangle?” and everything in between – it’s a truly impressive collection of Interest Groups in such diverse areas as: Activities/ Brain Games, Current Issues, Cultural Appreciation, Written Word, Social Sciences/ Philosophy/ Religion, Creative Arts and Special Programming.
We also have monthly speaker events in Science and the Environment, Treks and Travels and CALL Café.
Have you ever wondered where the ideas come from for this great variety of Interest Groups and Speaker Events that CALL hosts?
The answer is simple. The ideas come from our members!
A CALL member (or group of members) comes up with an idea for a topic that they are interested in exploring. In some cases, the member has a background in the area of interest. But often they want to learn more about a topic and are willing to act as the facilitator of the group to get it going. They approach the Coordinator of the Area where the topic fits and find there is plenty of support to help get their group launched.
As we kickoff another year of programming, I encourage you to explore the many groups that are looking for new members. If you don’t find what you’re looking for, please consider starting up a new group yourself. You provide the inspiration and facilitation needed to get things going – we can help with the logistics!
The Reluctant, Non-expert Facilitator
-Leslie Dort, CALL Past President
The scene was the CALL ‘Meet and Greet’ at cSPACE Marda Loop in December 2022. I was approached by 2 members who explained that they had an idea for a time limited study group with the aim of informing group members of the various party platforms for the yet-to-be announced Alberta Provincial election. I thought it was a great idea. I had very little experience with exploring political party policy and was interested in becoming more informed. I was keen to join. Then the other shoe dropped. They asked me to facilitate as both were very busy with CALL: chairing, coordinating, facilitating and other activities.
I was reluctant: no experience as a facilitator, no experience in exploring political policy and I would be away for 3 of the 8 weeks.
It turns out that I was perfectly qualified. Facilitating is mainly administrative, and others helped me when I had questions. I didn’t need expertise, just enthusiasm. The other members filled in when I was away. I thoroughly enjoyed the study group. Some of us were completely new to the field and others had extensive experience. We listened to each other and learned.
September Events
CALL Kickoff Café
The Mostly Broadway Trio presents After All These Years
Monday, September 18, 1:00pm–3:30pm
Varsity Acres Presbyterian Church, 4612 Varsity Drive NW
On Monday September 18th, come to Varsity Acres Presbyterian Church for the Kickoff Café. There will be two parts to the Kickoff Café:
Part One will be a performance by ;The Broadway Trio in the Sanctuary. That performance will begin at 1pm and will last an hour.
Part Two will be a reception starting at 2pm in the Ruby Walker Room and Scott Hall. In addition to enjoying refreshments, you will have the opportunity to meet with facilitators, learn which Interest Groups are accepting new members and sign up. Should you bring guests who want to join CALL, there will be a Membership Table where the Membership Committee will advise them about the different options for joining CALL.
Registration for the Café is now open. For more information about the café, and to register, go to the CALL Café page.
Treks and Travels The Outcasts: Garbage, Poverty and Leprosy in Kore Slum, Addis Ababa
Wednesday, September 20, 7:30pm
Varsity Acres Presbyterian Church, 4612 Varsity Drive NW
Speaker: Miriam Grant
In this talk, Miriam will share the stories of men and women who are leprosy-affected and are living in the slum of Kore, a city built around one of the largest garbage ‘mountains’ in Africa. It is home to the koshe, or people who sort through garbage to make a living with recycling and even as a source of food. Come to hear Miriam present their stories, their struggles, and whether there are any glimmers of hope for people who feel as if they are outcasts.
For more information Treks and Travels page.
Members of the public are welcome to attend (at a cost of $5).
Intergenerational Speaker Series
Connecting with our Roots: How Family Stories Shape Lives.
Wednesday, September 13, 11:00am–1:00pm
Lincoln Room, Mount Royal University
Speaker: Tara Shymanski
October Events
Science and Environment
Can you lower your risk of dementia?
Tuesday, October 3, 7:30–9:30pm Online via Zoom
Registration now open. Go to the Science and Environment page.
Speaker Jay Ingram has hosted two national science programs in Canada, Quirks and Quarks on CBC radio and Daily Planet on Discovery Channel Canada. He is a prolific author whose books have been translated into 15 languages, has six honorary degrees and is a member of the Order of Canada and a fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. His twentieth book, The Future of Us, will be coming out on October 3 – the day of his talk as it happens. He will be appearing as co-host in a podcast, Defy Dementia, the first four episodes of which will be available this fall.
CALL Interest Groups – Open for Business
All the Interest Groups and Study Programs listed below are accepting new members and would be happy to have you join them. For further information on dates, times, and locations (some on Zoom), click on the program name found on the Program Chart
*Starred groups are described more fully below.
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Activities
*Tuesday City Walks
*Sunday Urban Walks Brain Games
Wordfreaks – Rosedale
Tuesday Wordfreaks (cSPACE Marda Loop) Thursday Bridge – Rosedale Improvers Bridge Bridge Intermediate Hong Kong Mah Jong Current Issues
Alberta Views and Beyond
Hags and Crones 1 Hags and Crones 2 Hags and Crones 3 *Alberta & Quebec Through the Looking Glass World Events 2 How Can You Think That: A Political Book Club Cultural Appreciation
CALL to the Cinema
CPO Rehearsals |
Creative Arts
Digital Photography
*Intro to Zentangle Art *We Love to Tangle Studio Time Guitar Jam Call of the Uke Social Sciences and Philosophy/Religion
*Frontier Calgary 1875 – 1914
Buddha, Body, Brain Not So Common Law *Finding Peace and Joy Within Medieval History: Knights and Needlework Written Word
Our Lives Our Stories 1
Prairie and Quebec Novels *Readers Theatre Short Reads: Great Women Writers Read It Again *Joy of Poetry Variety Book Club *World Indigenous Literature |
CALL Walks – Tuesdays and Sundays
Fall is nearly here; winter will be coming too soon. Let’s get some exercise and enjoy the parks and scenic neighbourhoods of Calgary. Tuesday morning walks are continuing, usually starting at 9:30 or 10:00 am and ending before noon.
Fall can be a very pleasant time to walk; not too hot, not too cold and for a while no ice or snow under foot. Group walking is very good for the body, mind, spirit and meeting fellow CALL members.
These walks generally range in length from 5 to 9 km. The amount of hill climbing varies from none to about 100 m of elevation gain. Please contact Sue Constable at activities@calgarylifelonglearners.ca to register for membership in the group. The length of walk, elevation change and expected trail conditions will be provided by each walk leader in the weekly walk offering mail out.
Does up to 9 km sound a bit much to you? Would afternoons be better than mornings? That is OK, please let us know, we will be glad to arrange some 3 to 4 km walks with little elevation change. This isn’t a competition or “Boot Camp”, we would just like to see people enjoy being active in our beautiful city. Just let Sue know what would work for you. There are also afternoon walks on the third Sunday of each month.
Hope to see you on the trails or sidewalks of Calgary.
World Indigenous Literature Book Group
New Members Welcomed!
Please join us as we explore the abundance of new Indigenous publishing. Consider checking out the Reading List that the World Indigenous Literature group has provided as a way to navigate through some of these titles and expand your knowledge of Indigeneity.
After six years of discussing works by authors mainly from Canada and the U.S., we are broadening our scope and will discuss non-fiction and fiction by Indigenous authors from Africa, Scandinavia, Australia, South America and Hawaii. We meet via Zoom, once a month, and we welcome new members. At our first fall meeting, Thursday, September 28, we will discuss Stolen, by Helén Laestadius, a coming of age story about a young Sámi girl struggling to defend her family’s reindeer herd. Helen Laestadius has been compared to Katherena Vermette and Michelle Good.
Readers Theatre
Readers Theatre would love to have some new members. We meet to read plays and poetry, focusing on lighter pieces, and once or twice a year we put on a performance either in person or over Zoom. We've read a variety of plays over the past five years and have even written a script ourselves. Most importantly we've had fun.
The Joy of Poetry
We meet once a month on the second Thursday from 1–3pm by Zoom. This year for those who are zoomed-out, a hybrid group of enthusiasts will meet in a private home and connect with their peers on Zoom.
Poetry is so much more than metrical writing! It is inspirational, intuitive, and mystical: a concise distillation of an idea. The medium is the line through which the poet creates art that selects, chooses, polishes and twists words to manage contortions with grace. A good poem is a sculpture that rises from the page and invites inquiry. Poetry is a tug of war between form and content.
This group invites you to enter into the form and content of selected poetry and to share with your peers the poets who have moved something within you. We discuss poets from all periods, ancient to the most modern. We focus on meaning, language, images, sounds and all that makes poetry the delightful, enriching experience it is. All members of the Joy of Poetry group are encouraged to present. When it is your turn to facilitate, group members are asked to choose a favorite poet, to select 6-7 of that poet’s works and share with the other participants. Last year we experimented with poets reading their works on-line and with some guest poets.
We welcome all who have enjoyed or have yet to enjoy the written and the spoken word we know as a poem. This is a democratically run group that encourages peer participation, questioning and input. We appreciate your ideas to make this an even more dynamic group. To join contact one of the facilitators: Barbara Grant; Melvin Pasternak.
Alberta and Quebec Through the Looking Glass
We all know that Canada is a huge country spread over an area second only to Russia. In there, the ten provinces have a lot of leeway to do things their own way. And the wide distances can lead to lack of understanding of other provinces. From education and immigration to coping with drug addiction and urban wildlife, no two provinces probably have more widely different approaches to these types of issues than Alberta and Quebec. The Alberta and Quebec through the Looking Glass group has been talking about these for several sessions in the last 3 years. I have often been surprised by commonality where I expected differences and vice versa. If you would like to learn more about Quebec, and probably more about Alberta, please join us for the 5 session joint program with members of CALL and the McGill LifeLong Community. We meet by Zoom alternate Tuesdays starting on September 12. If you like to join us, please contact Ron Foyer
Finding Peace and Joy Within
There is a universal human desire to be happy and to avoid suffering. And for the wise, this desire extends to those we love and our community. We try to fulfill that desire through our outer world – family, career, service, hobbies, recreation, etc. Through modern technology, we now have wealth and health to an extent that our ancestors (and many in developing nations) could only dream of.
Yet which of us is truly happy and free of suffering? Do you have the feeling that “something” is missing?
We have known since we were small children that we have a mind and a body. However, we have a third, inner resource that we easily overlook, that can provide a source of uncaused joy and respite from suffering.
Please join us on Thursday evenings at cSPACE Marda Loop starting October 5th for “Finding Peace and Joy Within” to have a direct experience with this resource to help you have a happier and more fulfilled life.
New Interest Groups
For more information and to register for these groups, click on the title to go to their information pages.
Celebrating Grandparenting and Intergenerational Relationships
Are you interested in being part of a group that offers opportunities to celebrate, reflect and learn about grandparenting and IG relationships? Cari Gulbrandsen, volunteer facilitator and grandparent, invites you to join the new CALL interest group, Celebrating Grandparenting and Intergenerational Relationships and to create a grandparenting and intergenerational community in Calgary.
Climate Change Alberta
-Facilitator: David Manz
Are you interested in learning more about the issues regarding climate change that are relevant to Alberta and Albertans? Beginning November 3, Climate Change Alberta will focus on these issues. Each session will start with David’s brief presentation on the topic followed by questions, expressions of interest and discussion. A major resource, but not the only one, will be David’s website
While the topics will include the science of climate change, its impacts (being experienced and forecast), adaptation, resilience, mitigation, and reliable sources of information, group members’ interests will inform the selection of other topics.
Climate Change Alberta will meet in person for two hours every two weeks. At the first meeting (Friday November 3 at 1pm): location to be determined), the group will establish a detailed timetable. For more information and to register, contact David Manz.
Introduction to Zentangle Art
Monday September 11 and 18. 10:00am–12:00pm
cSPACE Marda Loop, Room 310
Zentangle® art is a relaxing art form that you can do anywhere. It is so easy to learn and you don’t need any previous art experience to do it. You will learn what the Zentangle Method is and how it was started, and learn some tangle patterns. Zentangle art builds one stroke at a time and anything is possible!
The basic material is minimal, a pen, a pencil, and paper. For under $15.00 you can get started. The Facilitator will provide a list of materials upon registration.
This Introduction class will be followed by a Zentangle Studio Time Interest Group. Separate registration required.
We ❤️ 2Tangle Studio Time
Mondays 10:00am–12:00pm Sept 25, Oct 2, Nov 20, Nov 27.
cSPACE Marda Loop, Room 310
Previous experience with Zentangles is a pre-requisite for registering in this Studio Time. You are then welcome to join our open studio time to continue to learn and share your interest in Zentangle inspired art.
Wild and Wooly Frontier Calgary Interest Group
CALL has been very lucky to have the guidance and wisdom of retired university profs. A fabulous new Interest Group will be led by one of CALL's cofounders, Professor Emeritus Don Smith. He, with help from Tom Kerwin and a host of topic-area experts, will lead us through turn-of-the-century Calgary (1875-1914). Don will share some of his vast research and knowledge in a thematic approach that shines a light on early Calgarians. He will also provide insights into how the historical record is shaped. In true CALL fashion, group members will be invited to give mini-presentations on certain aspects.
From 1:00–3:00pm every second Tuesday afternoon this fall, beginning September 12. Limited seating!
Sashiko Japanese Embroidery
Tuesdays 1:00–3:00pm Beginning September 26
ATCO Blue Flame Kitchen 5302 Forand St. SW
This intriguing Japanese embroidery technique will be taught by an expert to a small group.
Help Wanted
Wanted: Technical Elders interested in learning more about CALL online event setup and management! If you have some technical experience and an interest in Lifelong Learning, you will find a positive learning environment on the ZoomHelp Team. Join the Team who will welcome and mentor you to assist with CALL’s Zoom Events.
As CALL is a volunteer-based organisation, please help ensure that there will be enough technocrats on the ZoomHelp Team so Zoom Events continue to deliver Lifelong Learning to our members!
If you are interested please contact zoomhelp@calgarylifelonglearners.ca
Your CALL Newsletter
The CALL Newsletter is our way to communicate what is going on in our community. It's a way to highlight events of interest, ‘peek behind the curtain of CALL’ and to give some general information about CALL groups and members.
You are invited to send your ideas and suggestions for future issues to newsletter@calgarylifelonglearners.ca. We reserve the right to edit submissions and to determine when submissions will be published.
CALL Newsletter dates for posting
The newsletter group has decided to return to posting once a month. The posting dates for 2023-24 are:
- August 25
- September 22
- October 20
- November 17
- December 15
- January 19
- February 16
- March 22
- April 19
- May 24
- June 21
- August 23
Meanwhile, be well, stay well in every sense of the word.