Path to Compassion Speakers Series
Do you think the world needs more compassion? What does compassion mean to you - and what would it mean to have more of it in your community? In your life?
The monthly Speaker Series will feature a mix of local individuals who will share their perspectives on these questions. Join us in our quest to better understand compassion and the path to having
more compassion in our lives.
Where: Clubhouse on Highland, 2908 Highland Avenue, Birmingham, AL 35205
When: Every third Sunday, 3:00pm - 4:30pm
Do you think the world needs more compassion? What does compassion mean to you - and what would it mean to have more of it in your community? In your life?
The monthly Speaker Series will feature a mix of local individuals who will share their perspectives on these questions. Join us in our quest to better understand compassion and the path to having
more compassion in our lives.
Where: Clubhouse on Highland, 2908 Highland Avenue, Birmingham, AL 35205
When: Every third Sunday, 3:00pm - 4:30pm
July Speaker: Episcopal Place Staff
The public is invited to the July meeting of the 'Path to Compassion Speaker Series' which will feature staff from Episcopal Place, a community of low income seniors and disabled adults in Birmingham's Highland Park. The speakers will share about their ongoing efforts to create compassionate community within their diverse group of residents.
Episcopal Place was founded in 1979 by the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama and maintains a unique partnership between HUD and the Episcopal Foundation that makes it possible for residents to live independently and age with grace and comfort in a home-like setting for as long as possible. Episcopal Place is open to ALL who meet HUD requirements, regardless of race, religion, color, sex, familial status, national origin, or disability, or any other protected class including sexual orientation, gender identify, or marital status.
Join us at 3:00 pm Sunday afternoon, July 21st at the Clubhouse on Highland for an afternoon coffee and some thought-provoking discussion about creating compassionate community.
The Path to Compassion Speaker Series is hosted by The Alabama Charter for Compassion and the Clubhouse on Highland. It features local individuals who share personal perspectives on compassion, what it means and how we might have more of it in our lives and communities.
The public is invited to the July meeting of the 'Path to Compassion Speaker Series' which will feature staff from Episcopal Place, a community of low income seniors and disabled adults in Birmingham's Highland Park. The speakers will share about their ongoing efforts to create compassionate community within their diverse group of residents.
Episcopal Place was founded in 1979 by the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama and maintains a unique partnership between HUD and the Episcopal Foundation that makes it possible for residents to live independently and age with grace and comfort in a home-like setting for as long as possible. Episcopal Place is open to ALL who meet HUD requirements, regardless of race, religion, color, sex, familial status, national origin, or disability, or any other protected class including sexual orientation, gender identify, or marital status.
Join us at 3:00 pm Sunday afternoon, July 21st at the Clubhouse on Highland for an afternoon coffee and some thought-provoking discussion about creating compassionate community.
The Path to Compassion Speaker Series is hosted by The Alabama Charter for Compassion and the Clubhouse on Highland. It features local individuals who share personal perspectives on compassion, what it means and how we might have more of it in our lives and communities.
May Speaker: Scott Douglas
Scott Douglas III, Executive Director of Greater Birmingham Ministries and a native of Nashville, attended the University of Tennessee in Knoxville where he co-founded the University’s Black Student Union in 1967. Residing in Birmingham since 1976, he served under the leadership of Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth and Anne Braden as Executive Director of the Southern Organizing Committee for Economic and Social Justice from 1984-1989. He was Southern Regional Program Officer for the Partnership for Democracy Foundation from 1989-1992. After serving as the first Environmental Justice Grassroots Organizer for the Sierra Club, Scott became Executive Director of Greater Birmingham Ministries. GBM is a multi-faith, multi-racial, multi-ethnic organization providing emergency services to families in economic crisis while working with congregations and low-income residents to seek positive change through metropolitan strategies that challenge systems and build power for marginalized communities and constituencies through inclusive, participatory and democratically accountable civic and voter engagement.
Scott is a former board member of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and currently serves on the boards of the Progressive Technology Project, Equal Justice Initiative, America’s Voice, and the Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama. Scott has written articles on social and racial justice for Southern Exposure, Howard Law Journal, and the National Newspaper Publishers Association. Scott is an alumnus of Leadership Birmingham and Leadership Alabama, a founding board member of the Alabama Association of Nonprofits and a 2011 alumnus of the MIT Mel King Community Fellows Program.
Scott is a member of St. Paul United Methodist Church where he serves on the Trustee Board. He is married to Lynn Douglas and they have one son, Frederick.
Scott Douglas III, Executive Director of Greater Birmingham Ministries and a native of Nashville, attended the University of Tennessee in Knoxville where he co-founded the University’s Black Student Union in 1967. Residing in Birmingham since 1976, he served under the leadership of Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth and Anne Braden as Executive Director of the Southern Organizing Committee for Economic and Social Justice from 1984-1989. He was Southern Regional Program Officer for the Partnership for Democracy Foundation from 1989-1992. After serving as the first Environmental Justice Grassroots Organizer for the Sierra Club, Scott became Executive Director of Greater Birmingham Ministries. GBM is a multi-faith, multi-racial, multi-ethnic organization providing emergency services to families in economic crisis while working with congregations and low-income residents to seek positive change through metropolitan strategies that challenge systems and build power for marginalized communities and constituencies through inclusive, participatory and democratically accountable civic and voter engagement.
Scott is a former board member of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and currently serves on the boards of the Progressive Technology Project, Equal Justice Initiative, America’s Voice, and the Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama. Scott has written articles on social and racial justice for Southern Exposure, Howard Law Journal, and the National Newspaper Publishers Association. Scott is an alumnus of Leadership Birmingham and Leadership Alabama, a founding board member of the Alabama Association of Nonprofits and a 2011 alumnus of the MIT Mel King Community Fellows Program.
Scott is a member of St. Paul United Methodist Church where he serves on the Trustee Board. He is married to Lynn Douglas and they have one son, Frederick.
March's Speaker: Rev. Dale Cohen
Rev. Dale Cohen is Senior Pastor of Florence First United Methodist Church. He received his undergraduate degree from Birmingham-Southern College in 1983 and a masters degree from Emory University's Candler School of Theology in 1986.
Rev. Dale was ordained an elder in the United Methodist Church in 1988 and has served several appointments in the North Alabama Conference, including six years as an associate pastor at Trinity UMC in Homewood. In 1992, he founded Discovery United Methodist Church in Hoover. Discovery grew to a worshiping congregation of more than 500 people, with many of those people coming into the church on profession of faith.
Prior to his appointment to Florence First UMC in July 2018, Rev. Dale served as Senior Pastor at Canterbury UMC from 2015 to 2018, Superintendent of the Northeast District of the North Alabama Conference from 2010 to 2015 and as the Director of Connectional Ministries for the North Alabama Conference from 2003 to 2010. He is married to Ann and they have three children in their blended family and five grandchildren.
Rev. Dale was ordained an elder in the United Methodist Church in 1988 and has served several appointments in the North Alabama Conference, including six years as an associate pastor at Trinity UMC in Homewood. In 1992, he founded Discovery United Methodist Church in Hoover. Discovery grew to a worshiping congregation of more than 500 people, with many of those people coming into the church on profession of faith.
Prior to his appointment to Florence First UMC in July 2018, Rev. Dale served as Senior Pastor at Canterbury UMC from 2015 to 2018, Superintendent of the Northeast District of the North Alabama Conference from 2010 to 2015 and as the Director of Connectional Ministries for the North Alabama Conference from 2003 to 2010. He is married to Ann and they have three children in their blended family and five grandchildren.
February's Speaker: Ashfaq Taufique
Ashfaq Taufique is the president of the Birmingham Islamic Society, an organization serving the spiritual and social needs of the Greater Birmingham-Hoover Muslim community. He is originally from Pakistan and came to USA in 1974 as a student, became a citizen of USA and has since made USA his home. He has been the resident of Hoover since 1989. Mr. Taufique is actively involved in all aspect of interfaith cooperation, ranging from helping the needy in the community to promoting cooperation on common goal of fostering harmony and helping the community. He has been part of Hoover Helps that provides backpack lunches to the needy in the Hoover Schools. Working for Habitat for Humanity and Soup Kitchen are his passion. He holds a Bachelor degree in Chemistry from University of Karachi, Pakistan and Mechanical Engineering from University of Texas at Arlington. He is married to Rita and has four children and nine grandchildren.
January's Speaker: Brother Sims
Pastor Fernandez Sims, better known as Brother Sims, is the first guest of the Speaker Series hosted by The Alabama Charter for Compassion (ACFC), a Partner of the Charter for Compassion International. Brother Sims, a former Birmingham mayoral candidate, is pastor at Charis Community Church and works at Impact Family Counseling, a counseling center for at-risk youth and their families, in community care outreach and in family court.
Pastor Fernandez Sims, better known as Brother Sims, is the first guest of the Speaker Series hosted by The Alabama Charter for Compassion (ACFC), a Partner of the Charter for Compassion International. Brother Sims, a former Birmingham mayoral candidate, is pastor at Charis Community Church and works at Impact Family Counseling, a counseling center for at-risk youth and their families, in community care outreach and in family court.