Coffee, Conversation & Community

Winter/Spring 2024 Forums

To attend the Forums in person, join us at Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Cleveland, 21600 Shaker Blvd. in Shaker Heights or live on Zoom.

The Community Forum Archive contains information and available recordings for Forums since January 1, 2020. All Forums since January 1, 2017 have been recorded and most are available on our YouTube page.

If you’d like to receive notices of future forums or want to make suggestions, email forums@uucleveland.org.


The Real Story About Drag Story Hour

January 7, 2024
In person or on Zoom Speaker: Veranda L’Ni, Drag Entertainer; Administrator, Drag Story Hour Cleveland Chapter; Creator, current Drag Pride flag; Author, Reader’s Digest article. https://www.rd.com/article/drag-queen-story-hour/ Drag performances, once limited ... Learn More

Fair Districting: How to Stop Gerrymandering

January 21, 2024
In person or on Zoom Speakers: Ohio State Sen. Nickie Antonio(D-23), Ohio Redistricting Commission Co-Chair and Senate Minority Leader; Annette Tucker Sutherland, Shaker Heights Chapter Chair, League of Women Voters ... Learn More

Guns, Violence, Public Safety: What’s Happening Locally?

February 4, 2024
In person or on Zoom Speakers: Jarod Schlacht, Commander #6138, Cleveland Division of Police, First District; Rachel Lovell, Director, Criminology Research Center, CSU Black Americans are 10 times more likely ... Learn More

Monopolies: Google, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft

February 18, 2024
Speakers: Jenny Hawkins, Associate Professor of Economics, Weatherhead School of Management, CWRU, in conversation with Anet Alon-Beck, Associate Professor, School of Law, CWRU. Google, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft are the ... Learn More

Why Is It So Expensive to Be Poor?

March 3, 2024
Speakers: Emily Campbell, President & CEO, Center for Community Solutions; Chris Knestrick, Executive Director, Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless (NEOCH). In the past 50 years there have been dramatic ... Learn More

Making End of Life Decisions: What are the Options in Ohio?

March 17, 2024
Speakers: Lisa Vigil Schattinger, MSN, RN, founder of Ohio End of Life Options (OELO); Ann Rowland, retired Assistant US Attorney, board member, OELO. Several states have statutes permitting Medical Aid ... Learn More
Immigrants: Burden, Blessing, Duty?

Immigrants: Burden, Blessing, Duty?

April 7, 2024
In person or on Zoom Speakers: James Nichols, Staff Attorney, Migration and Refugee Services, Cleveland Catholic Charities; Dana Beveridge, Associate Attorney, Costas Network Law Center, LLC.  Major religions affirm a ... Learn More
Living with Dementia: A True Story

Living with Dementia: A True Story

April 21, 2024
In person or on Zoom Moderator: Alexandra Ritt, MSSA, LSW, Alzheimer's Association, Cleveland Chapter; Speakers to be introduced at Forum. Dementia affects more than 50 million people worldwide, with a ... Learn More
Learning to Hate Democracy: The Rise of Right-Wing Organizations

Learning to Hate Democracy: The Rise of Right-Wing Organizations

May 5, 2024
In person or on Zoom Speaker: Matthew Lacombe, Alexander P. Lamis Associate Professor in U.S. Politics, CWRU. Right-wing, MAGA-friendly "think tanks" such as the Claremont Institute, the Heritage Foundation and ... Learn More