Congregational Church to participate in Evolution Weekend

First Congregational Church of Glendale, United Church of Christ, will be one of more than 900 congregations from across the country and around the world to participate in Evolution Weekend Feb. 13 to 15, a period designed to recognize that religion and science, two fields of critical importance to humans, should be seen as complementary rather than confrontational.

The fourth annual Evolution Weekend event is particularly timely this year since this is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his book, “On the Origin of Species.”

Fourteen countries on five continents as well as all 50 states will be represented.

A list of participants can be found at www.evolutionweekend.org. Scientists on six continents, representing 29 countries, have signed on as consultants.

And at the 10 a.m. on Feb. 15 worship service, Interim Minister Rev. Anne Cohen will preach a sermon itled “See Me, Feel Me, Touch Me, Heal Me.” The sermon will focus on the way that science and spirituality are intertwined in our understanding of God and ourselves as God’s creation.

Evolution Weekend is sponsored by Clergy Letter Project, founded by Michael Zimmerman in 2004. The Clergy Letter has been signed by more than 11,800 Christian clergypersons who agree that “religious truth is of a different order from scientific truth. Its purpose is not to convey scientific information but to transform hearts.” Companion Letters by Rabbis (with more than 400 signatures) and Unitarian Universalists (with more than 100 signatures) have recently begun circulating as well.

The letters urge school board members to preserve the integrity of the science curriculum by affirming the teaching of the theory of evolution as a core component of human knowledge. It asks “that science remain science and that religion remain religion, two very different, but complementary, forms of truth.”

For more information, call Cohen at (818) 243-3109 or e-mail fccgminister@sbcglobal.net.