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Wish you were here.
Saturday, the GTU sponsored the Mormonism and Asia conference (plenary session and concluding meet-and-greet at the Berkeley Institute. Here’s an excerpt from the flyer:
I was only able catch, like, five minutes of this, sadly, but Sunday, Melissa Inouye gave a presentation at the Institute, which was stellar. I’m sad I had been completely unaware of her before this moment.
Next weekend, following the General Women’s Meeting, Fiona and Terryl Givens are giving a presentation titled “Reflections on the Quest for Faith” at the Oakland Interstake Center chapel
Then, on Sunday, the Genesis Group at 7pm in the same room presents a panel discussion on the recent “Race and the Priesthood” document with Darius Gray, Margaret Blair Young, and Ahmad Corbitt, moderated by Ron McClain.
Much of this is happening thanks to the efforts of Greg Call and the Bay Area Mormon Studies Council which has the modest goal of getting a genuine Mormon Studies program started in the Bay Area. That’s right: just some people decided and then they worked and then things happened.
But whatever.
A Motley Vision 
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Of course, this post is a gross oversimplification of what’s going on here. Bob Rees is now teaching at GTU and Sheila Taylor taught classes there while a grad student. Sunstone has been holding symposia in the Bay Area for decades. Both Sunstone and Dialogue started here. (As, one might point out, did AMV.) So it’s not fair to suggest any town can just simply start doing what’s happening here
But! It’s all grassroots and we’re all interconnected and why not where you live?
Now if we could just do more literacentric things. But don’t worry . . . I have plans . . . .
I’m envious of this, of course, but I am happy to say that Margaret Young is coming to Cincinnati next month to give a lecture and (I think) several firesides on the Black Mormon experience.
I’m looking forward to it…