Saints Alive!
Speaker Series
St. Matthew’s monthly speaker series, Saints Alive, returns in 2023-2024 with an impressive line-up of engaging presentations. Mark your calendars for noon on the first Wednesday of the month (excluding January) to join us for an outdoor luncheon on the Church Patio, immediately followed by the speaker presentation in the Church.
Registration for each event is $15 in advance and includes a boxed lunch from Palisades Garden Café. Please note that walk-ins cannot be accommodated, so please register in advance for this year’s events.
Piecing Together History: Preserving Mosaics in North Africa and the Middle East
Wednesday, May 1
11:45am Lunch | 12:30pm Talk
Thomas Roby takes the stage on May 1 at 12:30pm to present Piecing Together History: Preserving Mosaics in North Africa and the Middle East at St. Matthew’s next Saints Alive. Come for this fascinating talk where you will delve into art history and learn about Getty Conservation Institute projects managed by Mr. Roby. He will share details regarding mosaic conservation, as well as the training of government employees in North Africa and Middle East in the conservation of mosaics.
Thomas Roby is an architectural conservator in the Buildings & Sites Department of the Getty Conservation Institute where he is manager and co-instructor of the training project for mosaic conservation technicians in collaboration with the Institut National du Patrimoine (INP) of Tunisia and as part of the regional MOSAIKON initiative. Sign up now for the in-person conversation with lunch at 11:45am or the free livestream option.
IN PERSON Event Registration LIVESTREAM Event Registration
A Brief History of AI: Past, Present and Future
Wednesday, April 3
11:45am Lunch | 12:30pm Talk
The next Saints Alive speaker series event takes place on April 3 at 12:30pm with Prof. Greg Pottie who will present A Brief History of AI: Past, Present and Future. The notion of what constitutes artificial intelligence has evolved with advances in computing capabilities, and “AI” is now an everyday phrase in most communities. Greg Pottie investigates classical philosophical questions and how they relate to the prospects of devising a general AI, and he speculates about possible technological and regulatory futures in this intriguing presentation.
Pottie has been a professor in UCLA’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering since 1991, and he has served as vice-chair of the department over many of those years. In addition to notable achievements and accolades for his scholarly research and involvement in numerous engineering organizations, Pottie is also a senior member of the National Academy of Inventors and a member of the St. Matthew’s Choir.
Better with Age: How Does Mindset Influence Successful Aging?
Wednesday, March 13
11:45am Lunch | 12:30pm Talk
Don't miss the next Saints Alive speaker series presentation when professor and author, Dr. Alan Castel, presents Better with Age: Does Mindset Influence Successful Aging? Castel is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles who studies learning, memory, and aging, and is interested in how people can selectively remember important information. His work has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Time Magazine and his recent book is entitled Better with Age: The Psychology of Successful Aging.
Hollywood: The Big Picture
Wednesday, February 7
11:45am Lunch | 12:30pm Talk
Terry McCarthy, CEO of the American Society of Cinematographers, discusses Hollywood's current paradigm shift. The aftermath of last year’s seven-month strike, the rise of streaming, the change in viewing habits - accentuated by covid - and the arrival of AI and other new technologies have all forced the industry to search for new business models. Hollywood will remain the center of the motion picture industry for the foreseeable future, but it will have different economics, different work practices and, ultimately, different forms of content.
Best Books of 2023
Wednesday, December 6
11:45am Lunch | 12:30pm Talk
Come for lunch at Saints Alive on Dec. 6 with DIESEL, A Bookstore, with the best books of the year, just in time for Christmas!
Jewish Perspectives on the Israel-Hamas Conflict
Wednesday, November 1
11:45am Lunch | 12:30pm Talk
Saints Alive returns on Nov. 1 with Rabbi Amy Bernstein, who will share reactions and reflections in light of the recent terrorist attacks by Hamas, as well as Israel's response.
The State of the Middle East: My Life Experiences and the 20th Century's Impacts on Today's Situation.
Wednesday, September 27
11:45am Lunch | 12:30pm Talk
Ann inaugurates the season with her unique perspectives on the Middle East, where she lived for fifteen years as a student, teacher, wife, and mother. Determined to be part of a long-sought peace for the region, Kerr will discuss the complex web of events that not only shaped her family's life, but which have formed the basis of/influenced U.S.- Arab relations since World War II. In the years since her husband's assassination, she has become more acutely aware of the need for the United States to understand other cultures to facilitate wise foreign policy decisions and has seized every opportunity to work toward this goal.
