2008 All Star II Family Conference (www)

Saturday, July 5 to Saturday July 12

The Isles of Shoals, a place where everlasting friendships and memories are made, where generations date back to the gardens of Appledore and from which the seeds have spread to our hearts and souls of present conferees of All Star II. One short spiritual week to reconnect with ones self, family and friends, full of activities ranging from searching for the treasure of pirates, to the great people hunt. Enjoy a week planned for the young and the old, the athletic and the studious, the energetic and the reserved, the artist and the musician, and for all those in between. A week of 'talks on the rocks', children's groups for all ages, candle light chapels, theme defined morning lectures, marshmallow roast, children and adult talent night, and the famous island staff Pelican show. This year, bring a baby picture of everyone in your family.

Theme: Religion, Politics and Public Policy; Miracle Whip or Mud Pie

Guest speaker Richard Parker will explore the shape of American religious beliefs today and probe how they continue to arise in law, politics, economics, the press, public morality and social policy. The Senior Fellow of the Shorenstein Center at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, he teaches and writes extensively on politics, economics, and religion. The son of an Episcopal minister, he trained as an economist at Dartmouth College and Oxford University. After working for the United Nations Development Program, Parker cofounded Mother Jones magazine, and served as its editor and publisher. He sits on the editorial board of The Nation and writes extensively for The Times, Post, Globe, Atlantic Monthly, Harper's and New Republic. In the early 1980's he launched a strategic consulting firm for political candidates and non-profits, working with, among others, Senators Kennedy, Glenn, Cranston and McGovern, as well as Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, People for the American Way, and the ACLU. He has authored The Myth of the Middle Class; Mixed Signals: The Future of Global Television News; and John Kenneth Galbraith: His Life, His Politics, His Economics.

Minister: The Reverend Susie Phoenix is our minister of the week. Well known to the Isles of Shoals, Rev. Phoenix began attending All Star II as a small child with her parents. She is Interim Minister at the First Congregational Church of Lee, Massachusetts and has dual standing as a UU and UCC minister.

Chairs: "Oh no, not them again", Tom and Julie Fenn, 15 Shade Street, Lexington, MA 02421 (781) 861-9831, as2chairs2008@aol.com

Registration: A room and board deposit of $150/person and registration fee of $100 for adults (+18) and $85 for children (up to $370/family) are due with registration. Donations of $25 or more may be made to the Ginny Levine 'Shoalership' Fund. Please mail ONE CHECK, payable to "All Star II Conference," and completed registration form to Katy Weeks and David Kay, 126 Massachusetts Avenue, Harvard, MA 01451 (978) 456-6832 as2reg@brightleaf.com Each Adult Child out of high school must register separately. Online registration is not available as we go to print. Registration begins March 10. Completed registrations postmarked before then may be treated as if postmarked on March 10. Registrations postmarked after March 10 may be accepted, space available, according to postmark date. The room and board deposit and registration fee are refundable until May 26.

Scholarships: Financial assistance may be available through the Ginny Levine Fund. If you are interested, visit www.allstar2.gurus.com and click on the Ginny Levine Fund and/or contact prior to registration: Mary Ellen Mellen, 276 Parum Road, Colchester, Ct 06415-1929, (860) 537-1814, memellen@comcast.net. All inquiries and awards are kept confidential.

Room and Board: This is a 7-night conference:

Boat Schedule: Depart Rye Saturday, July 5 2:00 and 3:30 p.m. Depart Star Saturday, July 12, 8:15 and 10:15 am.