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through distinctive, courageous and socially responsible work of significance," the release notes. Previous winners were NAACP President Benjamin Todd Jealous, playwright Tony Kushner, journalist Amy Goodman and author Jonathan Kozol, the release continues. Americans United for Separation of Church and State has "stood fast in seeing that the constitutional amendment that separates church and state is not violated and upholds religious freedom for all," the release adds. Congregation for Humanistic Judaism meets at Unity, located at 3023 Proctor Road in Sarasota. For more information, call 929-7771. The Congregational Church of Christ is located at 3700 26th St. in Bradenton. For more information, call 756-1018. At 10 a.m. on Friday, March 28, Stephen Gillum, a yoga and meditation instructor, will discuss Meditation: Is It Really as Helpful as It Is 'Hyped' To Be during a program at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Sarasota, located at 3975 Fruitville Road in Sarasota, the church has announced. The free presentation will conclude at 11:30 a.m., a news release says. It will be the next Freethinkers' Briefing at the church. Gillum has studied and practiced medita- tion for 40 years, "a calling that grew out of his initial training as a yoga instructor," the release adds. His mentors included Swami Lakshman joo, Dr. V.G. Kulharni, Shunryu Susuki and Edio Simano, it notes. He is cer- tified to instruct mantric meditation, the release continues, but he "has developed his own non-theistic style that fuses Eckhart Tolle, Zen and Yoga with the focus on relax- ing and observing the mind." This briefing, in cooperation with the Lifelong Learning Academy (lla-sm.org), will help answer questions such as whether "estab- lishing a relationship with stillness through meditation helps you to find health and peace of mind," the release notes. "This session will also help attendees to 'get out of their minds if they want to survive the information age,'" the release says. Further, the program will "teach simple techniques for removing stress and reprogramming the mind to find peace in what many believe is a crazy world." "Freethinkers' Briefings are evidence-based summaries of what the general public needs to know about complex issues in the fields of religion, morality, ethics and justice," the release explains. Upcoming Freethinkers Briefings, held in cooperation with the Lifelong Learning Academy, will include Page Brown addressing Can You Really Be a Free Thinker on April 11; Marden Paru on Health and Medicine in the Bible, set for April 25; Bishop Bridget Mary Meehan addressing Roman Catholic Women Priests: A Spiritual Revolution or a Holy Shakeup on May 2; and Everything You've Ever Wanted to Know About Mormonism, presented by Ryan T. Cragun on June 6. All sessions will be at 10 a.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Sarasota. For more information, call David Ryan at 365- 4027 or email him at d2mryan@verizon.net. The Unitarian Universalist Church of Sarasota is a Welcoming Congregation serving Sarasota and Manatee counties. More information may be found at uusarasota.org. MEDITATION'S HELP VERSUS ITS HYPE TO BE FOCUS OF PRESENTATION Sarasota News Leader March 28, 2014 Page 120