Newsletter
of the Ethical Humanist Society of Chicago
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Sunday Morning Programs | Coming
Activities and Events | Recent Sunday
Programs | Notices and Announcements
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Our
People | Sunday School Scoop |
Tribute
Fund | About Us | Staff
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Welcome to Our Sunday Morning Programs
Every Sunday morning from 10:30 a.m. to noon.
These programs are free and open to the public.
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WILLIAM IRONS, professor of anthropology at Northwestern University, opens our annual Living Ethics series on Sunday, January 3rd. He will speak on “The Evolutionary Foundation of Morality.” Irons will ask, “Why do human beings have a sense of right and wrong? Why do they argue endlessly about it?” He will present evolutionary theories of how human morality originated.
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ALEC KLEIN, professor of journalism at Northwestern University, continues our Living Ethics series on Sunday, January 10th. He will speak on “The Ethics of Compassionate Journalism.” Klein will discuss his work as an investigative reporter for The Washington Post. He will describe his practices of protecting sensitive sources and of “fair checking” to ensure that his stories are equitable.
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LAINIE ROSS, professor of pediatrics and medical ethics at the University of Chicago, continues our Living Ethics series on Sunday, January 17th. She will speak on “Ethical and Policy Issues in Pediatric and Genetic Testing.” Ross will describe the state-mandated genetic testing used to identify and treat present or future health hazards in infants. She will discuss the possible ethical and policy issues involved.
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STEVE TAMMELLEO, professor of philosophy at Lake Forest College, continues our Living Ethics series on Sunday, January 24th. He will speak on “Ethical Duties of Corporations: The Taco Bell Boycott.” Tammelleo will examine corporate ethics, describing in particular the successful organizing efforts and tomato boycott of Taco Bell by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers in Florida.
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SEAN FAIRCLOTH, executive director of the Secular Coalition of America, concludes our Living Ethics series on Sunday, January 31st. He will speak on “One Nation Under the Constitution.” Faircloth will discuss how the values of our nation’s founders directly connect to those of the modern secular movement. He will show that theocratic injustices in the law are not historical artifacts but a stark, current reality that we are morally obligated to address.
Coming
Society Events
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Sunday Morning Colloquy topics this month are Community on January 3rd, Pity on January 10th, Envy on January 17th, Evil on January 24th, and Ideals on January 31st. Led by Ken Novak, we meet in the library at 9:30 a.m. to examine how we feel about our lives.
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Our bimonthly Fiction Circle, led by Ken Novak, meets on Sunday, January 3rd, at 12:15 p.m. We’ll discuss Anne Tyler’s 2001 novel Back When We Were Grownups. “Once upon a time,” the novel begins, “There was a woman who discovered she had turned into the wrong person.” The book is in paperback and at libraries.
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Our Ethnic Dinner Out this month is on Saturday, January 16th, at Noon O Kabob, 4661 N. Kedzie Ave., in Chicago. Enjoy dining at one of the best Persian restaurants in town. Park in their lot next door. Join us at 5:30 p.m. and don’t be left out in the cold. RSVP to richard_curren@yahoo.com or call 773-743-7976.
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Our Film Discussion Group, led by John Ungashick, meets on Monday, January 18th, at 7:15 p.m. We’ve again chosen two current films. Up in the Air is about a corporate hatchet man who, in flying around the country, finds himself on a voyage of self-discovery. It stars George Clooney and was directed by Jason Reitman. A Single Man is the tale of a gay man who, grieving for his dead lover, searches for new meaning in his life. It was directed by Tom Ford and stars Colin Firth and Julianne Moore.
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Our Environmental Footprint Committee is presenting a stimulating evening of short documentary films and a personal practical action discussion on Friday, January 22nd, at 7:30 p.m. Bring a snack to share with coffee. Families are welcome—a children’s film will be shown concurrently.
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Our Creative Writers group, led by John Taylor, meets on the fourth Sunday this month, January 24th, at 12:15 p.m. Newcomers are invited to come and share their short, original works with us.
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Our group tour of the Illinois Holocaust Museum in Skokie is scheduled for Sunday, January 24th, from 2:00 to 3:45 p.m. The full price is only $10 ($8 for seniors). Reservations must be made no later than Thursday, January 7th. Please contact Marilee Cole at 847-853-8050 or at Marileesgarden@comcast.net.
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Our bimonthly Ethical Humanities nonfiction group meets next on Sunday, February 7th, at 12:15 p.m. We will discuss Jill Bolte Taylor’s My Stroke of Insight. Taylor, a brain researcher, had a stroke that philosophically influenced how she has faced life since then. A 20-minute précis of her story can be easily accessed at http://bit.ly/5NtoSu.
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Recent Sunday Programs
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Andy Thayer, co-founder of the Gay Liberation Network, spoke November 22nd on “How Can We Win Gay Equality?” The moderator was Ken Novak.
Disappointed at “enormous defeats” in referendums on equal marriage rights in Maine and California, Thayer criticized relying on expensive TV campaigns and on lobbying legislators. He said marches and demonstrations are needed. “We need to go for the jugular,” he thundered.
Thayer linked “far-right anti-gayers” with opponents of women’s rights, declaring, “If you’re against equality for a whole group, you are a bigot.” Pointing this out can “peel off the soft support from the core of real haters,” he added. Victories come only through broad social movements, he said, warning it is “a delusion that we have a friend in the White House.” He denounced domestic partnerships as a “demeaning insult.”
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David and Katie Wokosin, and their friends Michael and Lisa Varnes-Epstein, presented a program November 29th on “Outdoor Adventures with Children.” Joining them were their five children, ages 7 to 11.
They recounted their hiking with the children in the jungles of Peru, the highlands of Patagonia in Argentina, and Yosemite Park in California. They described gardening projects in their own backyards. They told of learning the hard skills of physical preparation and survival, and the even more important soft skills of communication, listening, learning, cooperating, and appreciating the beauty and wonder in nature.
On display were photographs of their many outdoor activities and treks, as well as the camping and hiking equipment they used, some of it made by them.
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Joseph Persky, professor of economics at the University of Illinois in Chicago, spoke December 6th on “A Permanent Jobs Program to Meet Human Needs.” The moderator was Evan Kane.
Persky charged that “a casino economy” has replaced the more productive one of the ‘60s and ‘70s. “Encouraged by deregulation,” he said today’s economy has been “insufficient to absorb new jobs.” He called for the federal government to create 15 million jobs in the next five years.
Persky envisioned a redirection of the economy toward rebuilding the infrastructure and expanding social service jobs such as in health care and in meeting the basic needs of the young and the old. It could be “reasonably financed,” he argued, by taxing financial transactions, reducing the military, and cutting energy costs. Referring to Franklin Roosevelt’s economic bill of rights of the 1940s, Persky declared “good jobs for all is a moral imperative.”
From the President
Well, it’s 2010 and Guy Lombardo has been dead longer than many of our newer members have been alive. Guy and his Royal Canadians led America’s New Years Eve’s celebrations for over forty years. His “Auld Lang Syne” was our country’s New Years Eve.
In the spirit of Guy and “Auld Lang Syne,” please spend a few minutes remembering old times, especially old friends and family. Reflect on those who love you and on those who loved you but are no longer here. Perhaps your heart will be touched, and maybe a tear will drop from your eye. If that happens, consider yourself lucky.
I hope 2010 gives us all a chance to cherish friends made, to make new friends, and to repair friendships undone. I thank the Society for providing me a chance late in life to add to my treasure. Happy New Year to all. May everyone be healthy, grow, prosper, become a little wiser, and care about one another.
—Matt Cole , President
Sunday School Scoop
Thank you to everyone who participated in our Holiday Toy Drive. We were able to deliver four big bags of toys to the Walter and Connie Payton Foundation, who distributed them to area kids in need.
Our Winter Festival was a beautiful way to wrap up our fall season. The children shared their talents and everyone sang. We built our mitten tree and lit our candles, as Tom Hoeppner guided us through this warm tradition.
We’ve been asked by the Lincoln Park Community Shelter to provide “Winter Care Packages” for their clients again this year. We’ll ask for donations of small items to help make those who live mostly outside a little more comfortable in the winter months. The Sunday School is so grateful for the warmth and support of our Ethical community as we try to learn about ourselves and others and make the world a little bit better. We wish you all a bright and happy new year.
—Sharon
Appelquist, Director
sundayschool@ethicalhuman.org
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Activities and Announcements
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Our Annual Pledge Drive is soaring. By mid-December, we had received pledges of $28,392 toward our goal of $57,000. This is the earliest ever we’ve reached the halfway mark—thanks to the generous responses from 45 members, of which 24 are sustaining. If you have questions about how your pledge can help to meet our financial commitments, call treasurer John Ungashick at 847-492-9459.
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Our Ethical Action group had a successful Rice Children’s Center Holiday Store in December, thanks to the efforts of members Matt and Marilee Cole, Cynthia Diaz, Marne Glaser, Paul Ozarowski, and Dan Popuch. The next activity will be at the lunchtime soup kitchen at the Second Baptist Church of Evanston, on Monday, January 25th. Contact Marilee Cole if you would like to help.
From the 10 percent set aside from our Sunday collections for charities, the EA group has donated $200 each to the Lakeside Community Development Corporation, the Good News Community Kitchen, and the Night Ministry.
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Our Women’s Group meets next on Thursday, January 7th, 7–9 p.m. in the library. We’ll be sharing lullabies and songs from childhood. Join us for a fun, musical evening.
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Our YES (Youth of Ethical Societies) group had a successful Holiday Toy Drive for needy children last month for the Walter and Connie Payton Foundation. They also enjoyed a whirly ball outing. This month they will be assisting at the Campus Kitchens in Evanston and using funds from their monthly bagel sales to buy nonperishable food items for them. The YES January bagel sale will be on the 24th.
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Our Second Saturday Coffee House is taking the month of January off. But it will return on February 13th with another joyful, all-member performance of “A Prairie State Companion.”
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A Family Fun Event is planned for Saturday, February 20th. Like last year, we’ll have food and games for children of all ages. To help in the plans, contact Sue Walton or Katie Wokosin.
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A special Interactive Workshop with American Ethical Union leaders Mary Beth Wittry and Ron Solomon is planned for Saturday, February 27th. It will be a way for Society members to get to know more about the AEU and what services it can and should provide for us.
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Getting married? Planning a memorial? Our Ethical Officiants—Marne Glaser, JoAnn Hoeppner, Tom Hoeppner, and Ken Novak—serve just like the ministers and rabbis of traditional religious congregations in officiating at important life events. Authorized by the American Ethical Union, they perform marriages, baby namings, and memorial services. For a caring, secular ceremony, inquire at our office.
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It’s time to join the Society—if you’ve enjoyed our varied Sunday morning programs or have exchanged ideas and made new friends at our activities and discussions—and if you’re looking for a caring community and share our ethical humanist outlook. Membership Chair Tom Hoeppner invites you to call him at 847-256-3622 with any questions. Or come to the next Membership Orientation, on Sunday, January 17th, at 12:15 p.m
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Our Tribute Fund is a way we honor each other—such as condolences on the loss of a loved one and congratulations on a birthday, anniversary, graduation, or personal achievement. Each tribute is printed in the newsletter. Forms are on the literature tables.
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Get our free electronic newsletter. It comes sooner and saves postage. Email us a request, noting pdfnewsletter as the subject and your name and address. A subscription to the printed newsletter is $20 per year if you’re not a member, a contributing friend, or new on the mailing list.
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Our Weekly Program Reminder is emailed to anyone who wants to be regularly informed of the coming week’s meetings and activities. To be on the list, send an email to programinfo@ethicalhuman.org or call the office.
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Try Public transportation to our Sunday meetings. The #290 PACE bus leaves the Howard L station at 9:30 a.m. and goes to Touhy Ave. and Cicero Ave. (Skokie Blvd.). It’s then a short walk to our building. A return #290 bus to the Howard station leaves Touhy and Cicero at 1:20 p.m.
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Our People
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Goldie Wosk, a longtime member of the Society, died last month. She was 90 years old. A funeral and memorial service celebrating her life was held at the Society on December 19th. Tom Hoeppner officiated. Goldie was born in Chicago in 1919 and taught for many years in the public schools there. She enjoyed writing. A collection of her essays and short stories was published as The Ruminations and Fulminations of G. M. Wosk in 1997. Goldie’s warmth and twinkle will be missed by us all. Our condolences to her husband, Joe Wosk, and to their daughters Julie and Toby.
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Marla Stein has rejoined the Society. When asked why, she said, “I love the people here.” Returning to the Chicago area with her son after several years in Atlanta, Marla is a public schools teacher of learning-disabled children. Welcome back, Marla!
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Tribute Fund
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Happy Holidays to the Meetings Community and the Council of Georgist Organizations.
—from Sue and Scott Walton
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Condolences to Joe Wosk, on the loss of his lifelong love,
Goldie.
—from Matt & Marilee Cole
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About
Us
The
Ethical Humanist Society of Chicago is a democratic fellowship
and spiritual home for those who seek a rational, compassionate
philosophy of life without regard to belief or nonbelief in
a supreme being. We value the importance of living an ethical,
responsible, and joyful life. We promote intellectual, philosophical,
and artistic freedom, avoiding dogma and rigid creed. We nurture
a sense of wonder about life, nature, and the universe, and
are inspired by models of human achievement. Shaped
by the forces of humanism, democracy, science, and religious
reform, we cherish human diversity and focus on what we have
in common, not on what keeps us apart.
While
respectful of the faiths and traditions we may have been born
to, we serve as a new religion or as an alternative to religion.
We
care for and support each other, sharing our joys and sorrows.
Like traditional religious communities, we celebrate births,
conduct wedding ceremonies, host memorial services, and provide
for the caring, ethical education of our children.
We
believe in deed beyond creed and in working for a better world.
We recognize the worth and dignity of every person, and strive
to act so as to bring out the best in others and thereby in
ourselves.
Meetings
of the Ethical
Humanist Society are at our home in the Greiner
Center, 7574 N. Lincoln Ave., Skokie, IL 60077. Sunday meetings
start at 10:30 a.m. Refreshments and a social hour follow
the program. Child care is available. Everyone is welcome.
If you need transportation, please call the Society office
by 1 p.m. Friday. We will try to get a ride for you. The Ethical
Humanist Society of Greater Chicago was founded in 1882. The
Society is a member of the American
Ethical Union.
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The
Ethical Humanist Society of Chicago,
founded in 1882, is a member of the American Ethical Union.
Officers
and Trustees: Matt Cole, President;
Yolanda Adler, Vice President; Paul Ozarowski,
Secretary; John Ungashick, Treasurer; Lisa Crowe, Sheila Caplan Curren, Steve Freedman, David Hardesty, Oliver Pergams, Renee Sullivan, Sue Walton, Carolyn Welch
Sunday
School Director: Sharon
Appelquist
Newsletter Editor: Alan Kimmel
Ethical Officiants: Marne Glaser,
Jo-Ann Hoeppner, Tom Hoeppner, Ken Novak
AEU Representative: Tom Hoeppner
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© Ethical Humanist Society of Greater Chicago
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