A humanist religious organization dedicated to improving the ethical quality of relationships in personal lives and in the world. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"If I lived in Brooklyn, the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture would get my sorry butt out of bed every single Sunday. And that's saying something." -- Dale McGowan, author - Parenting Beyond Belief Recipient of the 2008 Harvard Humanist Award
What Do We Stand For? with Catherine Bordeau Sunday, September 12, 11am
In his opening address, Ethical Culture’s founder Felix Adler asked and answered the question, “What do we stand for?” It has been 115 years since Adler spoke on the topic, and as we begin another year together, our Leader Candidate will begin her term with the same question. Celebrating our movement’s accomplishments, we will consider our movement’s future and the contributions of BSEC in light of Adler’s vision.
After Platform: 1-3 pm - Please come prepared to join us for a fun-filled potluck picnic in the garden! 1-3 pm – Writers Group meets in the Library
How Does It Feel to Be A Problem: Being Young and Arab in America with Moustafa Bouyami Sunday, September 19, 11am
Just over a century ago, W.E.B. Du Bois posed a provocative question in his classic The Souls of Black Folk: “How does it feel to be a problem?” Renowned author Moustafa Bayoumi, a professor of English at Brooklyn College, asked the same question about a new problem in the United States and spent careful time talking with seven young Arab Americans to provide the answer. In their striving and perseverance he finds important lessons for the way forward, away from a present full of suspicion and mistrust and to a future of equality, respect, and understanding.
Why Some (Secular) Jews Meditate: Buddhist influence from the insight out with Jay Michaelson Sunday, September 26, 11am
Many Jews meditate, and most meditate in ways developed in the Buddhist tradition. That this is so, is undeniable; why this is so, is a subject for the sociologists. But what does it mean for the practitioner? What are the benefits of meditation for a Jewish spiritual path (especially a secular one), and what are the benefits of a Jewish background and context for serious dharma practice?
After Platform: 1 - 3pm - Writers Group meets in the Library 1 - 7pm - Come one, come all to a regional Ethical Culture potluck picnic on Governor's Island. We will depart together after platform. We're bringing together families of all sorts - with or without partners, with or without children (or grandchildren), from all local societies - for an afternoon of fun, food and games. Come out and meet folks from Societies in and around NYC.
We'll meet at the PICNIC POINT on Governor's Island. Put on your thinking cap and start planning on which of your favorite recipes you’d like to share. Plan to BRING WATER and other non-alcoholic drinks for yourself and families, as there are NO drinking fountains on the island (water bottles cost about $2 each). Although there are tables on the Island, you may also want to bring picnic blankets and chairs.
If you’d like to help plan games or you have any questions, please contact Catherine.
The Grass is Greener When There Are No Sides with Catherine Bordeau Sunday, October 3, 11am
Felix Adler believed that the repository of “holiness” is within every individual. In modern terms, that is to say that each of us has something unique and special within us. This belief undergirded Adler’s thinking as he developed his idea of the Ethical Manifold, an image where there are “no sides.” Brooklyn Ethical’s Leader Candidate explores this idea for today.
After Platform: 1:00 pm – Ethical Action Committee Meeting in the Library 1:00pm - ?? - Intergenerational seed planting – Come play in the garden where we will be planting tulips and daffodil bulbs in anticipation of the Spring. Please bring some bulbs, a small shovel (if you have one) and a readiness to get down in the dirt!
Colloquy with Tasha Paley and Diane Kirschner Sunday, October 10, 11am
Colloquies are a chance for deep group reflection in support of our quest to live a life of meaning, joy, and responsibility.
After Platform: 1-3 pm – Writers Group meets in the Library
Fighting Poverty – and For a Living Wage with Julissa Bisonno Sunday, October 17, 11am
Over the past 30 years, more and more jobs paid less and less as unions grew weaker and companies became more aggressive about sending work overseas. Now living wage campaigns challenge employers and governments to ensure that workers are paid enough to live on. Julissa Bisonno, Senior Organizer with the community group Make the Road NY, talks about New York’s campaigns and their power in fighting poverty.
After Platform: 1:00 pm - Ethical Culture Workshop:Spiritual Development Notes 1:00 pm - Living Wage NYC discusses how to support theFair Wages for New Yorkers Act requiring developers receiving city subsidies to pay a living wage for permanent jobs they create.
Spirituality and Memoir with Donna Minkowitz Sunday, October 24, 11am
Writing memoir can bring us closer to ourselves and closer to understanding our entire web of relationships with others. It is a deeply spiritual practice, says two-time memoir author and BSEC member Donna Minkowitz, because in becoming more intimate with even those things we find strangest and most upsetting in ourselves we become more intimate and loving to the entire world.
After Platform: 1-3 pm – Writers Group meets in the Library
The Lions on Our Doorstep with Catherine Bordeau Sunday, October 31, 11am
Patience and Fortitude are the names of the lions in front of NYC Public Library building in midtown. Last fall, one of our children suggested names for the lions outside of BSEC. This platform will explore how the names of our lions – personal or communal, metaphorical or concrete - are symbolic of our beliefs and what we find important. In doing so, we will discover that sometimes the lions on our doorstep might alienate those whom we are trying to welcome.
After Platform: 1-3 pm – Halloween Harvest Festival - Please come prepared to join us for a fun-filled potluck picnic in the garden! There will be a prize for the best Ethical Culture costume!
Sunday Platforms are a long-standing tradition within Ethical Culture to bring light and heat to matters of ethical concern in a formal setting. Every Sunday, platforms examine major ethical issues and explore the personal and social aspects of living an ethical life. ____________________________________________________________________________ ***********************************************************************************************************
UPCOMING IN AUGUST
Come relax, mingle and enjoy some great jazz with various artists...... Click Here
