A humanist religious organization dedicated to improving the ethical quality of relationships in personal lives and in the world. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Upcoming September Platforms ______________________________________
One Nation, Indivisible: Protecting the Separation of Church/State with Lori Lippman Brown Sunday, September 14, 11:00am
Our government’s secular character, built into it at our nation’s founding more than 200 years ago, protects both religious and nonreligious Americans. Over the past three years, Lori Lippman Brown, director of the Secular Coalition of America, has served as the first Congressional lobbyist explicitly representing the 10% to 15% of Americans who are nontheistic (humanists, atheists, agnostics, etc.) Brown reports on how this unique lobby is being received on the Hill, in the media and by our theistic allies, and will discuss the coalitions of religious and nonreligious Americans fighting to protect the separation of church and state.
In September 2005, the Secular Coalition for America hired Lori Lippman Brown as its first director. A lawyer and former high school English teacher, she served as a Nevada state senator from 1992-1994. Among her many honors are the Secular Student Alliance's Freethought Backbone Award, Civil Libertarian of the Year from the Southern Nevada chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, Legislator of the Year from the Nevada chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, Friend of the Center award from the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada, and an award from Valley Outreach Synagogue.
The Hidden War at Home: The Domestic “War on Terror” with Aziz Huq Sunday, September 21, 11:00am
Thinking of civil liberties abuses in the “war on terror,” we most often think of Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, and CIA black sites in Europe and elsewhere. But there is another, less remarked side, to the "War on Terror" occurring close to home, in immigration agencies, in prosecutor offices, and in the police stations. In surprising ways, this domestic front, because it receives so little attention, is the site of deeper civil liberties violations than places in the media spotlight.
Aziz Huq directs the liberty and national security project at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law. He is counsel in several cases concerning detention of citizens and non-citizens without due process, including a group of U.S. citizens detained in Iraq, and Ali Al-Marri, the only person detained as an “enemy combatant” in the United States. He teaches a seminar at NYU Law School on "Just War Theory and Terrorism," and in 2006 was awarded a Carnegie Scholars Fellowship. His recent book Unchecked and Unbalanced: Presidential Power in a Time of Terror, coauthored with Fritz Schwarz, was called "necessary reading" by Michiko Katakana in the New York Times.
How Do We Create A Good Life? with Rev. Nettie Paisley Sunday, September 28, 11:00am (This is a special Member Sunday platform welcoming new members)
Ethical living is based on right conduct. Right conduct does lead to a good life. When we live an ethical life, how good do we really have to be?
Nettie Paisley is a long time community activist and has been an active member of the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture since 2003. She was until recently chair of the Society’s Life and Ethics Committee and served as board trustee and pledge secretary during the 2007-2008 season. In June of 2008, she was ordained as an Interfaith Minister through the One Spirit Seminary in New York City. Rev. Paisley performed her internship at the Church of Gethsemane, which was founded by and serves ex-prisoners and their families. Among her many community activities, Rev. Paisley has adopted an elementary school, PS 44, in Bedford Stuyvesant where she provides educational, social and fundraising support. A social entrepreneur, she launched a holistic and wellness center called Southern Comforts, and she continues to enjoy spreading inner peace to others through the healing practice of Reiki.
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.
Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture's Fair Trade Coffee Club ---------------------------------------- The following items are now available: Breakfast Blend ground Decaf Coffee Ground Decaf Whole Bean Green Tea Hazelnut Hot Chocolate Irish Breakfast Black Tea Love Buzz Roibus Herbal Tea Whole Bean Ethiopian
For more information and to make your request, feel free to send a message to: mediaocker@vei.net ___________________________________________________________
Health Walks
Wednesdays & Fridays 9:30am Location: Prospect Park
For more information: Carolyn 718-858.0452 ______________________________________________________
APPRECIATION >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> "If one could only learn to appreciate the little things . . . A song that takes you away, for there are those who cannot hear. The beauty of a sunset, for there are those who cannot see. The warmth and safety of your home, for there are those who are homeless. Time spent with good friends for there are those who are lonely. A walk along the beach for there are those who cannot walk. The little things are what life is all about. Search your soul and learn to appreciate." Shadi Souferian
THE EIGHT ETHICAL COMMITMENTS >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 1. Ethics is central. 2. Ethics begins with choice. 3. We choose to treat each other as ends, not merely as means. 4. We seek to act with integrity. 5. We are committed to educate ourselves. 6. Self-reflection and our social nature require us to shape a more humane world. 7. Democratic process is essential. 8. Life itself requires "religious response.
Check out the "ETHICS PROJECT"
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