What is Ethical Living

What is Ethical Living

Ethical Living provides a format with which we nurture connections and explore interests within our congregations. Our goal is to see every person, from the core of our congregation to the ever-growing community, connected in a healthy small group. We want to help seekers become transformed individuals who model ethical living and motivate others to do the same.

We provide programming through a number of community circles with a variety of ways you can get connected and form relationships to feel a real sense of our wonderful community. These are ongoing, multi-generational adult program of circles to encourage life-long learning and new relationships.

Enhanced Discussion – facilitated by Muriel Tillinghast  More information

Gardening Circle (open to all) We are group of gardeners of varying interests and abilities. Some of us maintain extensive gardens, some of us garden in containers. Some of us go nuts for “obscure” plants, some of us love vegetables, and some of us could not live without perennials. Orchid lover, backyard orchardist, tulipomaniac, greenhouse hobbyist, fig specialist, dahlia enthusiast, tomato king, sunflower queen. A few of us are just starting to play in the dirt. You can meet us all, and you can be one of us and nurture our BSEC grounds!

Compassionate Communication Circle (open to all) Compassionate Communication, more popularly known as Non Violent Communication offers a framework for communication with many tools. It is based on the notion that each person has needs, and that those needs are equally important. This group meets to practice techniques of compassionate communication on a monthly basis.

Parent Circle (open to all) Our monthly Parent Circles are a time to check in with each other, to get to know one another and to deepen our own sense of community as parents. These discussions are helpful for identifying needs in the community of parents and families; everyone is welcome.

Sunday Sharing Circle (open to all) A group of our community members gathers in the Library every Sunday from 10:00 – 10:45 am for the weekly sharing circle. Everyone is welcome to attend and check in with a circle of caring, compassionate listeners.

Brooklyn Society Writers Circle (open to all) Our Writer’s Group meets on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month from 1-3pm in the 2nd floor library (dates and meeting locations are subject to change). All writers are welcome, BSEC members and non-members alike. Each meeting consists of an ice breaker, an exercise where all write on a shared topic, and time to share and give feedback on works in progress. The feedback is warm and supportive.

Prospect Park Board Gaming Club
The Prospect Park Board Gaming Club is a place to meet new people, drink good beer, and – of course – play board games. We have Settlers of Catan, King of Tokyo, BANG!, Arctic Scavengers, Cards Against Humanity, Cosmic Encounters, and a bunch of others. The Club is hosted by the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture. For updates on this club, join the.Meet Up group here.

Women’s New Moon Circles (open to all women) New moons (or dark moons) have long been considered a time for renewal or new beginnings. A circle of women gather on (or near) each new moon to recharge our energy through meditation, readings, personal sharing (if you choose) and singing. We invite all attendees to bring a candle, which will be symbolically lit to welcome the return of the moon’s light and to represent a renewed energy to carry back into the world. Women of all ages and religious backgrounds are welcome. (currently in hiatus)

Divestment from Fossil Fuels

divest

The Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture substantially divested its investment fund from fossil fuels in celebration of Earth Day 2015. We did so through the sale of our Energy Sector Mutual Fund, which constituted approximately 7% of our investment portfolio. 

According to our treasurer, Tom Castelnuovo, “We estimate that the sale of our energy fund has reduced our energy stock holdings from approximately 10% of our portfolio  to approximately 3%, a 70% reduction in our energy stock holdings achieved by this one simple act. (Since BSEC held no individual stocks listed on the Carbon Tracker 200, a list of fossil fuel stocks, our only remaining fossil-fuel holdings are held in broad market funds such as an S&P500 Index Fund as well as international mutual funds.)”

BSEC is proud to join hundreds of cities, universities and religious organizations in the worldwide divestment movement. We take our inspiration from our parent organization, the American Ethical Union, whose divestment resolution stated in part:

“The American Ethical Union shall divest itself of any investments in businesses that have a primary purpose of the extraction or distribution of fossil-based sources of energy… We urge [our member Ethical] Societies… and their… individual members to do the same.”

BSEC understands the disastrous consequences to our climate of our continued burning of fossil fuels.  Our resolution on the subject states in part:

“Because scientists and the United Nations overwhelmingly agree that any increase of global warming more than 2°C (3.6°F) would be unsafe for the future of a livable world

Because we are concerned about the threat to life on our planet from catastrophic climate change resulting from the production and consumption of fossil fuels

Because environmental groups like 350.org (www.350.org) and Green Faith (www.greenfaith.org) are promoting fossil fuel divestment as a way to bring to broader consciousness the crisis created by an economy shaped by fossil fuels, pressure the companies to invest in alternative energy and stimulate governmental and social commitment to a clean energy world;

Because we are heeding the call of religious groups nationally – including the American Ethical Union, United Church of Christ and Unitarian Universalists – and locally, including many synagogues and Quaker meetings, which have begun the process of divesting their portfolios of fossil fuel stocks and investing in alternative energy…”

We have decided to divest our portfolio from fossil-fuel stocks in several stages. We take our guidance from 350.org and GreenFaith.org, who envision a 5-year phased approach to divestment.

Said our treasurer, “For FY15, we decided simply to get the ‘biggest bang for the buck’ in taking our first step toward divestment through the sale of our sector SPDR Energy Fund.

On a go-forward basis, we will be looking at fossil-fuel investment alternatives proposed by our congregation including Socially Responsible Investment funds that are screened to exclude fossil fuel investments, greater use of non-energy sector funds, investment in social investments such as worker cooperatives, credit unions and supportive housing, and short sales of fossil fuel stocks.”

“BSEC is committed to fighting climate change through our congregational resources, and we are proud to have taken such a major step to achieving our goal of fossil fuel divestment,” said Jone Johnson Lewis, our interim clergy leader.

What is Ethical Action

What is Ethical Action

The Ethical Action Committee’s mission is to educate our members and the larger community about vital local and global ethical and social matters. The Ethical Action Committee (EAC) recruits speakers for BSEC platforms, organizes seminar and workshop programs, and sponsors book discussions and video events. Committee members network with neighborhood groups that share our concerns. We honor people who exemplify our goals and ideals at our annual Peace Site Awards Platform. To publicize and implement our positions, we also participate in direct and other actions. We want to explore ways to involve more BSEC members in our activities. We are committed to increasing the diversity within both EAC and BSEC.

Lucy’s Children

We have launched a community effort to examine the fiction of Race in order to address the fact of Racism. Our plan is to provide information, opportunities and events that can help us come together as a society to end racism. We meet most Fridays at BSEC to plan our efforts, to share resources and related experiences.
Please join if you are interested and available. Everyone is welcome to join us.
We are a volunteer membership group convening to be a catalyst for conversations at BSEC as well as in the outside world on Ending Systemic Racism and White Supremacy. We seek to engage in conversations, develop programs, promote personal development, and deepen our interpersonal connections. We seek to learn from our individual and shared experiences and engage in advocacy on racial issues in the wider world.
Lucy was discovered in 1974 by paleontologists in Ethiopia. At that time she was the earliest known ancestor of the human species. This is why we call our group Lucy’s children.

Enhanced Discussion

We gather monthly to talk about various issues at BSEC which offers a safe place to talk about interesting and sometimes difficult and complex topics. Participation and interchange is encouraged. Who comes? People who are willing to ask questions, probe the depths, sort the details and want to know more. Enhanced Discussion meets from May to November yearly.

Divestment from Fossil Fuels

The Ethical Action Committee led the way to the Society’s decision to divest from fossil fuels.
Read more: Brooklyn Society Divests

Charley Horwitz Memorial Platform

Every year, the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture invites a speaker to explore a social justice theme for the Charley Horwitz Memorial Platform.  Charley Horowitz was a former president of the Society who was a longtime civil rights and labor activist.  

Ethical Action Peace Site Award

Each year the Society’s Ethical Action Committee recommends a person or group to the Board to be honored with the Peace Site Award. The Award recipient is honored at a special Sunday Platform as the featured speaker. The work of these partners for peace informs and inspires us  to continue our community’s efforts for peace and justice. 

A BRIEF HISTORY OF BSEC’S PEACE SITE

The Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture was declared an International Peace Site in 1983. Each year since, the Society has presented the Peace Site Award to an exemplary individual or group whose actions and ideals promote the cause of peace. Members who had long worked for peace leant their vision and energy to make the idea a reality, most especially Bea Rubin and Marion Kronheim.

“Marion made a name for herself in this community by her ceaseless efforts to promote the cause of peace on earth. This she did as the chairperson of SANE (the Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy), the city’s leading peace organization. Small of size but large in energy and passion, Marion put these qualities into her campaign for world peace.” Marion, herself, was the award recipient in 2000. When she died in 2002, Marion bequeathed $1,000 for the Peace Site.

Bea Rubin is a political artist and long time peace advocate. In recent years Bea has focused her advocacy on behalf of political prisoners in the U.S. through her prisoner portrait project. Their work inspired BSEC to partner with Brooklyn Parents for Peace (now Brooklyn for Peace) to organize the first Brooklyn Peace Fair in October 2003. Bea “was thrilled to recognize so many old friends and fellow peace activists she had worked with over the last 40 years and also to see the new generation taking their part in what she described as a ‘manifestation of the ideals of the Peace Site.’”

Each year the Society’s Ethical Action Committee recommends a person or group to the Board to be honored with the Peace Site Award. The Award recipient is honored at a special Sunday Platform as the featured speaker. The work of these partners for peace informs and inspires us at BSEC to continue our community’s efforts for peace and justice. 

In 2004, the Society dedicated the Garden of Peace and Remembrance, a special space in our beautiful garden. Circular in design, the four stone benches, representing the four major continents, face each other, symbolizing the need for communication on an equal basis and without obstruction in the service of peace. The garden was designed to be a living symbol of our commitment as a Peace Site and to remind us that we belong to one human family no matter where we live. It provides a tranquil spot to remember and honor our heroes in the cause of peace. Small plaques commemorating beloved friends and relatives of members have been affixed to the benches and some of the Belgian stones which enclose the seating area. Plants in this area all belong to the Ericaceae or heath family, one of the few plant families whose members can be found on all the continents of our world.

PREVIOUS AWARDS

2015 NATIONAL ETHICAL SERVICE
2014 350.ORG
2013 CODEPINK
2012 NATIONAL LAWYER’S GUILD
2011 SENATOR BERNIE SANDERS (VT)
2010 TENT OF NATIONS
2009 WOMEN FOR AFGHAN WOMEN
2008  SISTER DIANNA ORTIZ AND THE TORTURE ABOLITION AND SURVIVORS SUPPORT COALITION
2007 IRAQ VETERANS AGAINST THE WAR
2006 THE GRANNY PEACE BRIGADE
2005 CONGRESSMAN MAJOR OWENS
2004 RACHEL CORRIE, 1979-2003 (POSTHUMOUS)
2003 BROOKLYN PARENTS FOR PEACE & BROOKLYN HTS PEACE ACTION
2002 SEPTEMBER 11 FAMILIES FOR PEACEFUL TOMORROWS
2001 LUIS GILBERTO MURILLO
2000 MARION KRONHEIM
1999 PHILIP METLING
1998 SISTER EILEEN STOREY
1997 KARL GROSSMAN
1996 CAPTAIN LAWRENCE P. ROCKWOOD
1995 LINDA LANTIERI AND TOM RODERICK
1994 SONYA OSTRAM
1993 AMY GOODMAN AND ALLAN NAIRN
1992 ROBERT KNIGHT
1991 CORA WEISS
1990 DANIEL BERRIGAN
1988 REV. JO TOLLEY
1987 DAVID MCREYNOLDS
1986 MIRIAM FRIEDLANDER
1985 DAVE DELLINGER
1984 MICHIO KAKU
1983 THE REV. WILLIAM SLOAN COFFIN

Contact Chair: M. Tillinghast

Sample Syllabus

                                                                                            Year: 2017-2018

EXPLORING ETHICS SYLLABUS

Teacher: Simba Yangala

The world is changed by our examples, not by our opinions. Examples are one of the best ways to teach. Each one, reach one, to teach one

                                                                             -African proverb

One of the core values of ethical culture is to elicit the best in others and therefore in ourselves. How do we use that concept with young children here at Ethics for Children? I find the best way to teach this age is through plays and what we call “teachable moments.”

Play fosters intellectual, social, emotional, physical and creative development in children all at once!  When children engage in play, they are intrinsically motivated to learn. In an environment with children, the lack of proper stimulation creates boredom and too much stimulation creates uncertainty and chaos. The challenge is to keep the balance with short ethical discussions, storytelling and idea sharing. And also a snack is always a hit with children

Here is our Exploring Ethics group two semesters syllabus for September- January

SEPTEMBER

“Seeing the best in others to bring out the best in ourselves”

Theme: Welcome

Sun 10th: Meet and greet, how to create inclusion and our own spaces. Children will share stories about a time they’ve felt welcome and included. Together we will explore the importance of friendly welcomings
Story: A Sea of Pink
Song: Make new friend and keep the old one

Sun 17st:  The word “friend”, we use the word friend in ways to define our kind intention to others. When we meet in our Exploring Ethics group, we are friends. Children will draw a name from a box and that will be the friend to write a letter to that will be sent to them in a week. They will also write a letter to self.

Sun 24th: NO EFC

OCTOBER

“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.

Theme: Courage

Sun 1st: Yoga Sunday Before Yoga teacher comes, we will do our mantra leading into children sharing what they would like to be when they grow up. After yoga, children will do the Flowers and candles meditation.

Sun 8th: NO EFC (Indigenous Day previously called Columbus Day)

Sun 15nd: NO EFC (Ethical Education Retreat Weekend)

Sun 22nd: Gardening Day: “Families Care for the Earth Day” Leaves and roots for the fall

Sun 29th: Ethics For children Service Sunday

NOVEMBER

“A feeling of gratitude and seeing ways to find richness in every moment.”

Theme: Abundance

Sun 5th: Yoga Sunday. Share a dance for abundance: Children will share their dance moves and create a wave of combine dances together.
Story: Stories about things they’ve received

Sun 12th: Cooking Day, children will be in the BSEC kitchen cooking something to taste and share with others at lunch with the bunch. (Congolese cuisine: Smoked spinach)

Sun 19th: Intergenerational Platform: WAMPANOAG Native American Ceremony!

Sun 26th: NO EFC (Thanksgiving Break)

DECEMBER

“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, this moment today is a gift, that’s why we call it the present”

Theme: Hope

Sun 3rd: Yoga Sunday. After yoga, children will do “Hope message on a rock”, it’s an activity in which they will write hopeful messages on a rock and place it somewhere outside for someone to find.

Sun 10th: Hopes for our families, (will get note from Lea’s class)

Sun 17st: Intergenerational Platform: WINTER SOLSTICE CELEBRATION!

Sun 24th: NO EFC (Winter Break)

Sun 31st: NO EFC (Winter Break)

JANUARY

“A storyteller make up things to help other people, a liar make up things to help themselves”

Theme: Intention

Sun 07th: Yoga Sunday for all EFC together and after is Gardening Day: “Families Care for the Earth Day” seeds for the winter

Sun 14th: NO EFC (Martin Luther King’s Day)
Monday January 15th 2017, Families Celebrate Africa on Martin Luther King Day

Sun 21st: Ethics For children Service Sunday

Sun 28th: Children will do the Yes and No game, will do activity in which they share things that are Yes okay to do and things that are No. We will explore the question, what do you do when you want to do something that’s a No?
Story: Things we like to do

 

Storytelling: communicating an ethic of love. 

2017-2018 September- January Syllabus

Teacher: storäe michele.

We carry our stories with us into every aspect of our lives. They engage in our personal and social relationships. Inevitably, the stories we tell ourselves manifest into the selves we present in the world. Thus, nurturing ourselves with stories that serve to produce our best self, set in motion interactions that allow for brave space to be intentional in our actions, and approach situations with the willingness to grow and have healthy reflective perspectives.

This year our storytellers will write stories of love: for themselves, family and community—investigating ways in which love is ethical engagement.  As Dr. Cornel West declares, “Justice is what love looks like in public,” and as an ethic, provides a deeper meaning for the heart-work we do—not just simply right-actions but embodied right-relations that demonstrate our stories of love.

You will notice the Semptember class descriptions are quite specific, while the November-January plans are more general. This is intentional. As we continue to work together as a group I want to allow room for the class plans to reflect new thoughts ideas and opportunities.

I am honored to be on this journey of sharing stories, activism and ethics-making with our Growing Ethics group!

September. Chapter 1 [Welcome: “bringing out the best in others, brings out the best in ourselves.]

This month will welcome each other, discussing our year-long goals.

9.10 After exploring our syllabus, we will create a landscape roadmap of our hopes and dreams for the year, marking any special or noteworthy moments on this journey. We will also engage in writing a hopes and dreams letter to ourselves, which will be mailed at the end of the year to encourage thoughtful reflection.

9.17 Working towards [re]introductions: embodying the narrative of those who love us.  In our group, we will [re]introduce ourselves after delving deeper into discussions on who we are. Using performance theory exercises, we will introduce ourselves while embodying someone who loves us. Answering the question, “who are the people you are bringing into the room?” recognizing that we carry the stories that others tell about us. How does this change our perspectives of self?

9.24 No EFC.

October. Chapter 2 [the courage to speak our truths]

This month will begin to unpack our personal stories, questioning how they evolve or stay consistent—grounded in inquiries around self-love, honoring peculiarities, and speaking our truths.

10.1 We will begin our alter-ego books—which will be our year-long tool for reflection and artistic response to each weeks’ topic.  Alter-ego books are created from old books that we will [re]construct to develop a brave space, taking off our everyday mask and speaking to our truths.  What are our truths? How do they align with the self we show in public? In community?  What are tools we already have when speaking to difficult situations? How do we acknowledge our courageous acts? We will have yoga with Heather from 12-12:30pm.

10.8 No EFC.

10.15 No EFC.

10.22   Family Care for the Earth Day.

10.29   Service Day.

November. Chapter 3 [We live in abundance]

This month will begin to unpack our community stories, questioning how to approach the needs to thrive in our society. Our guiding inquiries are: What is our role? Can we have an impact? How do we learn to glean understanding from each other?

11.5 Sharing our collective wisdom: we are each other’s medicine. We will discuss our do-it-yourself methods of caring for ourselves and one another. Looking at the word medicine in an expansive sense, what aliments do we see in community? What are methods of healing for special circumstances that we want to see change? Are there always opportunities for change? We will have yoga with Heather from 12-12:30pm.

*We will also create a book or video together that speaks to our own DIY medicinal recipes. This project may carry over into December. *

11.12 Revisiting tough conversations: creating brave space. Sometimes we experience circumstances that cause responses that surprise us. Living in a climate that is at once hostile and nurturing can cause us to react in ways that communicate lacking something that in actuality we always have. How can we trust the abundance that we already contain? How is a healthy dose of self-confidence and recognizing interdependence beneficial for the community at large? How do we trust our gifts are enough? How do we engage in sharing our medicine?

11.19 Intergenerational Platform: WAMPANOAG!

11.26 No EFC for Thanksgiving Break.

December. Chapter 4 [Igniting hope, Activating Love-in-Action]

This month we will work as a team to solve an interactive exploratory challenge that effects the EFC community [this well be decided on as a group]. As a team, we will explore different ways of starting and enacting a process of change. We will discuss who is affected, what difference the change will bring and what the possible ripples in the community could be.

12.3 – 12.10 How to unpack a challenge. Using different modalities that engage the imagination, such as Silent Tableaus [games for encouraging students to think physically as a group and as individuals, encouraging different methods of non-verbal communication], mixed media constructs, and strategies around approaching research. How is solving a challenge as a group, also an act of love? How does everyone thrive in these moments? How do we make sure all voices are heard? What are our learning curves? What was our process?

12.3 We will have yoga with Heather from 12-12:30pm.

12.17 Winter Solstice.

12.24 No EFC.

12.31 No EFC.

January. Chapter 5 [Setting intentions for the future, Honoring journeys in years’ Past]

1.7 Family Care for the Earth Day. We will have yoga with Heather from 12-12:30pm.

1.14 No EFC.

1.15 [Monday] Families Celebrate Africa.

1.21 Creating vision boards of the intentions we wish to see and memorials for the markers of our journey of the past year. How will the story of our past inform this year? What growth do we wish to see? Who have we seen demonstrate these strengths? What can be learned from their stories? How are we the protagonist in our stories? In what ways do we support our ability to thrive?

1.28 Service Day.

a sneak peek into the months of February to June…

As the first months together focused on understanding ourselves and those in our immediate community, this year will center in how we can remember those in society who we may not interact with personally but our daily actions affect. As the upcoming months celebrate Black History, Women’s History, Earth Day and days of remembrance of those we love, we will continue to ignite love-in-action as a social justice using art to point to those who are not always seen, but voices are necessary to be heard.

Coming soon…