BSEC Winter Solstice 2016
In times of darkness, we celebrate the Winter Solstice together to welcome the return of the light. Our inter-generational event focused on ancient South American civilizations and how they honored the sun. DuPree led the musical part of the event and the children answered questions about the seasons and helped distribute evergreens and welcoming the sun. The solstice the time to send wishes of peace and light into the world, particularly in times of great need, like now.
Big thanks to all who helped make this event such a success, and to all who brought food, came early and left late to help set up and break down at the end of the day.
Below you will find some pictures of the event:
Simba Yangala (Exploring Ethics, 3-7 years)
It was fun being at the platform with the children, sharing a song with the grown ups this Sunday morning. Back in our class, after our greeting song, I asked the children which place they liked more, the children’s place or the grown up’s place. Two out of eight children said the like the grown up place. For our Ethical discussion, we talked about the importance of caring about our friends. For the Ethical dilemma, we used the example of when to tell a friend’s secret. If it’s a surprise birthday party, we keep the secret and if they going to take another friend’s lunch box, we can get help to bring out the best in them. The children were really engaged in the activity. Before going on to our play time, we practiced voting. The choices were, which one to start first: the playroom for free play or going in the hallway for the selected game, “Statue”. 6 children chose the hallway and 2 chose the playroom. We started with “Statue” in the hallway and then did our mannequin challenge at the beginning of our free play. Have a wonderful week and see you next Sunday 🙂
Taty Sena (Living Ethics, 12-14 years)
This week in Living Ethics we joined the platform for the beginning musical opening with Dupree. We went back to the classroom for a discussion on our experience handing out our care bags before the Thanksgiving break. The kids were very insightful about what they learned from it and it developed into a discussion about how we can do more and maybe get the whole society involved in the coming year. More on that to come. We have also talked a little about thankfulness and appreciating what we are given and those in our lives.
Lea Bender (Evolving Ethics, 12-14 years)
We picked up a discussion topic from several weeks ago: what does it mean to “be a man”? For some other perspectives on this subject we watched/discussed excerpts from a documentary called The Mask You Live In (available on Netflix –I pre-screened it and skipped over a few parts that were too mature, but it’s a good documentary to view in full as parents/caregivers of a young teen). We will finish our discussion/screening next week and begin to plan the projects that we will present in June.
Dear friends and members:
We are approaching the end of the year and entering the shopping season. We encourage you to support local business and small, homegrown vendors and artisans whenever you can, but we understand that many of you will also shop online. If you are planning on shopping on Amazon, there is one very easy way to support the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture.
Amazon has a program called Amazon Smile which donates a small part of the proceeds of all your shopping to the non-profit of your choice. There is no additional cost to you at all.
To use Amazon Smile is very simple.
Visit:
https://smile.amazon.com/
When choosing a charity, search for:
Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture
Click “Select” and that’s it!
Whenever you want to buy something, just go to https://smile.amazon.com/ and Amazon will donate a small percentage of the proceeds to BSEC! Every little bit helps to support our programs, platforms, classes and our building.
And if you are inspired to give more on Giving Tuesday, please visit our donation page by clicking here
Your donations will be deeply appreciated and will help us continue to support the inclusive communities that use our building and our work on social justice and personal growth.
November 20, 2016
Dear Members and Friends of the Brooklyn Society:
We find ourselves in front of a computer trying to write a letter to our members and friends while feeling challenged, because words can seem so insignificant at this time. We write this today, following our Wampanoag Platform where we were able to cherish the ritual as it was gifted by an indigenous leader over 27 years ago and shared by Remi Gay. We gathered to give deepened attention to our thanks and our giving, in dance, in ritual and in song.
“Ethical Culture Grace”
For the fruits of field and forest, farm and garden, river and ocean;
For our people who give their lives to rearing and cultivating our food and to transporting it on the highways and waterways of the earth;
For shelter and for raiment;
For comradeship in work;
For fellowship in leisure, and for healthy recreation;
For the beauty of nature and art;
And for all the blessings of democracy and freedom;
We lift up our thankful hearts.
Now more than ever we need community engagement. While we each move in the world in a wide range of ways, we carry with us common values and care for community that strengthens our collective capacity to show up for good. Remembering Eddie Ellis, (who visited our society four years ago, before his passing), there are three elements required to build for and achieve sustainable change: personal transformation, community engagement and institutional accountability. (That platform can be found here. Eddie Ellis at BSEC 2012 )
The practice of acting and living ethically is in the details of how we do it. Recent BSEC collective acts include: organizing to divest from fossil fuels, supporting Black Lives Matter with a celebration, banner and statement to declare it, convening community conversations until we agree to a concept for accessibility and an approach to how we will pay for it, helping our eldest, Annemarie Mogil to resettle in her new home following displacement, gardening along permaculture principles and marching in support of the native peoples at Standing Rock who are protecting the water in North Dakota from the oil pipeline. This is what living and acting ethically looks like.
We come to BSEC for both ourselves and others; to have a place where we can purposefully act, learn and connect. By example, sharing milestones is more than a personal sharing as it serves to build community and weave our own web of connection, while we also act outside and beyond our walls.
The Sunday after the presidential election we had a full house. The need for and the power of community sang proud as we collectively pledged to stand for justice and solidarity. The results of this election have thrown us off balance, but it challenges us to fully live our values. We see how fear, hatred and anger are being communicated loud and clear. It makes our message of sustaining a community based on the opposite of those things— love, compassion and care— all the more needed. Our community serves as a vehicle and a source of connection as we move through these times. “Sunday at 11:00” means we have a place to be, and a community from which to act. Through our own committees and any other work you may do in your life, we gather and know we are part of something much larger than ourselves, connecting and enhancing our practice.
We want to acknowledge a recent shift in leadership taken on by several members. Vandra Thorburn is back on the board after many years active at the committee level. And Muriel Tillinghast has taken the position of Committee Chair for the Ethical Action Committee. Each time a member or friend steps up to give service and demonstrate responsibility and leadership, we all benefit. Keep in mind, next June we will have three open slots on the board!
Our Winter Member Meeting is now planned for Sunday, January 29th after platform. We hope you will save the date and come as we practice our democracy, exchange information and discuss issues that concern us from the three different levels of engagement. All are welcome, members and friends. If you are considering membership, please speak to a board member, Jone or Taty and we will welcome you and help you find ways to contribute to our society.
We want to thank all of you for making our work as President and Vice President of the Society a true labor of love. We are glad to have you in our orbit at BSEC.
In peace and solidarity,
Rebecca Lurie, Board President
Janice Novet, Board Vice-President
Every year, BSEC celebrates this time of the year with special attention and respect to our Native American communities during a beautiful intergenerational ritual we call the “Wampanoag Ceremony”. The event is led by Remi Gay, a former board officer and long-time member of Brooklyn Ethical who has been granted permission by Native American elders to perform rituals honoring our earth. This special platform is usually a chance to gather as a community of all ages, to sing, dance and meditate on our planet together. This year, the ceremony was particularly relevant.
We thank our members, friends and guests for sharing the day with us, and especially Remi Gay for leading us through such a beautiful ritual.
A few pictures of the event can be found below:
