Eric Garner. Michael Brown. Gaza. Iraq. Russia and the Ukraine. Climate change. Poverty and joblessness. The persistence of racism, sexism, homophobia and ignorance.

“The world is too much with us….” When the world, and other people, have so many calls on us, it can sometimes be tiring. We can tune out. Get sick. (Who knows how much the nasty flu that I got and some of the rest of you got was complicated by our internal stress?) Lose hope. Lose energy.

“Compassion fatigue” it turns out is a “thing.” Caring about others, caring for others, and trying to make the world more humane – sometimes, it just seems overwhelming. It’s easy to figuratively put the pillows over our head and go back to sleep. Or ignore the problems that aren’t directly affecting us, right here, right now.

But I’m a fan not just of William Wordsworth (the poem fragment above), but of Dorothy Day. “People say, what is the sense of our small effort? They cannot see that we must lay one brick at a time, take one step at a time. A pebble cast into a pond causes ripples that spread in all directions. Each one of our thoughts, words and deeds is like that. No one has a right to sit down and feel hopeless. There is too much work to do.”

So how do we get ourselves going when the world is too much with us? I believe it’s one reason for the existence of Ethical Societies – to provide a community of support, to keep us going when we feel overwhelmed. We come to be reminded of the values that are important to us, and to join with others so that our small efforts don’t seem so small.

Marching in the Peoples Climate March on September 21st, we’ll be with each other – and, if logistics go well, with members of other Ethical Societies and humanist groups, and thousands and thousands of others.

Join in our celebration of our community and the values of generosity and sharing, in our September 7th platform. Hear a bit more about how to increase resiliency in ourselves, children and our communities on September 14th. Help bring our Charley Horwitz platform promoting peace and justice, with Chris Hedges speaking, to the wider community on September 28th.

But don’t forget that other kinds of self-care are also important. Take walks. Eat healthier. See some movies or hear some music or read some books or go see a comedy show that you will enjoy. Share a memory with a dear friend. Get more sleep. Take a bubble bath. Self-care is a necessity, the human way of recharging our compassion batteries.

“No one has a right to [JUST] sit down and feel hopeless. There is too much work to do.” Let’s do at least some of it together!

BROOKLYN SOCIETY FOR ETHICAL CULTURE

Ethically Speaking

53 Prospect Park West at 2nd Street in Park Slope

www.bsec.org bsecdirector@yahoo.com

718.768.2972

September 2014

“Guiding Free Thinkers Since 1907”

The Brooklyn Society

for Ethical Culture (BSEC)

Jone Johnson Lewis

Interim Clergy Leader

jone.bsec@gmail.com

Damal Edmond

Administrative Director bsecdirector@yahoo.com

Board of Trustees President: Rebecca Lurie

Vice President: Janice Novet Secretary: Laura Duffy

Treasurer: Tom Castelnuovo

Pledge Secretary: Kim Brandon

Trustees: Donna Minkowitz

_____________________

The Brooklyn Society for

Ethical Culture A humanistic, religious and e d u c a t i o n a l f e l l o w s h i p promoting knowledge, love and practice of ethics-centered living. As a diverse and welcoming community, we assist each other in developing ethical ideals, exploring choices, navigating our life journeys, and working to realize a more just and compassionate world. BSEC belongs to a federation of Ethical Culture & Ethical Humanist Societies and/or Fellowships in the U.S. known as the American Ethical Union.

In the Interim - A Note from Jone-

“All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT & VICE PRESIDENT

Ethically Speaking, September 2014, page 2

year researching and crafting the proposal, other members only became aware of the details through the mailing that preceded the meeting.

In respect for the value that each of us bring worth, the time required for engagement in a process can never be under-estimated. We want to honor all voices, AND we want to reach agreement. Here we can see how majority-rule as a decision-making process creates the feeling of winners and losers. We are sorry for those who may have been left with a sense of abandonment. In today's world, money and values are often pit against one another. At BSEC, where we have our own modest set of financials to manage and a lofty mission to practice, it stands to reason that we are challenged by a resolution that begs us to explore how our values and the long-time established prerogative for a “return on our investment” can be taken into consideration side-by-side. As humanists, we know that we can embrace conflict because we intuitively understand that this is where the edge of learning happens; where there are differences is where we can find insights and truly diversify our thinking and approach. We welcome this as part of a core value.

Throughout this Newsletter you will see signs of new and renewed programming from our Program Committees; Ethical Action, Ethical Living and Ethical Education and our Administrative Committees; Buildings and Grounds, Communications/Member Development and The Sunday Committee. As a volunteer organization, our capacity is a direct result of engagement by both members and friends. Recently we have seen some non-members lead some excellent projects. Anyone can play a role. Please consider membership if you are not a member yet. We would love to welcome you at our annual Pledge Dinner for members on October 10th. Committees all have positions open for leadership, both small and large. If you want to learn organizational skills or if you want to practice the ones you have, please feel free to step up to help with a committee or a specific event. “Jump in! The water’s fine!!!”

With love and respect, Rebecca Lurie, President & Janice Novet, Vice-President

With a summer full of violence and suffering in the news, both near and far, strengthening our own small community with new programs and skills keeps us grounded with the understanding that we do what we can, where we are. You will see our activities burgeon as we develop multiple ways for members, friends and visitors to explore a shared understanding of our presence in relationship to the broader world. A strong community provides a place for healing and well-being with a foundation for resilience and right action. The Board of Trustees is excited to support and thank our members and staff in further developing a vibrant and relevant Society.

Our June Member Meeting served to shepherd in significant plans for our future. The longstanding Children’s Sunday Assembly, (CSA) has been renamed to Ethics for Children (EfC). We increased staff, streamlined administrative procedures and outreach will improve operations and increase enrollment. Members agreed to support the Building and Grounds Committee proposal to engage in a feasibility study to explore our best options to make the first floor of our physical property welcoming for wheelchair users and others with mobility concerns, and to research the need for structural repairs on our perimeter wall. There are undoubtedly going to be costly capital improvements as we endeavor to bring our historical building to a modern standard for use and entry. We anticipate launching fundraising activities for these capital improvements.

Some members asked at the meeting about an update on the use of the Poly Prep building door neighbor. Details have since been agreed to. Although we will not be allowed to use the gymnasium/auditorium for our children’s programming on Sundays, we will continue to use the original building for our EfC program. We have use of the larger space for up to eight times a year for special events. With our Program Committees we are planning events aiming to expand our reach and impact. The first will be our Charley Horwitz Memorial Platform with Chris Hedges on September 28th.

At what became a dynamic part of the meeting, we discussed the extremely important proposed resolution presented by the Ethical Action Committee to create a socially responsible investing policy and divest from fossil fuels within 5 years. As part of the resolution, a Task Force made up of members from our Fund Monitors, the Ethical Action Committee and the Board of Trustees will set up procedures and screens so that our investments reflect both our values and our financial needs.

With few changes, the resolution was adopted. In hindsight, we see that a heated discussion at the meeting may have been avoided if we had facilitated more community meetings ahead of time. While the Ethical Action Committee, led brilliantly by Greg and Abby, had

Ethically Speaking, September 2014, page 3

BSEC stands in solidarity with the family of slain Michael Brown, the community of Ferguson, MO and BSEC Fellow, Rev. Osagyefo Sekou.

“It is rather surreal to have spent the last six weeks as a scholar-in-residence at the Martin Luther King papers at Stanford and then fly home to see the same economic realities 50years later. I think about King responding to the Watts riots and visiting young people who were simply inconsolable when another young black man was shot down like a dog by a policing agency. So my home town Ferguson is a bit surreal.”

“Ferguson has about 21,000 citizens and a medium income of $36,000.But one in four persons live below the poverty line. When we look at the difference between the one in four making $14,000 and the three in four folks making $36,000 – they’re still the working poor. And that, combined with the high levels of police repression experienced by young black folks in that city. A few years ago Prosecutor McCulloch refused to bring an indictment for police who shot into a car some 20 times, and killing two black men who were unarmed. These kind of stories of repression and harassment are legion in the experience of young black people. And then when you look at the electoral level, some 67 percent of African-Americans in the city of Ferguson, yet little to no representation at the electoral level. So these are apartheid-like statistics that speak to the kind of existential apartheid and hell that everyday people are catching, many of whom are

Facebook and BSEC Communications Committee

Today, many who are interested in visiting the Society first check us out on Facebook. You, as a member or friend of Brooklyn Ethical, can help in just three small ways to make sure the most people possible see what

we post on our Facebook page: 1) Go to https://www.facebook.com/

EthicalCultureBrooklyn and “like” the page if you haven’t already. That’s where we’ll be putting announcements like platforms and other

events.

2) “Like,” “share” or comment on a couple of posts there, and when you see posts from that page come through on your Facebook news feed. The more people who interact with a post, the more people Facebook will display it to. Especially consider sharing on your own page any announcements of interesting platforms you’d like your friends to know about.

3) Consider writing a review of the society – a short few words about what you found her that makes you want to stay: https://www.facebook.com/EthicalCultureBrooklyn?sk=reviews

Just to clarify some confusion: The Facebook group is at https://www.facebook.com/groups/bsec53/ -- that’s for discussion among members and friends. A n d h t t p s : / / w w w . f a c e b o o k . c o m /BrooklynSocietyEthicalCulture is just the account our communications person, Jason Dubin, uses for posting to Facebook.

Save the Date: BSEC’s ANNUAL PLEDGE DINNER

Friday, October 10th - 7pm-9pm

“A Night of Food & Fun to celebrate WHO WE ARE while recommitting ourselves to BSEC”

Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture, 53 Prospect Park West, Park Slope, Brooklyn 11215

Ethically Speaking, September 2014, page 4

ETHICS FOR CHILDREN: There’s a lot in store this fall for our Ethics for Children program! Be sure to say “hi” to our new “Growing Ethics” teacher, Patricia Christie, when classes start again on September 7th. We are really lucky to have found such a warm and skilled educator to join our teaching team! She’ll be jumping right into a busy few months as we welcome new families and collaborate with other organizations.

On September 7th we will join the whole BSEC community to create a meal together for the “Stone Salad” platform that will kick off our school year. On 9/20 we will participate in the local Permaculture Festival at Old Stone House Playground with our own booth. The following day, 9/21, we will march at The People’s Climate March in Manhattan alongside the American Ethical Union and people from all around the world. Back at BSEC, we will explore these underlying themes of community and environment in our on-site classes. Our upcoming class calendar is posted on our website, where you can also find our new registration form. If you have a child in the program, it’s always a good idea to register early.

One more noteworthy event to mention here: on October 19th, the non-profit group Heights and Hills will hold simultaneous workshops for adults and kids alike on the subject of aging. While our kids participate in Aging 101 (a workshop designed to illustrate what it’s like to be an older member of our society), adults will learn skills for caring for an elderly loved one.

And there’s more to come! See you at BSEC!

Lea Bender, EfC Director

ETHICAL LIVING

Gift Circle - Helen Zuman, Facilitator (madgelma@hotmail.com) Thursdays– 6:30pm-9:30pm (9/25, 10/23, 11/20, 12/18, 1/22, 2/29, 3/26, 4/23, 5/21, & 6/25)

The Brooklyn Society Writers - Kim Brandon, (kimdarniece@optonline.net) 2nd & 4th Sundays @ 1pm

The Women’s Circle - Janice Novet, Host (janicenovet@earthlink.net) 7pm-10pm (9/26, 12/19, 3/20 & 6/26)

Prospect Concerts - Jason Dubin & Damal Edmond, Coordinators (bsecdirector@yahoo.com) 1st Fridays SWING DANCING, 3rd Fridays COOP Program, & 4th Fridays Comedy 8pm-11pm

CENA Supper Club - Rebecca Lurie & Damal Edmond (reblurie@gmail.com or bsecdirector@yahoo.com) Sundays– 6pm-9pm (October 26, December 14th, February 15th, & March 29th)

Permaculture Festival - co-sponsored by Brooklyn Society’s Ethical Living Committee Saturday, September 20th 10am-4pm (Old Stone House—5th Ave and 3rd Street)

Ethics Lab of Brooklyn - Vincent Downing, Facilitator (vincentdowning@yahoo.com) Wednesdays– 6pm-9pm (Starts 9/17)

Ethically Speaking, September 2014, page 5

Remembering Charley Horwitz

Sunday, September 28th @ 11am

Sponsored by the Ethical Action Committee of the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture, the Charley Horwitz Platform remembers the life and work of a devoted community organizer, civil rights activist, labor lawyer and international humanitarian.

Charley worked for the Migrant Legal Action Program. He testified several times before Congress and got legislation passed to protect farm workers from oppressive working conditions and pesticide poisoning. In 1986 the family moved to New York where Charley worked for NYS Department of Labor enforcing sweatshop laws and protected farm workers’ rights.

In addition to being President of BSEC Board of Trustees(1997-2003), Chair of its Ethical Action Committee, on the National Board of Fonkoze USA (a micro-credit bank in Haiti), he served on the Executive Committee of Brooklyn Parents for Peace and its Israel-Palestine Committee. In 2005, he organized a group of civil rights leaders to visit the occupied territories in Gaza and provide “report backs” to congregations and community organizations in the NY metro area.

On Sunday, September 28th, Pulitzer-prize winning journalist and author Chris Hedges, a unique voice in the progressive movement will be speaking. For more than 20 years, 15 of them with the New York Times, years he covered conflicts in Central America, Africa, the Middle East and the Balkans. His book "War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning" explores the poison of war and what it does to individuals and societies. Other books, including "American Fascists," "Empire of Illusion, "Death of the Liberal Class" and "Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt," which he wrote with the graphic artist Joe Sacco describe the predatory nature of corporate capitalism. Hedges, who has taught at Princeton, Columbia, New York University and the University of Toronto, publishes a weekly column for Truthdig. He currently teaches prisoners at a maximum-security prison in New Jersey.

“The Global Culture of Violence: What’s the Path to Peace and Justice?”

BUILDINGS & GROUNDS

Earlier this month, the Building and Grounds Committee held it’s first-ever retreat. Our focus in this special meeting was on identifying as many possible improvements as we could think of -- brainstorming for ideas – and then ranking the ideas by Importance and Hassle (including estimated cost). We included all of the ideas that members had contributed in response to the survey we had distributed. Thank you for those!

Some of these ideas are already being implemented, and some have even been completed. Some have also been noted as work that we might do ourselves, with other members volunteering their time and effort. If you would like to see a list of these items, please contact me or Damal. If after reviewing the list you see something that you believe you can tackle, either on your own or with others, please let us know!

In addition to the work-related items in this chart, there were a number of policy and procedure suggestions which are set aside for working into a set of guidelines. There were also a number of suggestions for policies and work which need to be completed on a regular basis. These were labeled as Maintenance and collected by our Administrative Director, Damal Edmond. He and our able Facility Manager, Jason Dubin, have already started implementing those too.

This was a bit of work to do, but those of us who went through it felt that it was valuable and rewarding to have done. We’re looking forward to making it happen, and to the safer, more usable, more efficient and more attractive home for the Brooklyn Society that is our goal. ~Bill Lewis, B&G Chair~

Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture 53 Prospect Park West Brooklyn, NY 11215-2629

“Guiding Free Thinkers Since 1907”

How does one mold such complex principles as peace, justice and sustainability into a coherent story? The difficulty reflects the media’s broader struggle to convey how these themes are mutually linked. Seeing Systems: Peace, Justice and Sustainability connects the dots between three of society’s most pressing challenges and helps participants find pathways for powerful change in our everyday lives.

Wednesdays @ 7 pm — October 8th, 15th, 22nd, November 5th, 12th, 19th.

Cost: $35 for one or two persons with one book. Limited scholarships are available for lower prices; contact Jone Lewis. You can also donate to make more scholarships available.

Sign up at:

~A course by the Northwest Earth Institute in Portland, OR~

A Project of BSEC’s Ethical Living Committee