A Great Holiday Bash!

On Saturday night we gathered at Michael and Antoinette's for a holiday party. As usual the food was varied and delicious. Ruth P. donated a giant hero in honor of her grandson's wedding. We also had chili, mixed vegetables, green salad, potatoes au gratin, and latkes. For dessert we ate cheesecake, coffee cake, apple strudel, and some yummy cookies.

Selma lit the Hanukah candles, and we enjoyed the beautiful mingled decorations, dreidels and stars along with Christmas trees and wreaths. After dinner some of us played Apples to Apples, a game that generated much merriment.

Adriana surprised us by coming costumed as a gypsy. She brought her Tarot deck and did readings for those who requested one. Her readings were amazingly on target in most cases, too.

By the time we started home it was late, and we took car service. Kudos to Michael and Antoinette for hosting another wonderful get together!

Tomorrow we're meeting for a New Year's Brunch, to start 2009 off right. It's been a rocky year with some big ups and some major downs. In 2009, the BHC will be moving forward, finding a new place to meet, becoming a nonprofit organization, and getting involved in some hands on work towards building a better and more ethical world.

Holiday Cards for Veterans in Hospice

On December 19th, Bruce and I braved a snowstorm and went to the corporate headquarters of the Visiting Nurse Service of New York. We spent several hours designing and labeling holiday cards for veterans in hospice.

I hadn't made greeting cards in years so I had a great time cutting out snowflake doilies and pasting them on the handmade cards. We had scissors with scalloped edges to use in designing fancy edgings for the cards and the construction paper cutouts. There was a lot of variety, too, because we made Christmas cards, New Year's cards, Hanukah cards and Happy Holiday cards. I signed every card I made from Celeste and the Brooklyn Humanist Community.

In January there will be two training sessions for those who want to participate in visiting veterans in hospice. I'm looking forward to that, and hope to see other BHC folks there.

A Humanist View of the Holidays

This afternoon the Brooklyn Humanist Community met at the Central Library for a program on a humanist view of the upcoming holidays, specifically Chanukah, Christmas and Kwaanza.

Remi presided, beginning the program with a short explanation of the humanist view she received of the holidays during her upbringing in Ethical Culture. Her Sunday School teacher explained that the darkness of the winter solstice frightened people, and they devised rituals to herald the return of the sun. Eventually they began to believe that without the ritual, the sun would not return. Some of these ancient anxieties may be at play when people cling to traditional religious observances.

We began with Tony's talk on Kwaanza. He explained the origin of the holiday in the mid-1960's, created by a humanist who wanted to give African-Americans an alternative holiday that would celebrate important family and community values. The holiday reaches back to African roots and incorporates some familiar elements such as feasting, lighting candles, and giving homemade gifts.

After Tony's talk and some questions and comments, I gave my talk on Chanukah. I'm copying it below:

My Humanist View of Chanukah

I was raised in a Jewish home that blended some Ashkenazic and Sephardic traditions. Chanukah was one of my very favorite holidays. Although I don’t always celebrate it fully as I used to, it holds many layers of meaning for me.

There’s a nine-word summary for most Jewish holidays: “They tried to kill us. We won. Let’s eat!” Chanukah certainly fits this description. It commemorates the victory of the guerrilla style Maccabees, Jews who fought back against the Assyrian invaders, the rededication of the Temple, and the “miracle of the oil.”

Chanukah is actually a lesser holiday, of little importance, and has only gained in stature because of its frequent proximity to Christmas. As Christmas became more commercialized, Jewish children expressed their envy, and parents were influenced to make Chanukah a much more significant holiday in order to satisfy that envy. I remember as a little girl, envying the people across the street who had a Christmas tree outside their house. Some people tried to imitate Christmas, putting up a “Chanukah bush” with Jewish symbols hanging from the branches, but my family rejected this approach as having no basis in our tradition. My compensation came at Chanukah, when we lit the candles, and I received chocolate coins as “Chanukah gelt” along with a small present each of the 8 days.

According to the story, the Assyrians invaded Judea around 2,300 years ago and imposed their religion on the people there. Forbidden to practice Judaism, the Jews were ordered to worship idols. As a child, I heard the horrific legend of Hannah and her seven sons. In this tale, Hannah’s seven sons were killed before her eyes, one by one, for refusing to worship any but the one God of Israel. Even her three-year old son stood by his religion and died for it. Today, I find the story far fetched, but we were meant to be inspired by the idea that people would stand by their beliefs and even give their lives for them.

But the story of Chanukah is one of triumph, religious freedom and national identity. Surely, whether or not we believe in a God, we can take that lesson and stand up for the First Amendment’s codification of freedom of religion. We can join with other Humanists taking a strong stand against the establishment of religion.

As for the lights, clearly the increasing light as a new candle is added to the Chanukiah each night has its roots in the return of the light following the winter solstice, the darkest day of the year. But it also stands for the “miracle of the oil.” This tale comes from the rededication of the Temple. When it came time to relight the sacred Eternal Light that is never to go out, there was only one small jug of oil found. Yet, according to the story, that little bit of oil burned for 8 days, giving the liberators time to obtain more oil and keep the lamp burning.

Do I believe this actually happened? Does it even matter? What this legend says to me is that when we are dedicated enough, seemingly inadequate resources can be sufficient. It can also tell us that with creativity and open minds, we can find enough energy, food, and other necessities without destroying the earth. And, as we move forward from day to day, if we increase our dedication to our mission (BHC’s as well as our own personal life’s missions), the light we bring into the world will grow and increase.

It is this view of the “light” that inspires Peter, Paul and Mary’s Chanukah song for peace and justice, “Don’t Let the Light Go Out.”

There are three more aspects of the Chanukah celebration I’d like to mention. First, the dreidels. A dreidel is nothing more than a top, but it is inscribed with four Hebrew letters that create an acronym for “A Great Miracle Happened There.” In Israel, dreidels are slightly different, and the acronym stands for, “A Great Miracle Happened Here.”

As I learned it, dreidels are associated with Chanukah because they were a cover up for secret Torah classes. Boys would gather in caves to study the Torah, but they would keep little tops with them. At the approach of Assyrian soldiers, they would conceal the holy books and pretend to be playing a gambling game when the soldiers arrived. This deception enabled them to pass along the knowledge and keep their religion alive. I would call this a “noble lie” as Tony defined it in his talk on the ethics of lying this past September.

The humanist value I see in the dreidel game is the importance of education for all. The image of children meeting secretly in order to learn is something that has been repeated in history, perhaps most recently in Afghanistan where girls were forbidden to attend school and had to meet secretly to learn to read and write.

Then there are the latkes. Once again, they tried to kill us, we won, let’s eat! But the latkes and jelly doughnuts (sofkanyot) consumed on Chanukah have a symbolic significance because they are cooked in oil, to commemorate the “miracle of the oil.”

Last but not least, a little-known aspect of Chanukah that once was well known but fell into obscurity is the story of Judith Maccabee. Judith was a beautiful young widow who entered the Assyrian camp where the cruel General Holofernes had his tent. Taken by her beauty, he invited her to a banquet, where legend has it that she fed him on salty cheese to make him thirsty and plied him with so much wine that he fell into a drunken stupor. After he passed out, Judith took his sword and decapitated him. With the Assyrian army thrown into confusion, Judith inspired the Israelites to launch a victorious surprise attack. Her dedication and courage changed the course of her generation’s history.

Today, with a rediscovery of feminism in the past 30 years or so, Judith’s story has again come to light, and in many households cheese latkes are prepared along with the traditional potato recipe, to recognize Judith’s contribution to the Maccabee victory. So the complete story of Chanukah points us to a recognition that women, as well as men, play an important part in the struggle for freedom.

From a Humanist viewpoint, Chanukah reminds us that dedication and standing up for our beliefs takes a “whole village.” Men, women, and even the children who sneaked into the caves to study the forbidden books, all played a part in striking a blow for religious freedom and self-determination. We are reminded that with dedication, courage, and imagination, scarcity can be overcome, and we can continue to grow and spread “light.”

Tony gave us a detailed history of Christmas and the meaning behind Christmas trees. He traced the history and origin of Santa Claus as we know him today, and talked about his own experiences of Christmas as a child. Afterwards we all talked about our experiences of the holidays. Some of us envied Christmas, others didn't really have a holiday tradition at all. We spoke a lot about the issue of gifts and it was clear that there is a lot of emotional content behind giving and receiving gifts that are perceived as "just right" versus gifts that are not what the children wanted or else gifts that parents bent over backward to come up with.

We have some great programs coming up the rest of this month and in January, and I look forward to seeing everyone. Today's program was a warm and comradely one with familiar faces. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The Election Reflection

Last Saturday night we gathered at Maureen's to discuss the outcome of the election. Kurt brought us a piece written about Obama from a highly spiritual, even religious viewpoint. Yes, I look for signs, and names sometimes hold a special meaning for me. But after all, parents give their children propitious names that express their high hopes for their infants, so it's hardly surprising that the names Barack, Hussein and Obama translate into words that appear prophetic.

But my own son's name means a "Crowned Healer," and he is a lovely young man, but he is hardly an Aragorn. I commented that this piece was over the top, and while I hold great hopes for the future and for Obama's administration, he is not a messiah.

We all spoke of our feelings around the election. For the most part, everyone spoke of a guarded optimism. We recognize that the economy and the war will present huge challenges and may force Obama to delay or renege on some of his promises. Still, his election represents a shift away from the models of the past, so we are hopeful.

We have one dissenter, who did not vote for Obama and viewed his campaign as "Madison Avenue." I could see some of that in the "Obama Girl" videos, which had no intellectual or even political content at all, but clearly had some effect on younger voters. When the evening was winding down, several of us thanked her for feeling comfortable enough to express her different opinion.

Robin brought a "talking stick" she decorated when her son Sam was little, so that they could argue with each other but make sure each of them would be heard. It was beautifully wrapped in ribbons and had buttons and bells hanging from it by several threads. The talking stick helped us to remember to wait and give each person a chance to speak. Sometimes, adults though we are, our thoughts bubble up so quickly that we tend to interrupt each other. So I appreciate the talking stick, and hope Robin will always bring it.

Maureen made us a shepherd's pie, and we had cold cuts, cheese, crackers and vegetables for a delicious potluck meal. Thanks to her for being an excellent hostess, and to Kurt for leading us through yet another deeply satisfying reflection.

Joseph Ben-David & The Sticker Dude

This past Sunday we were privileged to have two guests at our monthly program, Joseph Ben-David as our speaker and musical entertainment with The Sticker Dude.

Rev. Ben-David is currently the Senior Minister of the Naturalistic Church of Humanism, and has been a lifelong activist in humanitarian and Unitarian causes. His topic was "Revolution in Humanism: Putting Humanism on the Map."

Joe, as he encouraged us to call him, said we need to act as radical reformers but function within a set of values in order to improve a situation. I view this as a constructive rather than a destructive form of radicalism.

His "nutshell" definition of humanism is an ultimate concern for the human condition in the universal context, including the self, the environment and the cosmos. As he pointed out, a person who has helped humanity is a "humanist" by his definition even if this person is a theist.

Rev. Ben-David defined three types of humanism:

1. Atheism: a radical attack on irrationality, superstition and the political power of traditional religions.

2. Agnosticism acknowledges that there is a lot we don't understand. It encompasses a belief in the scientific method.

3. Theism: how is this possible for humanists, he asked? He sees it as possible if one takes a naturalistic approach to the concept of God. Naturalism includes both the Darwinian "law of the jungle" environment but it also includes a socially positive process wherein animals protect each other and perform positive and creative behavior. (Remember the generous vampire bats I mentioned in my talk on "Rambam's Ladder," who shared their unique type of food with other bats when asked?) Humans have both sides of this naturalism within them.

In terms of the creative process, humans are capable of transcending into a higher environment where values are actualized. Humans have a spiritual capacity to affect society in positive, creative ways.

Humans operate in 3 basic modes: the mode of ideas and rational thinking is the one that has until recently been most cherished by humanists, who often dwell in the realm of thinking. But, we also operate in the mode of feelings, which humanists have often ignored. Third, we operate in the mode of politics.

Reason is basic: we must have rationality and ideas in order not to dwell in chaos. But we must also have a place for feelings and psychology, Rev. Ben-David pointed out. While rationality leads us to science, feelings lead us into the arts, which allow us to understand concepts not expressible in any other way. Third, we must also incorporate politics in the sense that we must actualize.

It is in that actualization that the Humanist Revolution must begin. Here Rev. Ben-David gave us a brief history of the Humanist movement and discussed the introduction of humanist psychology into the movement. He pointed out that we need to encompass the three-dimensional nature of human existence: ideas, feelings and politics, in order to put Humanism on the map and make it attractive to large numbers of people.

In a nutshell, Rev. Ben-David's idea is that we need a humanistic, ethical, naturalistic, unitarian universalist idea of God. We need to find and mobilize people who affirm the God concept in its realistic form in order to engage people to whom that word does mean something. He pointed out that approximately 10-15% of the US population identifies as atheist, but that we need to reach the rest as well.

Accordingly, Rev. Ben-David shared that he has written a highly researched essay, meant to be distributed to academicians, on this humanist concept of "God." At the end of his talk he took email addresses and will send copies of his essay to those who are interested.

I was impressed with the depth of his thinking and the vision of a humanism that will appeal to people who believe in a God but perhaps are not affiliated with a formal religion. Attracting more people to the Humanist movement, and in our particular case, to our small but dynamic Brooklyn Humanist Community, would be a great achievement.

The talk and some questions and answers were followed by songs and sing-alongs with The Sticker Dude. His final song was his "theme song" for the Brooklyn Humanist Community, and spoke of the long, hard time we have been through but that we won't give it up and we have the love of our friends to help us along. Joel spoke some touching words about his feeling of connection to our group, even if he isn't able to attend often. It was so good to know we occupy a place in his heart, as he does in ours.

Our thanks to Joseph Ben-David, his wife Alyson Ben-David who drove him to the meeting and filmed his talk, and to our dear friend Joel, the Sticker Dude. We hope they will all choose to visit us more often.

BHC's First Movie Night

On Saturday night BHC members and friends gathered at Antoinette and Michael's for our first movie night. We ordered in four types of pizza, snacked on chips and salsa, and chatted until we started the movie at 9.


We watched "Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World." It wasn't necessarily the best movie I have ever seen but it had some very funny moments. While the Muslims (and the Hindus) encountered in the film appeared to be either clueless about comedy or else on a completely different wavelength, the movie also made it clear that the Americans were totally clueless about how to do cultural research.

The main character arrives in India with just about no preparation. He hasn't read up on or studied either the Hindu or Muslim religion, let alone the history of the peoples in that area. He goes around on the streets asking people what makes them laugh. Most of the time they are suspicious and give him a wide berth. Guess what? If someone came up to me out of the blue and asked what makes me laugh, I might run the other way also! And I think I've got a pretty well developed sense of humor.

Since he's a comedian, he decides to experiment on the public by putting on a comedy show and having his assistant record the audience's responses. But the audience is totally unresponsive. His comedy falls flat. It's ethnocentric and some of it is actually an insult to the audience. When he does an "improvisation," the audience eagerly provides suggestions. But he changes them to suit his own idea of a funny improvisation. Not only isn't it funny to them, but it is insulting that he simply ignored their suggestions. I'm surprised they didn't throw ripe tomatoes!

The only people he's able to evoke a laugh out of are a group of hookah-smoking Pakistanis who are supposedly budding comedians. They give him a hit of hashish and he becomes just as high as they are, loosens up and manages to be funny, or at least, to amuse his audience, which seems ready to laugh at just about anything.

In the meantime, his activities, going around and questioning people about humor, are read by both governments as suspicious. When he illegally crosses the border into Pakistan, the Pakistani government beefs up security at the border. In response, the Indian government beefs up security at their border. All this futile searching for comedy nearly results in a war, and our comedian is pulled out of the country for his own safety (when in fact, he's the cause of it all).

Back in Los Angeles he is feted by his wife and his friends, and hailed by them as a returning hero even though he has accomplished nothing and in fact almost set off a war. So the Americans, in the end, are the ones who are really clueless about other cultures and even how to learn about them.

The movie had some great moments, such as the comedian's remark that, "It's okay to bomb, it's no big deal," which is overheard and reported by a Pakistani spy. I got a lot of laughs out of it, and we had a good discussion afterwards over coffee and crumb cake. We stayed out till midnight, something we almost never do anymore, just enjoying a freewheeling conversation with good friends.

Kudos to Michael and Antoinette for pulling this event together on such short notice (we didn't decide to do this until Wednesday). It looks like a movie night is something we definitely have to include in our programming plans.

BHC's First Social Action

Yesterday members of the BHC embarked on our first social action. Several months ago, our members voted to concentrate on aiding veterans this year. We invited Janeen Thompson, Volunteer Program Coordinator with the Visiting Nurse Service of New York to train us for a one-day phone action, calling veterans in hospice to thank them for their service to their country.

Seven of us attended the training and two others expressed interest in making the calls this Tuesday, Veterans' Day. Ms. Thompson also offered us the opportunity to get involved in a new program. If we sign up for it, we'd be visiting veterans in hospice and presenting them with a certificate officially thanking them for their service. We'd be accompanied by a spiritual leader and there would be a ceremony to thank the veteran.

In the meantime, this is the first step. After this, some of us have expressed interest in attending trainings to visit with the veterans in hospice, and I think we can get a number of people together who are ready to do this project.

BHC Book Club Visits "Alternate Community"

For our discussion of Lois Lowry's The Giver, Sheila put up signs on the door outlining the rules of the community, and ushered us in to serve as the "Elders" of the community. We reviewed the pros and cons of living in the alternate community of The Giver.

There were some good things to be said of it. There was no war, no hunger, no unhappiness. No one was diseased or deformed, because such a person would be "released" (euthanized) immediately. Whether this was to spare them suffering was unclear but it was clear that the equilibrium of the community was so delicate that no differences from the norm could be tolerated. Everyone made their best efforts to follow the rules, and everyone was, if not ecstatically happy, at least content with their roles in the community. There was no bad weather, no reason to suffer discomfort for more than a few minutes (minor injuries received immediate attention and painkillers were rapidly administered).

But the price of all this contentment and calm was high. There was no love, no strong emotions of any kind. The same man who appeared to "love" babies could also euthanize an infant without a qualm, and send the dead baby (whose only crime was being born the lower weight of a set of twins) down the garbage chute with a cheery "bye, bye, little guy!"

No one had sex, ever. At the first hint of pubescent desire, adolescents received pills to take for their entire lives, suppressing the "stirrings." Your mate was picked for you, your children and your job were picked for you. Your "parents," who were not your biological parents, didn't even get to choose your name. Regimentation was complete. Throughout childhood, children were given age-appropriate toys, clothing and items, just the same as everyone else. No one had more than the tiniest shred of individuality.

There was no art and no music, for people could not even see colors.

Granted that there are those who live in such abject poverty and suffering that a community like this would seem like paradise to them, but for those of us accustomed to making free choices and to having a full range of emotions, it was a dreary and frightening dystopia.

Only the Giver and Jonas, the Receiver, were able to remember what it was like in the past. Jonas is so outraged by what has been lost that he decides to rebel and to run away, leaving the community to have to bear the brunt of his memories that will be released among them when he leaves. He learns that "release" means euthanasia and that his father is one of the killers. He learns that behind all the pleasantness and cheery dispositions is a terrible, ugly truth.

He runs away before he's planned to, in order to save the life of little Gabriel, the baby his father has brought home at night. Gabriel isn't adjusting well, he cries through the night and doesn't grow well. We'd call this failure to thrive, and in fact, lack of love is the cause of many such babies languishing and dying in orphanages where they are not held, cuddled, and spoken to. Jonas takes to him and discovers that Gabriel, too, is a Receiver, for Jonas is able to quiet him at night by giving him the memories.

I pointed out that there were many biblical references in this book. The community Jonas flees to celebrates Christmas and the lights and the tree are symbolic of the love that is lacking in his community. He is like Adam in that he is "expelled" from the Eden-like community (which doesn't even have any animals other than the fish they use for food). His expulsion begins with an apple and he realizes he is different when he sees the apple "change" -- that is, he perceives its red color although he hasn't even got a name for this attribute.

Jonas and Gabriel are both messengers in the Bible. And at the end, Jonas is fleeing his community, bringing with him a baby who is slated to be killed. And, it is apparently Christmas Eve! So I said that there were strong and deliberate religious underpinnings in this book.

We voted to disband the community because the price of security meant giving up far too much freedom. However, at the end, Sheila assigned us our careers. Bruce got to be a doctor! I liked that. I forget what Jason's assignment was, but I was assigned to keep the records.

This was a fascinating discussion and brought up many related books such as 1984, Brave New World, and Anthem. Thanks again to Sheila for arranging such an insightful discussion and for giving each of us the perfect job!

BHC Board Elections

Here are the results of the Brooklyn Humanist Community's Board elections:

• President: Tony Severo
• Treasurer: Bruce Leibowitz
• Secretary: Celeste Leibowitz
• Trustee: Adriana Baker
• Trustee: Michael Wagnerman

The first Board meeting will take place on Wednesday, October 29th, 7 PM, at Tony and Melanie's apartment. All members are welcome. Bring some food to share and we'll get down to business.

Deborah Howard on The Quilt of Humanity

On Sunday, October 26th, the Brooklyn Humanist Community was privileged to have our first guest speaker, Deborah Howard. Deborah gave a presentation based on her book, The Quilt of Humanity: A Metaphor for Healing and Reparation. In her book, Deborah compares humans to woven cloth, and all of humanity to a vast quilt of interconnections. The "threads" that make up each individual's personality, experiences, background and social status are all woven into a pattern that is unique to every human being. Even if two people have all the same "threads," they will manifest in a different pattern in each person.

When racism enters the picture, at the personal, cultural and systemic levels, the threads in some people's cloths are yanked and ripped out of place, leaving gaps and diminishing their opportunities. Even those in the dominant race are damaged by the privileges they receive unasked for and undeserved. This sense of privilege, albeit unconscious, cuts many of us off from experiencing the reality felt by the oppressed races. Thus, the quilt is discolored as if by a stain from spray paint.

Deborah brought up the Jewish concept of tikkun olam, the concept of repairing the world's imperfections. This was a concept I was familiar with, the idea that the creation was incomplete and imperfect, and that we humans -- all of us -- need to work toward perfecting and completing the creation, the world we have inherited. It's everyone's job, therefore, to work at repairing the quilt of humanity from the damage caused by racism.

After reading an excerpt from her book, Deborah asked us to find a person we didn't know very well and have a brief conversation about the five "threads" about ourselves we think are most important to us and also perhaps are important to others when they view us for the first time. The conversation became lively and some of us had a little trouble settling back into the group discussion mode! We reported on our experiences and everyone seemed to have gained a new insight.

Some of us shared stories about incidents from our lives. One woman, the child of an interracial marriage, shared a dream she had where she was with a number of classmates who were about to receive their grades. She reported that the blonde, blue-eyed girl in her dream would receive an A, the others would receive B's, and she, as a biracial woman, would receive a D. The symbolism was all too obvious. Another young man reported being taken aback and speechless when a woman at his college told him she was Muslim.

Then we talked about the simple things we can do to combat racism. Even if it is uncomfortable we need to speak out. I mentioned the story of a high school friend whose parents wanted her to experience a multi-racial school, so they sent her to a mostly African-American junior high school in another district. That school was underserved and the students were not performing as well academically as they could have. Specialized schools like Bronx Science had a "Discovery" program at that time to find bright students in these schools and bring them into the high school even though their test scores were a bit lower than the cutoff. So when teachers wanted to disparage African-American kids, they would talk about "those Discovery kids." Susan would always stand up and make a point of saying that she was a "Discovery kid," which would stop the teachers in their tracks.

We talked about reparations as a way of healing and repairing the quilt. Deborah pointed out that affirmative action hasn't worked. It sets up an expectation that a person of color isn't as qualified, and this gets played out in ways that damage self-esteem and whole careers.

Programs can be devised, however, to make a start at leveling the playing field on the systemic level. On the cultural level, I mentioned that the young generation (Generation Y) is much more likely to have friends across racial lines than the Baby Boomers had at their age or even now. So I see progress in the cultural arena. And, we can continue looking into ourselves and seeing where racist thinking has been ingrained in us -- again, something we didn't ask for and didn't want -- and work at eradicating it. Doing those "simple things" when a situation comes up can help.

It was an honor to have Deborah come and speak with us. She is a person well versed in law, diversity, and facilitating positive transformative change in organizations, leaders and teams. Her program was down to earth and evoked many thoughts and feelings we may not frequently explore. For more information about Deborah Howard and her work, see her website at Guiding Change .

This was a wonderful program. We had an excellent turnout, and you could feel the positive energy crackling. Many thanks to Deborah!

BHC Flea Market a Big Success!

Today the BHC held our first fundraising event at the outdoor flea market in the PS 321 schoolyard. Antoinette and Michael took the lead, picking up merchandise from various members, and making the arrangements.

Kudos to them, and also kudos to Adriana, Ruth and Annette who helped out in the morning, and to Celeste, Jason, Antoinette, Robin and Adriana who helped in the afternoon. Bruce and Michael were manning the table all day long so extra special thanks to them. Thanks also to Robin and Bonnie and all who contributed sales items, as well as to Tony who brought merchandise to the flea market.

The morning was chilly, the afternoon was warm, and the temperature dropped off sharply in the late afternoon. Regardless of the weather, everyone persevered. We gave out flyers with the BHC mission statement and advertising next week's monthly program with Deb Howard.

Best of all, we sold enough to increase our treasury by 26%! This moves us along on the road toward incorporation.

Tonight, we're weary but proud of our efforts. Hooray for BHC!

The Polygamous Book Club

On Sunday, October 12th, the BHC met at Sheila's for a mental trip into the shoes of polygamous families. Our discussion was based on Irene Spencer's memoir, Shattered Dreams. As each of us entered, Sheila directed us to take a name tag that identified us as a "sisterwife." The "husbands" were various toys, a Superman doll, a fake skeleton (Mr. B, presumable Mr. Bones), and a Teddy bear. A tiny "child" Teddy bear was the youngest in a huge family of 76 children and had no idea who his real mother was.

We discussed whether polygamy could work for any of us provided we had enough material wealth to be able to live comfortably, with the only drawback being that we would not have our husband's full attention or his exclusive sexuality. Other questions Sheila raised was whether polygamy is moral, and who has the right to decide it should be illegal?

Antoinette pointed out that the ancient Greeks and Romans did not have polygamous marriages but practiced homosexuality, which obviously provided men with an alternate outlet for their desires. Polygamy gained a foothold in societies where there was a scarcity of men.

My feelings were that polygamy as it was described in Spencer's book was a hardship and a heartbreak for the people involved in it, who continued because of their religious brainwashing to believe it would lead to great rewards (godhood and goddesshood) in the afterlife. But in this life, they were living in abject poverty, sometimes housed in chicken coops, lacking even the most basic amenities of life as it should have been in the 1940's-1970's America. Men were unable to support their huge families forcing the family to rely on public welfare in order to lead an illegal and untenable lifestyle. Women suffered jealousy, sexual and emotional deprivation, and the constant fear that their husbands would take yet another wife to spread the resources and attention even thinner.

Children suffered immensely. Their mothers were overwhelmed with huge numbers of children to raise on practically nothing. They had no choice in the matter but lived in the same abject poverty as their mothers, receiving little attention from mothers and practically none for the fathers who had to divide their attention between as many as 50 children or more.

The overwhelming majority concluded that polygamy is immoral and that the state has the right to outlaw it for the good of the citizens and also for protection of the public coffers which suffer when people enter a living arrangement that ensures they cannot be self-supporting.

It was a fascinating and stimulating discussion. The two men, Bruce and Michael, provided much insight as well. Kudos to Sheila for another excellent book club, and for her wonderful hostessing!

The next book club will be on November 2nd at 1:30 PM and we'll be discussing The Giver by Lois Lowry.

October Reflection on Emerson

On Saturday evening, October 11th, we met at Maureen's apartment for our monthly Reflection with Dr. Kurt Johnson. Our topic was based on the writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Constance read us a brief biography of Mr. Emerson, and we read over several pages of his quotes. As we usually do, people picked a quote of particular interest to them and discussed it. Kurt is a wonderful resource of additional information to fill in and explain what lies behind the readings for our Reflections.

To give everyone a chance to speak uninterrupted, we passed a "talking stick" that was actually a candlestick sans candle. At the closing go-around, when it was passed to me, I spoke into it as if it were a microphone, and this started the group giggling. We just went into gales of laughter for a few moments as each of us pretended the candlestick was a live mike.

It's so good to seek the higher ground and explore these enriching resources together. And laughter is very healing.

Thanks to Kurt and Constance for putting the program together, and thanks to Maureen for being a great hostess. Maureen has offered to host our November Reflection (scheduled for November 15th) as well. Kudos, Maureen!

The Ethics of Lying

This afternoon we met at the Kensington Library to hear Tony's talk on "The Ethics of Lying," followed by Constance's colloquy on the theme "Truth." As always, Tony regaled us with some funny one-liners and then some humorous and thought-provoking quotes on lying. Then he launched into the main body of his talk, in which he analyzed various types of lies. He spoke about bald-faced lies, where it's obvious to both parties that one of them is lying. My question would be, then why bother?

There are lies of commission and lies of omission, verbal and nonverbal lies. One example of a nonverbal lie (or deception, as one of our newcomers preferred) would be wearing the religious symbol of a religion not one's own, thus fooling people into thinking you are a member of that creed. Impersonating an officer is not only a nonverbal lie, it's a crime.

There are some lies that are "noble" and can be considered ethical since they harm no one and work to someone's benefit. An example of this might be the deception carried on by Miep Gies and the other helpers who hid Anne Frank and her family from the Nazis. As Tony pointed out, to decide whether a lie is ethical or unethical, you have to look at the context and the intent behind the lie.

We discussed campaign lies and lies in religious doctrine, social lies that avoid hurting feelings, and so on. Remi brought up myths and told us that sometimes children ask whether a myth is a true story. While technically it isn't because it never happened in real life, the myth can be true in another way, in that it has symbolic or emotional content that is very real. I mentioned that primates have been observed in the wild "lying" by their actions, fooling each other into believing, for instance, that there is no more food left when they don't want to share.

We took a short break and then switched gears for Constance's colloquy on "Truth." Using Dr. Arthur Dobrin's book, Spelling God With Two O's, we read a passage on Truth and a parable, and then had a Quaker-style meeting where everyone was welcome to speak up and say whatever the readings moved us to say.

Once again, our warmth, camaraderie, and thoughtful consideration of the topic made this a memorable afternoon. And that's no lie!

Time Out New York

The Brooklyn Humanist Community has made the big time! "Time Out New York" interviewed Tony about his upcoming talk on "The Ethics of Lying," and published a short article based on his explanation of most acceptable to least acceptable types of lies. You can find the article here: "The Ethics of Lying" and hear Tony's talk at the Kensington Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library on Sunday, September 21st at 1 PM.

September Reflection

On Saturday night, we gathered at Ruth S.'s apartment for our September reflection with Dr. Kurt Johnson. Constance was researching a Dorothy Thompson online and unexpectedly stumbled across several Humanist Poems by a Dr. Dorothy B. Thompson, a completely different person. We based our discussion around them.

Dr. Thompson's poems, written in the 1930's or so, were in perfect sync with the type of humanism that flourished in that era: a complete denial of religion, and a surety that science and nature are all that there is. As Kurt pointed out, that era was heavily invested in either/or thinking, and today we are moving past that. Science and spirituality can co-exist, just as the physicists have put their argument over the nature of light to rest: "Is light a wave, or is it a particle? It's both, dammit!"

While I agree with Dr. Thompson about religious dogma, I don't agree with her attitude. Her poems portray an arrogant scientist looking down on those foolish people who believe in God, calling their beliefs "ant faith."

I mentioned the book I read recently about evolution, Only a Theory. While the author showed a number of examples that provide very clear evidence of evolution as the answer to the riddle of species origin and gradual change, he also calls himself a Christian and does not say there can't be a grand design, but he does say, we can't simply explain away anything we don't understand by calling it "intelligent design," because to do so is unscientific and a denial of what has already been researched and subjected to experimentation.

His conclusion is that the "intelligent designers" are not only creationists in sheeps' clothing, but that their ultimate aim is not just to discredit evolution. Their own documents show that their intent is to bring down the scientific method and replace it with Christian dogma. That's a frightening thought, and if Dr. Thompson had read this book her poems might have been even more vehemently anti-God and anti-religion.

We talked about how moving away from that either/or dichotomy can be seen playing itself out in politics as well.

The food was delicious as always, and the company was delightful. We have two more events this week, a planning meeting on Thursday evening, and Tony's talk on "The Ethics of Lying" on Sunday afternoon. Our second season is off to a great start!

August Book Club

Last Sunday we met at Sheila's and discussed Philip Roth's The Plot Against America. I usually read the book at least twice to make sure I remember the details but I found this one so unsettling that I just couldn't re-read it. We discussed whether it could happen here. I don't think it could happen that same way but as some others said, we could lose our civil liberties and in fact have lost a lot of them under the present administration.

I found it interesting that he really used his own family as the basis of the story so it was autobiographical in a way but he fictionalized the political events. Still, I had the feeling that his relatives would have reacted exactly as they did in the book had a fascist government come to power in America.

Sheila always puts together great props. This time she posted a map of the United States on her door and wrote on it, "Save America from Lindbergh and the fascists!" I wonder what her neighbors made of that, it probably completely puzzled them!

There was a delicious spread as always, great company and an excellent and lively book discussion. We've mapped out the next book club discussions all the way to December. Kudos to Sheila for running a terrific group!

First Anniversary Luncheon

Last Sunday seventeen of us held our first Anniversary luncheon at Pietro's. It was a great afternoon. The food was terrific: salad, pasta, three choices of entree, and a cake that was almost too pretty to eat. (But, we managed).

Major kudos to Antoinette for doing the legwork and arranging this party, and thanks to Tony for suggesting the restaurant.

We've come through a full year of programs, reflections and fun. Now we've got a lineup for the fall that includes guest speakers and exciting topics. We're planning for volunteer work and planning to attract more members. In the coming year, we'll be moving closer to incorporation and formalizing ourselves as a nonprofit organization.

No matter how many new members we attract, we've built a solid core that is sure to endure and grow. We're on our way!

August Reflection

For our August Reflection, Dr. Kurt Johnson led a discussion of Algernon Black's musings on religion and the common thread of ethics that underlies them all. Why, Black asked, couldn't we all just accept that everyone has his or her own set of beliefs? Why not just live with that pluralism without trying to convert each other, whether by persuasion or by force?

Certainly, I've always felt this should be possible. The difficulty I have seen is that while some people are able to live with the lack of one definitive answer to "God, the Universe, and Everything," to quote a title by Douglas Adams, others are not, and can't accept that some of us do.

We struggled with that question, and with a related issue, of people feeling that they aren't accepted because of their non-deistic beliefs.

I do wonder why that even comes up in conversation with neighbors. Sure, it's an issue in families, especially in families where some relatives join up with a fundamentalist religion and then set about trying to "save" those who do not. But why is this an issue between neighbors?

Years ago, when I was trying to arrange playdates between Jason and the boy his own age who lived (and still lives) next door to us, the mother asked me in her Lebanese accent whether I "make Shabbos." She seemed disappointed when I said no, but she didn't pursue the issue, maybe because her English just wasn't good enough. Was that the reason the boys never became friends? Not really -- the kid next door was a wild one and I got tired of him beating Jason up. But anyhow, that's the only time religion has ever come to the fore with any of my neighbors.

Kurt told us that it's estimated that about 30% of the world is openminded about religious differences but the rest are not. It also came up that over 50% of Americans still believe the earth was created only around 5,000 years ago. Now that is scary. As someone said, "And these people vote!"

While 30% wouldn't seem to be enough to foster a huge change in consciousness, I think it could be. Margaret Mead said it only takes a small group of dedicated people to bring about change. Thirty percent is a lot more than just a small group. In my lifetime, I'd like to see us achieve that level of awareness, so that the next person's beliefs can be fully respected without being adopted as our own.

Thanks to Ruth P. for hosting this evening. The next Reflection will be in mid-September.

Book Club Movie Afternoon

Last Sunday we met at Sheila's for a movie afternoon. Sheila hosted a viewing of "The Five People You Meet in Heaven," which we discussed at the last book club meeting. If anything I felt the movie was even better than the book. The photography was beautiful and Jon Voight's acting has always been excellent. They did a great job making him look like a man in his eighties, when he's probably 20 years younger than that.

For some reason I found the story more touching when I was viewing it. That's the opposite of my experience when I read most books. Generally I enjoy the book and find myself disappointed by the movie. But this time they were very true to the book and only left out a few nonessential scenes. Everything of importance was there, unchanged.

When the film was over, I wasn't the only one wiping away tears. We briefly discussed the movie and then headed out to dinner at El Greco.

Next month we'll be discussing another fantasy of a sort, a speculative fiction by Philip Roth, The Plot Against America. I've already read it but may look at it again before we meet. Kudos again to Sheila, who runs such a great book club. I feel I've learned quite a lot since we started.

Planning Meeting July 17th

Last Thursday we held a planning meeting for the BHC at our apartment. There were only six of us...three Leibowitzes and three guests. Because it was such a small meeting we added a discussion on how many members we'd need for a quorum to make major decisions that go to the structure of the organization. We proposed 7 as the minimum, but will poll the membership to see whether they agree.

We also decided to elect 3 officers, the bare minimum required for a nonprofit organization (which we hope to become eventually). Nominations were put forward and we agreed that I will send out a letter and email asking the members to vote for a President, Treasurer, and Secretary.

Finally, we decided to do two projects this coming year: working with veterans in some capacity, and working to stop sex trafficking in children. Ruth is going to investigate the Veterans' Hospital in Brooklyn and Antoinette is looking into local organizations working on the sex trafficking issue to find out how we can lend a hand.

Coming up in August we have a Reflection, our First Anniversary Lunch, and Book Club. And in September, we're back to the libraries for more of our programs, this time with some guest speakers.

July 4th Party Pictures

July 4th party food

For those who attended, here's a delicious memory. For those who didn't, here's a look at some of our delicious potluck salads. While I don't have photos of the barbecued items, I can assure everyone that it was all beautifully charred and tasty.

July 4th Party

The Brooklyn Humanist Community celebrated our nation's birthday in style and with the usual potluck food orgy. We met at Tony and Melanie's and partied for at least 4 hours, enjoying barbecue, many potluck salads, and excellent conversation.

A few photos of the party (and excellent eats) follows.

BHC Book Club: Heaven Comes to Sheepshead Bay

"They say in Heaven, love comes first

We'll make Heaven a place on Earth," -- Belinda Carlisle

On Sunday we met at Sheila's to discuss Mitch Albom's The Five People You Meet in Heaven. Sheila welcomed us to Heaven at the door to her apartment. Certainly, the food and munchies were heavenly! There were two big fruit salads, cookies and cake and candies. Someone brought sliced corned beef, and Ruth K. brought a Swiss Chard dish with pine nuts. There were knishes and crab cakes, too.

Sheila designed a fun exercise for us that actually tapped into a lot of deep emotion. She asked us to draw a picture of our idea of Heaven, and then to list the 10 people we'd like to meet there. This was based on the premise of the book, that each soul designs his or her own version of Heaven, and that you meet 5 people who explain your life's meaning to you.

I especially liked Antoinette's version of Heaven, where everyone could be his or her most desired self, at the ideal age and body proportions of the person's choosing. Jason, who came to be our newest and youngest (and so far, our only male) member, wanted his Heaven to be like the Redwall books, where we could all be the creatures of our choice and could shapeshift at will.

Annette suprised us by listing Che Guevera as one of the ten people she wanted to meet in Heaven. But in general we listed family members and close friends. There were some tears as people mentioned loved ones who died all too soon, so this became a very touching exercise. It's wonderful that we are sharing so openly.

I'm looking forward to the next meeting, when we will watch the film version of this book, go to dinner, and return to watch "The Kite Runner." Maybe we'll start to get more participants as word spreads, but already we had an excellent turnout and had to bring extra chairs into the living room. The BHC Book Club is heavenly, all right!

BHC Goes to the Cyclones

On Friday night, a group of us met at Keyspan Park to attend the Cyclones game and view the fireworks. It was one of those iffy days, with hot, muggy weather that threatened rain several times. The radio stations warned of thunderstorms come evening.

But the thunderstorms never came, and we had a great time socializing and watching the game. As group leader (because I made the reservations), I received a red Brooklyn Cyclones cap that will keep the sun off my head this summer.

Selma brought a camera and quite a few pictures were taken. When they are developed, I'll try to get them scanned so I can post them on the blog. We had an excellent turnout, with 22 people including some family and friends.

The game was one of those tense ones that turns out great. The Ironbirds were ahead for a number of innings, 3 to 0. But finally somewhere mid-game, the Cyclones scored. I was at the food stands but knew they scored when I heard the shouting.

For a couple of innings the score was tied, and we suspected the game would go into overtime. But no, at the last minute, at the end of the ninth inning, the Cyclones brought in the winning score.

The Friday night fireworks were timed to wait until the game was over. So as soon as the Cyclones made their final score, the fireworks began. It was a great ending to a fun outing.

We got our first bit of publicity, too. Our name, The Brooklyn Humanist Community, appeared on the screen in the middle of the fourth inning, along with the names of other groups attending the game. If you turned your head for a second you missed it, but we were there!

On Sunday we've got the book club, and then on Friday there's the July 4th party. Summer is starting off with a bang!

June Planning Meeting

Here are the draft minutes of our June 19th planning meeting, to be formalized in July.

Start Time 7:34Pm, June 19th, 2008

Present: Ruth Pikitch, Celeste Leibowitz, Bruce Leibowitz, Jason Leibowitz, Tony Severo, Annette Bernstein, Antionette Wagnerman, Adriana Baker, Dorothy Wood, Maureen Egginton, Remi Gay

1. Go Around

1.a. Agenda
We decided to add a discussion of last month's decision to collect $25 in seed money from our "core group" to the agenda.

2. Seed Money. Last month we decided that the Core Group would pay $25 Dollars per person as seed money for BHC. How we should do this?Some favored giving in their checks at the meeting. Another suggestion was to collect the money at the July 4th party at the Severo's. There was some discussion of how people will become members and whether the core group and/or new people need to go through a training process.

Resolution 1. Those present at the planning meeting of June 19, 2008 agreed to use the July 4th gathering to invite the community to contribute seed money in the amount of $25 dollars per person to assist in the operation of BHC.

Resolution 1 passed by Consensus.

Resolution 2. Those present at the planning meeting of June 19, 2008 agreed to open a checking account for BHC as a DBA or a regular checking account with Ruth Pikitch and Bruce Leibowitz as signatories.

Resolution 2 passed by Consensus.

3. Incorporation Task Force Update: Tony Severo gave the report on the work of the incorporation task force. He displayed a listing of tax exempt entities as recognized under the IRS in its Section 501. Of these, the typical 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization is probably the best known. This list can be found at Types of Tax-Exempt Organizations

Would the mission statement as written by the Mission Statement Task Force fit with the NY state law on incorporating as a religion under Article 10 (as outlined for us last August by Kurt Johnson)? A suggestion was made to add the word "spiritual" in either of two places as our quest truly is a spiritual one.The group of meeting attendees has asked Tony Severo to ask Peter Murphy about Religious incorporation based on the current mission statement.

Resolution 3. Those present at the planning meeting of June 19, 2008 agreed to approve the following misson statement:

The Brooklyn Humanist Community meets to support the (spiritual) quest for a meaningful life through reflection, education, social action and the arts.

We aspire to make the world a kinder place and a society that respects the individual and that cultivates the best in everyone.

Some of us consider the search for a philosophy of life as great a commitment as those in traditional religions. Others of us consider the search itself enough.

Whatever your orientation, you are welcome to join us.

Passed by Consensus.

4. Outreach (brainstorming)
Newsletter: Remi has offered to produce a newsletter.
Invite a friend
Flyers: Maureen has offered to create a brand for us and a template to use when creating flyers for our upcoming events. We should provide publicity for guest speakers
Post flyers in libraries
Join Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce and have access to their website and after-hours events
Ads and billboards
Celeste invites everyone to write comments and original reports to the BHC blog at Brooklyn Humanist Community .

5. Community or Charitable projects (brainstorming).
Contact everyone with what you do.
Donate things to a charity in the name of BHC.
Get sponsorship for our activities.
Antoinette mentions a company that does these sponsorships. (Mariano's?)
Annette suggests we sell things and send the proceeds to the women's shelter at the Armory, also that some volunteers work with sorting the clothing there.
We could be spiritual counselors for those who indicate no religion at intake to nursing homes. (Suggested by Antoinette).
Rent a table at a street fair, sell items and donate the money to a charity.
Jason suggests that some people join him in volunteering at Seaside Therapeutic Riding.
Without taking it to a formal resolution, we agreed to come up with one or two projects per year that we would commit to work on as a group, possibly one local project and one global one. Celeste as communications point person was asked to send out an email asking who will do what, in order to get this organized and off the ground.
We might ask everyone to work on these projects no less than 10-20 hours a year.
Adriana suggests microloans similar to the work of the "Trickle Up" foundation, and agrees to bring in a proposal on how to go about doing this.
Suggestion: donate coats or other items in the BHC's name in order to generate publicity.
Bruce suggests hands on work, possibly with the homeless.
Another suggestion was made to help brain-injured soldiers from the Iraq war.

6. Next Planning Meeting will take place on July 17, 2008, at Ruth P.'s apartment, 6:30 PM. We will discuss more about the Incorporation issue and devote most of the meeting to Social Action. Jason L. will preside.

7. Closing go around

Meeting adjourned at 9:56 PM.
Minutes by Jason L., revised by Celeste L.

June Reflection

Last night 10 of us met at Antoinette and Michael's home for another Reflection evening with Dr. Kurt Johnson. As usual the food was excellent. There was a huge salad with tiny mozzarellas, roasted red peppers, and tomatoes. We had barbecued chicken, couscous with vegetables, antipasta, and pepperoni and blue cheese. So everyone ate very well before Constance rang her chimes and summoned us into the living room for the Reflection.

This time we discussed the Ten Keys to Happiness, by Deepak Chopra. We brought up and discussed the points that struck a chord with us. Several of us brought up the difficulty of avoiding anger at a person or circumstance, as well as how hard it is not to pass judgment.

Kurt explained the "keys" in greater detail. He pointed out that some of them have been made into cliches that really aren't accurate. For instance he said, there's an idea floating around out there that whatever makes you angry in another person is also a fault or failing of your own. He said, that's not what is really meant. It is more that when we react angrily to something, it is because we are carrying files in our mind from past hurtful experiences, and we are acting out of fear that this current situation is the same and will result in the same hurt. So yes, when we get angry at someone we are struggling with ourselves, but it does not mean that we have the same characteristic that is upsetting us. It is the internal files we are struggling with.

As far as judgment, Kurt said, it's different from discernment. There's nothing wrong with being able to discern that something is attractive, something else is unattractive, etc. There is also nothing wrong with perceiving something in society that is causing a problem and needs to be changed. I was glad to hear his explanation because in the past I have thought that the "nonjudgment" ideal meant we shouldn't strive to change anything. Kurt said that someone (forget the name) has said, "Everything is perfect as it is, but it can always be made better."

Another Key to Happiness people were struck by was the one about being the sole judge of our own worth, and that we can relinquish the need for external approval. We discussed this in relation to understanding the source of a critical remark: is it meant constructively, or does it grow out of envy? We also talked about society pushing children into highly competitive situations at a very young age (five year olds in soccer games, with the parents sitting there pushing their kids to victory), and about the difficulties faced by celebrities, who depend on external approval for their daily bread and butter.

I appreciate everyone's comments and insights, and I am very grateful that Kurt continues to lead these Reflections. Kurt is a theologian and environmentalist who moves in circles that most of us only hear about. He's discussed spiritual issues with some of the best-known spiritual leaders, and he brings back the insights he has gained to our Brooklyn Humanist Community. Much gratitude to Kurt!

BHC Book Club: A Thousand Splendid Suns

On Saturday, May 31st, we gathered at Sheila's home for a discussion of A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. We had a lively conversation before we got into talking about the book, as we devoured the wonderful spread Sheila provided, plus the extras people brought.

We talked about the relationship between the two main characters, Lila and Mariam. While it was touching that they at first could not stand each other but later came to love each other to the point where Mariam killed their husband Rasheed as he was beating Lila, I found the book mostly brought out my anger at the ongoing oppression of women in fundamentalist cultures, particularly fundamentalist Islam.

We did note that quite a few of the rules and regulations set down by the Taliban weren't all that different from the strictures observed by Hasidic women! I'm not all that suprised by this because fanatical religion is fanatical religion, and it seems most fanatical religion thrives on oppressing women. The big difference is that under the Taliban women could be arrested, beaten, or killed, and no one would have cared. Those rules were law in Afghanistan and that is not the case here in terms of the Hasidim. Nor is it likely to be since they appear only concerned with whether those in their own sects follow their rules.

At the end we veered off into a discussion of politics and some of us said we felt the media has been against Hillary Clinton because there is still a large contingent of Americans who do not want a woman to become President.

Before we left, we made plans all the way through to the end of September. The next book we will read will be The Five People You Meet in Heaven. I'm looking forward to that.

Sheila runs an excellent discussion and is always well-prepared to lead us with thought provoking questions. Because of her, the BHC Book Club is a major success.

Planning Meeting May 22nd

We had an excellent turnout for the planning meeting on May 22nd at Ruth's apartment. The potluck dinner beforehand was delicious. There were cold cuts, cheese, and all kinds of other items. Roger brought a delicious freshly baked bread with bits of black cabbage baked into it. Constance made couscous with vegetables. The BHC certainly knows how to cook -- and eat!

Tony presided over the meeting. We started late but managed to finish up in about an hour and a half. There were three major decisions: (1) to collect seed money towards our start up needs, (2) to invite an out-of-town speaker to one of our meetings, and pay his travel expenses, provided we could get a particular room that would be worthy of his ability to draw a crowd, and would give us the opportunity to do outreach, and (3) we formed a task force of Tony, Remi and me, for the purpose of researching types of incorporation and how we can go about it.

Our next planning meeting is set for June 19th and it looks like I'm going to preside. Kudos to Tony for running the meeting so well, and for making sure we set a date for the next meeting before we left.

BHC May Program: Poetry Reading

On May 18th, we met at the Kensington Library and held a poetry reading. While I don't remember the names and authors of all the poems, I do recall that Annette read two socialist poems. Sheila read two very personal poems she wrote about her changing feelings regarding a relationship, and Antoinette read a poem she had published, about a country place that meant a lot to her.

I read two of my old poems, because I haven't written a new one in several years. Maybe next year I will have something new to read. Even though not everyone who signed up to read was able to make it, we had eight readers and a very enjoyable time.

BHC First Annual Seder

On Friday, April 25th, we returned to a tradition many of us used to enjoy, with some modifications. We held the first annual Brooklyn Humanist Community Seder. Using the Seder written in part by Eric Freudenthal and then elaborated on by Lois Kellerman, I borrowed most of it but trimmed it down considerably, and added a few modern touches to our new Humanist Hagaddah.

I added the poem by Hannah Senesh to read before we lit the candles:

Blessed is the match, consumed in kindling flame.
Blessed is the flame that burns in the heart's secret places.
Blessed is the heart that knows, for honor's sake, to stop its beating.
Blessed is the match, consumed in kindling flame.

Other bits I added included the story of Moses putting the coal in his mouth and becoming a slow, stammering speaker. I wanted to illustrate the point that not all speakers for justice and freedom are eloquent, yet they deserve to have their voices heard. We added the Cup of Miriam along with Elijah's Cup. Miriam's cup is full of water, filled up by a woman. The story is that because of Miriam's courage, a well filled with water followed the Hebrews as they trekked through the desert. It's purpose is to honor women's role in the struggles for freedom.

Finally, we added an orange to the Seder plate to symbolize the idea that new rituals can be added to the old, and that there are people still in need of liberation today.

There was such a good turnout that Antoinette and Michael had to split the Seder into two rooms. As usual the food was excellent. We had the traditional items, matzohball soup, matzohs, horseradish, and charoses (Jean brought one made of apple butter and crushed nuts). Roger brought a delicious dish of spicy curried sweet potatoes! Seders are definitely an occasion for a food orgy and this one was surely that.

Annette brought a tape of Passover songs and we listened and sang along to Dayenu and some other more modern tunes. All in all it was a festive occasion and a great success. To an extent it was nostalgic but it was also a great triumph to bring back a joyous ritual we remembered from years gone by.

BHC April Program: Truth of Myth

Monday, April 14, 2008

BHC April Program

"The first days are the hardest days, don't you worry any more
Cause when life looks like easy street, there is danger at your door."
-- The Grateful Dead, "Uncle John's Band"

It's not always simple getting a new organization off the ground, but we've been managing to come up with monthly programs on a variety of issues, and to have plenty of fun too.

Sunday we met at the Kensington Library, where Remi gave a talk on The Truth of Myth. She brought out the psychological needs that are built into our brains and into all societies, a need for a myth or story, as Kurt would put it.

Remi spoke of the disconnect many people have between the mammalian brain, the cerebellum, that rules emotions, and the cerebrum, that gives us the ability to think and be logical. The need for myth arises from the emotional part of the brain, which requires teaching and needs to be helped to grow just as much as the logical part. She mentioned the story of a young boy who had a nervous breakdown, and when his psychiatrist explored the reasons, he realized that the boy grew up in a family of very intelligent, logical thinkers who wanted nothing but scientific facts in their lives. Consequently they never read their son any children's stories, fairy tales, or myths. That side of his development had not kept pace with his high IQ, so he became dysfunctional.

Once this was discovered, the boy began to recover as his therapist read stories to him, and finally he ordered his family to read children's stories to him every night as other families did.

Remi also brought out that the Greek myths were about gods who were not infallible, in fact they were very fallible. Even though they were more powerful than humans they had some very human failings, which helped people to feel that they were not so unreachable. She also pointed out that until a certain age (the onset of adolescence, maybe) children need heroes to help them feel safe and secure. Take away Samson, she said, and he will be replaced by Superman, because children need that super powerful figure to believe in. Later on many people replace the mythical heroes with an abstract figure such as God.

We went around the room and talked about our thoughts on myths and any myths that have been important to us. One person brought up Prometheus, who brought fire to humanity and was punished by being chained to a rock and having an eagle eat his liver every day. I mentioned two children's stories that influenced me a great deal, both Dr. Seuss books: Horton Hears a Who, and Horton Hatches the Egg. Horton Hatches the Egg fits into the BHC ideal of keeping commitments, because Horton the elephant stays on that nest and keeps that baby bird warm no matter what befalls him. Horton Hears a Who demonstrates not only the importance of standing up for the "invisible" and overlooked people in society, no matter how tiny a minority they may be, but also the importance of everyone standing together and speaking out against injustice.

Both these books were an influence on me as a child and I think led me into the ethical path that led me into helping to form the Brooklyn Humanist Community.

After a short break, The Sticker Dude recited the "Storyteller" poem, and then sang folk and protest songs, all selected so we could sing along. He took us from Paradise (Kentucky) to the Promised Land. Along the way we sang along to "Uncle John's Band," "This Little Light of Mine," and many others. It was a rollicking, fun way to finish up the program. We're the Brooklyn Humanist Community, and by golly, BHC Rocks!

BHC Book Club: My Sister's Keeper

Monday, April 14, 2008

BHC Book Club: My Sister's Keeper

On Friday night the BHC Book Discussion Group met at Sheila's apartment to discuss My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. Sheila provided a delicious dinner: a giant bagel sandwich, cole slaw, potato and macaroni salad, fruit salad, cookies and chocolates.

After we ate the "jury" convened to deliberate on whether the various characters in the Fitzgerald family acted ethically. For the most part, we favored Anna, the main character, who was created as a "designer baby" to be a perfect genetic match and therefore a stem cell donor for her older sister Kate, who had a rare and very dangerous form of leukemia. Most of us criticized the mother, Sara, for her obvious favoritism toward Kate to the exclusion of her two other children, Anna and Jesse. Anna was raised with the expectation that she would always be there to donate blood, bone marrow and even body parts to save her sister. Jesse, the oldest and the only male, has become so embittered by being pushed aside and treated as insignificant that he has resorted to drugs, stealing cars, and arson. The father, Brian, could be viewed as kinder to his youngest child than Sara, or else as passive, letting Sara make all the decisions and not putting in his two cents.

Some people felt that Sara was right to try and save Kate at all costs, even if it meant endangering Anna. Others felt Anna was right to bring a lawsuit for medical emancipation from her parents so that they could not coerce her into giving up a kidney for her sister. The discussion was lively and impassioned, and all sorts of moral criteria came to the fore.

It's a tough book to read, especially with the shocking and tragic ending. But the writing drew me in and I ended up reading it three times.This was an excellent evening, with lots of input from everyone. Our next book will be A Thousand Splendid Suns.

A BHC Reflection on Freedom

Sunday, April 06, 2008

A BHC Reflection on Freedom

Last night we gathered at Rozanne and Michael's home in Park Slope for a Reflection. This was one of the best turnouts we've had so far. We had about 23 people. Rozanne made a "few simple things," and since she's an accomplished chef, they were absolutely wonderful. After we feasted Kurt led the reflection, based on this poem:

True Freedom

To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.
To weep is to risk being called sentimental.
To reach out to another is to risk involvement.
To expose feelings is to risk showing your true self.
To place your ideas and your dreams before a crowd
is to risk being called naive.
To love is to risk not being loved in return.
To live is to risk dying.
To hope is to risk despair, and to try is to risk failure.

But risks must be taken, because the greatest risk in life
is to risk nothing.
The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing, and becomes nothing.
He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn and feel and change and grow and love and live.
Chained by things that are certain, he is a slave.
He has forefeited his freedom.
Only the person who risks is truly free

.....Author Unknown

The discussion was excellent. At the end, we spoke about those we admire..risk takers or not. I said I admired Beth, who heard from her doctor that she shouldn't buy birthday candles..and every year that she survived, she sent the twit a box of birthday candles.

I liked Jason's story. He said that he admired an autistic boy he met at the stable, who hasn't spoken before but has started speaking there. He made everyone chuckle when he mentioned that the boy has recently started speaking to "a female."

It was great to see so many of us together again. Some of our events have been well attended, others not so much. This one drew a real crowd. Rozanne's home is a beautiful setting, a large brownstone with antique furnishings. There's a beautiful kimono hanging on the wall behind the piano. You would think it came straight from Japan but it was purchased in Kansas City. They have figurines that look like they came from Mexico or South America, and in the kitchen Rozanne has a collection of serving dishes mounted on the wall, each one different from the others.

The house is lovely, their adopted daughter is a lovely young lady, but it is their graciousness that makes it such an uplifting experience to be in their home. It was a great night, and everyone who attended contributed some unique thoughts. Ruth said something that stays in my mind: when asked about admiring someone who took a risk, she pointed out that as a group we took the risk of forming our own organization, and it is working!

Next we have to organize the Seder on the 25th. I'm going to start making calls tomorrow and get the ball rolling. That should be lots of fun! And it will revive a tradition that went by the wayside for so many years. We're going to revive them all! This was a successful and heartwarming event. There will be many more.