Brooklyn Humanist Community, Inc.

That is our new, official name! We are now incorporated as a nonprofit organization in the state of New York, thanks to hours of hard work on the part of the Board. Kudos to Tony, Bruce, Celeste, Adriana and Michael for getting this done, and many thanks to Malene Duncan of Wilmer Hale for her pro bono legal assistance.

Our next step will be to draw up bylaws and a conflict of interest policy. Ms. Duncan has provided templates and is working closely with Celeste on the questions and suggestions of the Bylaws Task Force, Tony, Celeste, Ruth S., Antoinette and Remi. Then we'll be able to fill out the IRS forms and get our 501(c)(3) federal tax exempt status.

Thanks to the Board and the Bylaws Task Force for all their hard and ongoing work!

Cool Beans

We've been collecting nonperishables for several months now, as suggested by Sheila. Last week, Tony and Melanie delivered the items collected over to CHIPS, a food pantry in Park Slope, where our contribution was gratefully accepted. People are going hungry in the summer as well as during the winter holiday season when everyone thinks about giving to the soup kitchens. In fact, people are going hungry at a much higher rate now. Last year food insecurity hit 56% of NYC families with children, a large jump from the previous year, as reported by the New York City Food Bank.

So keep those nonperishables coming! We're doing a great job!

May Reflection

This past Saturday night, Maureen hosted a Reflection by Dr. Kurt Johnson on "The Wisdom of Joseph Campbell." We enjoyed a delicious potluck meal with turkey meatballs and couscous, bean and pasta dishes, a remarkable tuna and pasta salad, and of course lots of desserts.

I had always heard the saying, "Follow your bliss," but hadn't connected it to Joseph Campbell. As we went through his writings, many touched us as relevant today, others seemed mired in the sixties anti-establishment consciousness. Several people objected to his statement that the person who takes a job for the money has made himself a slave. Particularly in this teetering economy, that just did not ring true!

I enjoyed Campbell's longer quote about following one's bliss, where he says that doors will open where before we saw only walls, and that people will appear in our lives to help us achieve that bliss. I do believe in that kind of synchronicity.

Sheila contributed a cake in honor of Jason's completing his first year of college, and even supplied us with party hats to celebrate! This was a touching and proud moment for Jason, Bruce and me.

Thanks to Kurt, Constance, Maureen and Sheila!

Yard Sale

On Saturday, April 25th, BHC members gathered at Tony and Melanie's for a yard sale fundraising event. We had lots of stuff, enough to put on several more yard sales throughout the summer.

The weather was beautiful: sunny and in the low 80's. It was comfortable enough to sit outside in tee shirts while we sold our items.

In all, we raised a net $123.58. Many thanks to Tony and Melanie for letting us use their front yard and for supplying coffee and doughnuts. Also thanks to Jason and Lucas, who handed out flyers advertising the sale, and salespeople Annette, Claudia, Ruth P., Ruth K., Dorothy, Bruce and Celeste. It was a fun day and we moved a lot of items. Thanks to everyone who participated and also to those who contributed items to the sale.

April Reflection: Six Word Biography

Last night Dr. Kurt Johnson led us in a different type of Reflection. Instead of reflecting on someone's writings or philosophy, we brought our own "six word memoirs" and then explained why we chose those particular six words. Many of these memoirs were quite emotional and evoked strong feelings in the listeners. Afterwards I think we knew quite a bit more about each other than when we entered the room.

As part of the closing exercises, we discussed whether it was difficult or easy to find just six words to sum up our lives so far, and what extra words we would add, if any. Then we used three to six words to describe our futures. Mine were: health, continued love, success, and laughter. Roger said, "You want everything!" and I grinned and said, "Why not?"

We also watched the TV episode where Susan Boyle wowed the crowd with her song. Afterwards we discussed society's tendency to pigeonhole people according to their appearance, and the assumption that an "unattractive" woman couldn't possibly be a fantastic singer. This site has had over 7 million viewings now, and shows that people may be tired of this kind of superficial judgment. Maybe we're ready for looking beyond the surface.

Kudos to Maureen for hosting, to Kurt as always for leading the Reflection, and to Constance for assisting and contributing the "Six Word" idea.

Second Annual Seder

On Friday, April 10th, the Brooklyn Humanist Community gathered at Michael and Antoinette's home for our second annual Humanist Seder. As always there was plenty of delicious food: pot roast, chicken, vegetables, salad, homemade gefilte fish, just to name a few of the items. We also had a huge variety of desserts.

With twenty-three of us in attendance, the house was just about bursting at the seams. Celeste and Bruce "led" the Seder but everyone had a chance to read several paragraphs. We used the same text as last year but added a couple of songs supplied by Julie. This year, when we mentioned our "heroes," I heard the names of many departed family members. So it was a Seder of love and remembrance, also.

Along with the dessert of cakes and macaroons, Michael and Antoinette supplied an American flag sheet cake in honor of their son Jonathan, who departs for the Navy on April 20th. We sang "Anchors Away," and "God Bless America."

Kudos to Michael and Antoinette who always do an excellent job of hosting a party, and kudos to Jason who was an enormous help, serving food and drink to everyone.

BHC March Program: Sex Trafficking

On Sunday, March 29th, members of the Brooklyn Humanist Community assembled at Michael and Antoinette's household to hear Rachelle Suissa, Vice President of Brooklyn/Queens NOW, speak on "Sex Trafficking of Women and Children." Ms. Suissa filled us in on the enormity of the problem and the legislation that has been passed on various levels to combat this crime. Many of the young women who are brought into the U.S. on false promises and then forced into prostitution are minors according to our laws, so sex trafficking in women is very often sex trafficking in children as well.

Ms. Suissa explained that it is very hard to catch the sex traffickers, who are well organized and able to vanish at short notice. Instead, it is often the victims of sex trafficking who end up being arrested for prostitution. Many are in the U.S. without proper documentation, and face possible deportation. Often these young women and girls do not speak English, and have not been paid, so that they lack even the resources to go home.

Despite the legislation that has been passed, in New York only $450,000 has been allocated to deal with this problem. Ms. Suissa pointed out the New York City spends more than that just cleaning up after a heavy snowfall. Between insufficient funding and unfortunately, some police corruption, it is very difficult to eradicate sex trafficking, but we can continue to press for better legislation and more funding to deal with this problem.

We discussed the possibility of a joint program on the topic with Brooklyn/Queens NOW, possibly a film screening on the subject in order to raise public awareness.

Our thanks to Antoinette and Michael for hosting this event, to Constance for inviting the speaker and providing her with transportation, and most especially to Rachelle Suissa for her excellent presentation of a thorny and heartbreaking issue.