Newsletter
of the Ethical Humanist Society of Greater Chicago
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Activities and Events | Recent Sunday
Programs | Notices and Announcements
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Welcome
to Our Season-Opening Sunday Morning Programs
•
ERIC
ZORN, popular Chicago Tribune columnist, returns
to open our new season on Sunday, September 9th.
Zorn will speak on “Atheism Comes out of the Closet
and onto the Best-Sellers List.” He will discuss
recent books by religious skeptics and critics such as Sam Harris,
author of The End of Faith, and Christopher Hitchens,
author of God Is Not Great.
•
DAVID
KRAFT, director of the Nuclear Energy Information Service,
returns on Sunday, September 16th, to speak
on “Nuclear Power: No Help in a Global Warming
World.” Kraft will point to the risks of nuclear
power and how little it contributes to the reversal of global
warming. He will explore what energy/lifestyle choices and other
technologies are needed instead.
•
GLORIA
GROOM, curator at the Art Institute of Chicago, returns
on Sunday, September 23rd, to speak on “Spirituality,
Mission, and Modernism in the Art of Van Gogh and Gauguin.”
Groom will discuss how these unconventional late 19th century
post-impressionists believed it was the mission of art to be
both solace and consolation for a world that had failed to provide
the spirituality organized religion had killed.
•
RAY
PARRISH, counselor for the national Vietnam Veterans
Against the War, speaks on Sunday, September 30th.
His topic is “Home From War: Helping Vets With
Post-Combat Stress.” Parrish will describe the
insufficiency of resources provided by the VA for treating the
many veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He
will point to the irony that many of those who need the treatment
most are denied access, often because of receiving less-than
honorable discharges due to behavior induced by the stress.
NEW!
A special Musical Welcome will open
our Sunday morning meetings, beginning this month. To add to
our programs the joy and fun of singing together, we’ll
be joined by the Sunday School children and parents for a few
minutes of familiar songs that express our values and zest for
life. The meetings will close with an expanded Personal Sharing
period.
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Coming
Activities and Events
•
A
SPECIAL POTLUCK BANQUET, on Saturday,
October 6th, initiates the Society’s month-long
125th anniversary commemoration. President Scott Walton
will be master of ceremonies, and past presidents Dorothy
Lockhart and Tom Hoeppner will be the featured
speakers. Invitations to the banquet are being mailed. The cost
is $10 per adult—with a side dish for 10 by two adults
and a side dish for 6 by one adult (children under 18 are free).
The main dishes and beverages are being supplied by the Society.
Because space is limited, reservations are required, with Society
members given preference. For information, contact Sue Walton
sns@swwalton.com.
•
Our
SECOND SATURDAY COFFEE HOUSE, hosted by Vicki
Elberfeld, resumes on September 8th, at
8 p.m. Returning as the featured performer is twice Grammy-nominated
folk song writer Kristin Lems, with performances from
her new album Equality Road. Open-mike sign-up (all genres,
all acoustic) begins at 7:30 p.m. There is a $5 minimum
charge at the door, and moderately priced refreshments are available.
•
Our
SUNDAY MORNING COLLOQUIES are back, beginning
on September 9th, from 9:20 a.m. to 10
a.m., in the library. Led by Ken Novak, we meet
in a small, nonjudgmental group to examine how we live our lives.
This month’s themes are Habits
on Sept. 9, Change
on Sept. 16, Dreams
on Sept. 23, and Hardship
on Sept. 30.
•
Our
next FICTION CIRCLE, led by Ken Novak,
is on Sunday, September 9th, at 12:20 p.m.
We’ll discuss The Road, Cormac McCarthy’s
compassionate, post-apocalyptic novel about a father’s
and son’s courageous struggle to survive in a world reduced
to ashes and ruins.
•
Our
FREEWRITERS, a serious group of open-minded individuals
who consider writing to be more than a hobby, meets on the second
Thursday of the month, September 13th.
For the meeting time, and for information on submitting and
reading work online, contact Vicki Elberfeld at vickielberfeld@gmail.com.
•
Our
ETHNIC DINNER OUT this month is on Saturday,
September 15th, at Bombay Kabab, 1901 Howard St., Evanston,
at Howard and Dodge (California). Enjoy vegetarian and meat
dishes, with a full menu of lamb, chicken, seafood, and many
Indian favorites. Parking is free in their lot and at the bank
across the street. We order at 5:30 p.m. To say you’re
coming, please contact Richard Curren at richard_curren@yahoo.com.
•
Our
FILM DISCUSSION GROUP, led by Alan Kimmel,
meets on Monday, September 17th, at 7:15
p.m. We’ll discuss two current films. Moliere
is a fictional portrait of the French comedic playwright. It
was directed by Laurent Tirard and stars Romain Duris, Fabrice
Luchini, and Laura Morante. Becoming Jane is a romantic
speculation about author Jane Austen. It was directed by Julian
Jarrold and stars Anne Hathaway, James McAvoy, and Maggie Smith.
•
Our DOCUMENTARY FILM NIGHT resumes on Friday,
September 21st, at 7:30 p.m. We’ll see
Black Gold, the story of one man’s epic quest
to save thousands of Ethiopian coffee farmers from bankruptcy
while challenging the enormous power of the multinational coffee
traders. A children’s film will be shown concurrently
and childcare will be provided. Refreshments and discussion
follow.
•
Our
CREATIVE WRITERS GROUP, led by Milt Zerkin,
meets as usual on the fourth Sunday, September 23rd,
at 12:15 p.m. Come and share your short original works
with us. Newcomers are welcome.
•
Our
next ETHICAL HUMANITIES meeting is on Sunday,
October 7th, at 12:15 p.m. We’ll discuss
Friederich Nietzsche’s controversial tract On the Genealogy
of Morals. Get a printed copy at your library or contact Ken
Novak. An online translation by Ian Johnston is available at
http://tinyurl.com/ye3yar
or from Kennovak@gmail.com.
•
Our
READERS THEATRE GROUP, which ordinarily meets
on the first Monday of the month, is skipping September because
of Labor Day. We’ll resume in October. For information,
contact Susan Burck at burck@earthlink.net.
Recent
Sunday Programs
•
MIKE
RUSH, Society member and Beatles fan, presented a musical
program on July 22nd on “John
Lennon: Artist, Pacifist, Humanist.” Matt
Cole chaired the meeting.
“John
Lennon is my favorite,” Mike said. ”He helped me
discover humanism.” Stressing their importance in the
music, Mike passed out the lyrics to several of Lennon’s
songs from the albums Plastic Ono Band and Imagine: “Mother,”
“I Found Out,” “God,” “Imagine,”
“Give Me Some Truth,” “How Do You Sleep?”
and “Jealous Guy.”
Playing
CDs of each in turn, Mike commented on Lennon’s life and
music. He pointed to the great range of themes in the songs,
from deeply “personal and painful” to highly skeptical
and “politically charged.” Mike also played the
bitter-sad, anti-war song “Working Class Hero” and
concluded with the upbeat love song “Oh Yoko!”
•
JOHN
UNGASHICK, Society member, spoke July 29th
on “The Shroud of Turin: Divine Relic or Pious
Fraud?” John was introduced by his daughter,
Stephanie Ungashick. The meeting was chaired by Joe
Burck.
Having
rejected “magical thinking” in college, John said
he became interested in the debate over the authenticity of
the “Shroud of Turin,” venerated by millions as
the burial cloth of Jesus. Using slides of the shroud, first
exhibited in the 1300s, John described its long history as a
publicly revered religious object. He detailed the various arguments
as to whether the shroud is genuine, noting that carbon dating
in 1988 proved it was only 700 years old.
The
debate goes on, John said, with some contending that the carbon
dating was flawed. He scoffingly noted that even if the shroud’s
exact date is unprovable, that “doesn’t make it
supernatural.” Nevertheless, he cautioned against being
scornful of believers. In describing the shroud and whe- ther
the image on it was formed by the body of Jesus, John also went
on to discuss the various methods of crucifixion.
•
An
ETHICAL HUMANITIES non-fiction book discussion,
led by Ken Novak, Fred Malkinson, and Yolanda Adler,
was our program for August 5th. We discussed
Where Human Rights Begin—Health, Sexuality,
and Women in the New Millennium, a collection
of essays on reproductive health policy published by the Open
Society Institute and edited by Wendy Chavkin and Ellen Chesler.
Ken
opened the discussion, on three of the book’s eight essays,
with an account of Eleanor Roosevelt’s efforts to extend
the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights to the unique rights
of women. Fred summarized the essay on population control in
China, emphasizing the impact of contraception, sterilization,
abortion, and other educational efforts to limit family size.
Yolanda
summarized the essay on women’s health issues in India.
She pointed to the impact of arranged marriages, HIV on “sex
workers,” and lack of contraceptive information for rural
and unmarried women. She emphasized “the need for empowering
women.” Ken concluded with the essay on the politics of
abortion in Mexico. He spoke of efforts “to change male
behavior” and to create “a gender-equal perspective.”<MATT
COLE, Society member and longtime deer hunter, spoke August
12th on “A Personal Look at Hunting.” The meeting
was chaired by Marilee Cole.
Matt
recounted how he became a hunter many years ago after buying
an abandoned farm and woodland in Wisconsin. “I’m
asking you to understand the hunter,” Matt explained,
describing the elation of his first hunting experience. “I
must have been biologically programmed,” he said.
Matt
discussed the nature of the deer population and how it has been
affected by continuing loss of habitat, a dwindling food supply,
and harsh winters. Nevertheless, he said, the deer herd is increasing,
raising questions of their spreading disease to cattle. He noted
that far fewer deer are killed by hunters than by natural causes
and even by cars. “It’s hard to shoot a living thing,”
Matt conceded. But he questioned the ethic of those of us who
eat meat, yet decry hunting. “Someone does the killing,”
he pointed out.
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Our
People
•
Dara
Cole, youngest daughter of Matt and
Marilee Cole, gave birth to a healthy, beautiful first
child on August 18th in Brooklyn, New York. The baby’s
name is Xena Simone Cole Nelson and her father is Horace Nelson.
Our congrat- ulations, Matt and Marilee, on your fifth grandchild!
•
Lauren
Popko and Tjaard Van Holten were married
by Ken Novak on August 5th. Alison Fisher and
Joe Mulvey were married by Jo-Ann Hoeppner
on August 12th. We wish both couples a long and happy life together!
•
Wilma
Quigley, widow of our Leader Emeritus Harold
Quigley, has moved to her son Glen’s house in
Ohio. She would welcome hearing from those who knew her as an
active member of the Society many years ago. Wilma’s address
is Box 168, Newbury, OH 44065.
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Sunday
School Scoop
The
Golden Rule Sunday School will be back in session on Sunday,
September 9th! We’ve been busy preparing rooms and curriculum
and reaching out to some new families. We’re very pleased
to welcome a new teacher, Mimi Sarwark, who will be working
with our 4th and 5th grade class. Katie Merrell will be with
the Coming of Agers, Katie Wokosin will again take the 1st–3rd
graders, Aimee Neumann will have the PreK-K class, and Jo-Ann
Hoeppner will be in the childcare room.
We’ll
be trying a new format this year. The Sunday School children
and teachers will join the adults in the auditorium for an intergenerational
gathering the first few minutes of each platform. We hope this
will foster a greater sense of connection in our Ethical community.
We’ll
continue with our traditional Children’s Fair in October,
an intergenerational program in November, and lots of ethical
action throughout the year. The Sunday School Committee, chaired
by Katie Merrell, will meet on the third Sunday of every month,
beginning September 16th at 9:30 a.m. Our Back-to-Sunday School
potluck picnic will be on Saturday, September 8th, at the home
of Laura and Ed Drower—please RSVP to me at
sundayschool@ethicalhuman.org.
Registration
packets have been mailed to all our returning families, and
we’ll have a registration table in the reception area
on opening Sunday. Thanks again to Melanie Neal and the YES
group for providing childcare through the summer programs. See
you all soon!
—Sharon
Appelquist, Director
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Notices
and Announcements
•
A
special Building Fund Appeal is being made
to our membership to help pay for needed renovations to our
reception area, including a new floor and a general facelift.
Our goal is $15,000. To avoid adding to the Society’s
deficit, please note that these are one-time gifts. We ask that
they not be offset by reductions in our normal pledges—which
would negate the purpose of the appeal.
•
Volunteers
are needed to assist with videotaping and photography
at our programs and with post-production conversion of tapes
to DVDs and audio files. Training will be provided. Please see
Paul Ozarowski for details.
•
Our
Tribute Fund is a convenient, caring way for
us to publicly honor each other—with congratulations on
a birthday, anniversary, or graduation, condolences on the loss
of a loved one, wishes for recovery from an illness, or hailing
a good deed. Get a Tribute form on a literature table.
•
Our
Environmental Footprint Committee, chaired
by Lisa Crowe and David Wokosin, has posted “Recycling
Guidelines” around the building. We are urged to do our
part by using the blue recycling bins for all waste paper.
•
Our
Library is steadily adding new books. Among the most
recent is The Consolation of Philosophy, by Boethius, and Imagine
No Superstition—the Power to Enjoy Life with No Guilt,
No Shame, No Blame, by Stephen Frederick Uhl. Contact Fred Malkinson
with your suggestions or to check out a book.
•
Entertainment
Books for 2008, with discounts for many Chicago-area
restaurants and theaters, are for sale. They cost just $20,
with a $4 rebate to the Society. To purchase one, contact Sue
Walton at sns@swwalton.com.
•
Membership
in the Society is open to those who share our ethical
outlook and wish to join our Ethical community. The next Membership
Orientation is on Sunday, September 23rd, at 12:15 p.m. To discuss
membership, contact Membership Chair Tom Hoeppner at Thomas_J_Hoeppner@rush.edu.
•
A
Brief History of Disbelief will be shown on
Channel 20 on successive Thursdays—September 6, 13, and
20, at 9 p.m. The acclaimed BBC series, narrated by Jonathan
Miller, explores the origins of his own lack of belief and uncovers
the hidden story of atheism. The American Ethical Union is a
co-sponsor. A DVD of the series is available in the Society
library.
•
Try
Public transportation to our Sunday meetings. The #290
PACE bus leaves the Howard L station at 9:30 a.m. and goes to
Touhy Ave. and Cicero Ave. (Skokie Blvd.). It’s then a
short walk to our building. A return #290 bus to the Howard
station leaves Touhy and Cicero at 1:20 p.m.
•
Our
Board of Trustees meets on Wednesday, September 12th,
at 7:15 p.m. Final plans will be made for the Society’s
125h anniversary celebration in October. Society members are
welcome to attend.
•
Unpaid
pledges? We would appreciate full payment by September
30th, the end of this fiscal year. If you’re unsure of
the amount, please contact John Ungashick. Thanks!
•
This
newsletter has a free electronic edition. Get
it sooner than the mailed newsletter—and save us the postage.
Email a request to the office, noting pdfnewsletter as the subject
and your name and address. You can also ask for the mailed newsletter,
but if you’re not a member, a contributing friend, or
new on our mailing list, a subscription is $20 per year. A free
printed newsletter can also be picked up at our building.
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Tribute
Fund
•
“To Nina Weiss, Evan Kane, and
Alexa, welcoming them as new members
and celebrating Nina’s amazing cool globe at the
Field Museum.”
—from Matt & Marilee Cole
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About
Us
The
Ethical Humanist
Society of Greater Chicago is a democratic fellowship
and spiritual home for those who seek a rational, compassionate
philosophy of life without regard to belief or nonbelief in
a supreme being. We value the importance of living an ethical,
responsible, and joyful life. We promote intellectual, philosophical,
and artistic freedom, avoiding dogma and rigid creed. We nurture
a sense of wonder about life, nature, and the universe, and
are inspired by models of human achievement. Shaped
by the forces of humanism, democracy, science, and religious
reform, we cherish human diversity and focus on what we have
in common, not on what keeps us apart.
While
respectful of the faiths and traditions we may have been born
to, we serve as a new religion or as an alternative to religion.
We
care for and support each other, sharing our joys and sorrows.
Like traditional religious communities, we celebrate births,
conduct wedding ceremonies, host memorial services, and provide
for the caring, ethical education of our children.
We
believe in deed beyond creed and in working for a better world.
We recognize the worth and dignity of every person, and strive
to act so as to bring out the best in others and thereby in
ourselves.
Meetings
of the Ethical
Humanist Society are at our home in the Greiner
Center, 7574 N. Lincoln Ave., Skokie, IL 60077. Sunday meetings
start at 10:30 a.m. Refreshments and a social hour follow
the program. Child care is available. Everyone is welcome.
If you need transportation, please call the Society office
by 1 p.m. Friday. We will try to get a ride for you. The Ethical
Humanist Society of Greater Chicago was founded in 1882. The
Society is a member of the American
Ethical Union.
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The
Ethical Humanist Society of Greater Chicago,
founded in 1882, is a member of the American Ethical Union.
Officers
and Trustees: Scott Walton, President;
Matt Cole &
Dick Carney, Vice Presidents; Paul Ozarowski,
Secretary; John Ungashick, Treasurer; Yolanda
Adler, Joe Burck, Sheila Caplan Curren, Oliver Pergams,
Renee Sullivan, Claude Williams
Sunday
School Director: Sharon
Appelquist
Office Administrator: Alison
Martin
Newsletter Editor: Alan Kimmel
Ethical Officiants: Marne Glaser,
Jo-Ann Hoeppner, Tom Hoeppner, Ken Novak
AEU Representative: Tom Hoeppner
Webmaster:
Simeon
Carson
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