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Archive of Upcoming Events The sequence of events are listed from most recent to the oldest. All hyperlinks have been left as they were on the original Upcoming Events page, but it is possible that they may have become obsolete after the event had been archived onto this page.
2007 Events - October through December |
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Living Ethics Discussion Big topic! More specifically: Can We Ethically Fund More War in Iraq
as Means to End it Sooner? Nancy Pelosi's compromise bill passed the House last Friday, and now the Senate
is debating its own bill. Resources for your reading are below. Resources links:
Invitation open to members of the Society and
their guests.
Meet Todd, the handsome
stay-at-home dad dubbed "The Prom King" by the moms at the playground,
and his wife, Kathy, a documentary filmmaker envious of the connection
Todd has forged with their toddler son. And there's Sarah, a lapsed
feminist surprised to find she's become a typical wife in a traditional
marriage, and her husband, Richard, who is becoming more and more involved
with an Internet fantasy life than with his own wife and child.
And then there's Mary Ann, who has life all figured out, down to a scheduled
roll in the hay with her husband every Tuesday at nine P.M. The general public is invited.
Pot Luck Dinner
After the lecture, please stay and join us for lunch. First-time visitors are invited to attend and bring no food item for the table. Others: bring a dish, any dish, from soup to salad to sandwich to entree to side dish to dessert. Bring an item that doesn't require your attention from 11 to noon, since any sound in the kitchen is magnified into the room where our 11:00 a.m. program is in progress. The oven is available to keep things warm, and a large 'fridge to keep things cool, and there are lots of outlets for crockpots, etc.; and the microwave is available right after the Lecture ends. Even if you don't bring a dish or beverage, at least bring your appetite! See you then! The general public is invited.
Sunday Lecture Series
Professor Arthur Dobrin, Leader Emeritus of the Long Island Ethical Society, has just published a new book by this title. Mr. Greenwell will draw primarily on his lovely first chapter, where he describes the lifelong friends he made when in the Peace Corps in Africa many years ago. He speaks of their lives (poor) in comparison with the lives of Americans (rich), yet the happiness they have enjoyed that surpasses that of Americans, and surpasses that of their fellow Kenyans as well. He draws out connections between happiness and ethical living that is quite fresh, yet venerable as well. ... and we have a bonus presentation scheduled for 11:50 AM... "Seeing the Light at the End of the Financial Tunnel" Dave Van Mierlo, Treasurer of the Society Council, will present the plan that he has worked out which will enable us to actually become financially self-supporting by the time the grant from the St. Louis Society runs out. You have probably heard some of it in various groups discussions, but Dave will lay it all out clearly. In all my years serving in and observing Ethical Societies, I have never heard such an exceptional plan. It is something to enjoyably embrace as well as to commit to. ... and following that, the membership will be asked to vote on... ...on whether you, the members, wish to adopt a resolution to recommend a temporary
moratorium on the death penalty in Missouri. You can study this idea at
Moratorium.
The general public is
invited.
Living Ethics Discussion Do you have actual feelings about Earth? Fond, close
feelings, like you're related to her? Or practical feelings, along
the lines of "Hey, people, we're killing ourselves here!" Invitation open to members of the Society and
their guests.
PFLAG
Please plan to attend!
Sunday Lecture Series
Our guest presenter, Dee Gish, received her training through
Al Gore’s The Climate Project. The general public is
invited.
Ronald McDonald House
Contact Kathy R. to volunteer and/or if you have questions. Future dates are: Saturday 21 Apr & Saturday 19 May For more information about the Ronald McDonald House Charity, click here
Friday Nite Free Film Series
Named Best Picture of 2005 at the 78th Annual Academy Awards. "Haggis writes with such directness and such a good ear for everyday speech that the characters
seem real and plausible after only a few words. His cast is uniformly strong; the actors sidestep cliches and
make their characters particular." Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert Invitation open to the general public.
Living Ethics Discussion What are the ethics of shunning? How do we still "love" and "find worth in" people who've committed terrible acts against others and with whom we want no association? Invitation open to members of the Society and
their guests.
Tippett is the creator and host of public radio's popular program Speaking of Faith , a weekly conversation about religion, meaning, ethics, and ideas. Her new book is the story of this conversational journey and the insights it yields. Tippett describes "an adventure of conversation" with scientists and religious thinkers, activists and poets who speak to essential human questions: of meaning in life and death, of sources of violence and human relationship, of community and government. Tippett believes that what most people want, whether spiritual or secular, is for religion to be a nourishing force in our communities rather than a symbol of our culture's worst divisions. Books for signing may be purchased from Left Bank Books or at the event.
Sunday Lecture Series
Abraham Lincoln was a man, not a god. He had foibles
and failings and blind spots. Yet he was dedicated to lifelong
self-improvement, and over time he rose to an ethical stature of unrivalled
strength. The general public is
invited.
Living Ethics Discussion What do bosses' characteristics tell us about human nature?
What do they tell us about the circumstances in which people have to
operate? Have you ever been a boss, in any kind of way?
What was that like? What was the effect on your character? Invitation open to members of the Society and
their guests.
Sunday Lecture Series
There is in every person a creative surge that comes out
sometimes in words. The general public is
invited.
KnitWits
As always, lively conversation obliterates the sound of
clicking knitting needles! Invitation open to members of the Society and
their guests.
Living Ethics Discussion
Invitation open to members of the Society and
their guests.
Erdrich's quiet, gentle
voice is so soft, it's as if she's carefully reading a bedtime story.
Yet this novel would not put anyone to sleep. Woven with intrigue,
romance, death, sex and humor, it's an emotionally complex tale of European
immigrants who have settled in the fictional town of Erdrich's previous
novels, Argus, N.Dak. Bordering on magical realism, this marvelous
yarn introduces a world of rich, expansive imagery and an abundance
of memorably compelling characters. The general public is invited.
Pot Luck Dinner
After the lecture, please stay and join us for lunch. First-time visitors are invited to attend and bring no food item for the table. Others: bring a dish, any dish, from soup to salad to sandwich to entree to side dish to dessert. Bring an item that doesn't require your attention from 11 to noon, since any sound in the kitchen is magnified into the room where our 11:00 a.m. program is in progress. The oven is available to keep things warm, and a large 'fridge to keep things cool, and there are lots of outlets for crockpots, etc.; and the microwave is available right after the Lecture ends. Even if you don't bring a dish or beverage, at least bring your appetite! See you then! The general public is invited.
Sunday Lecture Series
Our guest speaker, Margret Phillips asks, "May the state put to death a convicted
criminal?" The general public is invited.
Letae's Start & Bridge Builders
Real Life Stories of Women FREE ADMISSION
Living Ethics Discussion What are you doing the times that you most feel life is meaningful? Invitation open to members of the Society and
their guests.
PFLAG
Please plan to attend!
Sunday Lecture Series
A prominent ethical concern of our day is finding the
best relationship between citizens and their government. Through
the taxes we pay, we share and redistribute burdens. Alan Easton
has been examining Social Security, particularly that part of it (called
OASI) which pays out monthly checks to all who have reached old age,
and he will share his findings. The general public is
invited.
Ronald McDonald House
Contact Kathy R. to volunteer and/or if you have questions. Future dates are: Saturday 17 Mar, Saturday 21 Apr, Saturday 19 May, For more information about the Ronald McDonald House Charity, click here
Friday Nite Free Film Series
Acclaimed director Robert Greenwald (Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price, Outfoxed, and Uncovered) takes you inside the lives of soldiers, truck drivers, widows and children who have been changed forever as a result of profiteering in the reconstruction of Iraq. Iraq for Sale uncovers the connections between private corporations making a killing in Iraq and the decision makers who allow them to do so. "...a horrifying catalog of greed, corruption and
incompetence..." "...might unite viewers across all political spectra..." More information is available at: IraqForSale.org
Invitation open to the general public.
Living Ethics Discussion
We will continue the discussion we had Sunday afternoon. What is it you love about the Society? What is it you would hate to lose? What is it you would like to add or see more of? How can we support it? Your input is crucial! Invitation open to members of the Society and
their guests.
Society Council topic: "new vision for the Movement... You, the ESMR Member, are invited to join the Society Council this Sunday at about 12:15 pm to
continue discussing a new vision for the Movement and new forms for our Society to take. Exclusively for all ESMR Members!
Sunday Lecture Series
The world faces grave problems. Many of them are
human-made. Human society itself is wracked with human-made conflict
and misery. Yet humanity has resources of mind and heart that
can remedy and resolve the ways in which we hurt each other. There
are basic human needs that are not being met; yet we have the capacity
to meet them. The general public is
invited.
KnitWits
As always, lively conversation obliterates the sound of
clicking knitting needles! Invitation open to members of the Society and
their guests.
Living Ethics Discussion
How far does your net of significant people extend?
By "significant" I don't mean close friend or close relative,
but someone whom you know personally and whose existence is a
positive in your world. Could you call on this person in
need? Is the value of the person what he or she does, or
simply that he or she has a certain quality of being? Invitation open to members of the Society
and their guests.
Sunday Lecture Series
"Colloquy" is called by some a "humanist spiritual exercise." It would be even more accurate to call it a "fellowship exercise" for deeper connection with fellow people and deeper self-satisfaction. There’s a simple thought behind it: people have the innate skill of being able to talk with one another without judgment and with appreciation, if provided a special time and place away from the demands of ordinary life. Visitors are invited and welcomed. They may participate or simply sit quietly and take it all in. The general public
is invited.
Living Ethics Discussion How do you get your daily fill of beauty? Do arrive by 7 for social time, then the discussion starts promptly at 7:15. Invitation open to members of the Society
and their guests.
Twain Rivers Book Club
David Henry's life was turning out as he hoped. He was a doctor, married to a beautiful woman, Nora, with a baby on the way. But everything changed overnight because of one fateful decision. On a winter evening in 1964, a blizzard brewing, Nora goes into labor. Due to the weather, they could only make it to the clinic, not the hospital, and only Caroline, the nurse, arrived to help deliver the baby. David delivers his own child, a perfectly healthy son. But when Nora continues her labor, David realizes she is carrying twins; and the second child, a girl, is born with Down syndrome. Wanting to protect his wife from the devastating news, David gives the child to Caroline to take to an institution, asking her never to reveal the secret. Caroline takes the baby and disappears. Unfolding the plot over the course of 25 years, Edwards tells a moving story of two families bound by a secret that both eats away at relationships and eventually helps to create new ones. Copyright 2005 Booklist Reviews. Additional in-depth review, Kim Edwards' bio & interview, and study guide at Penguin Group. The general public is invited.
Pot Luck Dinner
After the lecture, please stay and join us for lunch. First-time visitors are invited to attend and bring no food item for the table. Others: bring a dish, any dish, from soup to salad to sandwich to entree to side dish to dessert. Bring an item that doesn't require your attention from 11 to noon, since any sound in the kitchen is magnified into the room where our 11:00 a.m. program is in progress. The oven is available to keep things warm, and a large 'fridge to keep things cool, and there are lots of outlets for crockpots, etc.; and the microwave is available right after the Lecture ends. Even if you don't bring a dish or beverage, at least bring your appetite! See you then! The general public is invited.
Spirit in Art Fair
While we do not anticpate the appearances of DaVinci's Mona Lisa or Jackson Pollock's No.5, 1948, you should anticipate being dazzled by this exhibit! Do you have an objet
d'art of your creation, or perhaps an objet trouve
that you would enjoy sharing ever so briefly on this special Sunday
morning? We are looking for exhibitors to bring in original
paintings, prints, sculpture, photographic prints, fabrics, etc. The general public is invited.
Living Ethics Discussion Whom have you taken care of when sick or infirm? Who has taken care of you? Then let's share our reactions to the story of the
family who "fixed" their severely disabled baby girl
who they will be caring for the rest of her life, by opting for
a medical treatment that will keep her small forever. The
article in Time magazine said "The parents
of Ashley, this severely disabled girl, have approved a growth-stunting
medical treatment so she will have a child's body for life."
This will help the parents care for their child, and it will help
the child's brain to be able to handle a child's body rather than
a full-gorwn body with mature hormones. Some feel that this
treatment is an abomination. Do arrive by 7 for social time, then the discussion starts promptly at 7:15. Invitation open to members of the Society
and their guests.
All-Members Meeting (or General Membership Meeting) "New year, new ideas, new surge forward." Agenda: Decide the Future of Ethical Society Mid Rivers. For additional information, contact Mr. Bob Greenwell by email.
Ronald McDonald House
Contact Kathy R. to volunteer and/or if you have questions. For more information about the Ronald McDonald House Charity, click here
Friday Nite Free Film Series
Humanity is sitting on a ticking time bomb.
If the vast majority of the world's scientists are right, we have
just ten years to avert a major catastrophe that could send our
entire planet into a tail-spin of epic destruction involving extreme
weather, floods, droughts, epidemics and killer heat waves beyond
anything we have ever experienced. More information is available at: ClimateCrisis.net Invitation open to the general public.
Living Ethics Discussion Here's a chance to recollect some friends who you
may not have thought of for a while - - good friends whom you
haven't been in touch with for a year or a decade or longer. Do arrive by 7 for social time, then the discussion starts promptly at 7:15. Invitation open to members of the Society
and their guests.
PFLAG
Please plan to attend!
Sunday Lecture Series
The weather is iffy, but discretion seems better this time than valor. Since you have read this message here on the website, it might be a good idea to spread the word and contact anyone you think would be planning on attending this Sunday morn, but might not get the message that we are closed today. We are closed this
Sunday morning.
Sunday Lecture Series
The general public
is invited.
Living Ethics Discussion With President Bush speaking at 8 pm tonight, we perhaps should digress from our regular focus and allow ourselves to resonate with each other in response to his speech. Hostess Liz R. concurs. Anyone is welcome to bring a news article or relevant essay and read a paragraph or so from it (unless we have way too many). Although we all pretty well know what Bush is going to say, and know what our reactions will be, and we could simply wait till tomorrow to read exactly what he did say without subjecting ourselves tonight to potential consternation, there is probably still good reason for us to have the political focus tonight. One reason is that it will be difficult (for some more than others) to put his speech out of mind while engaging in our Living Ethics talk. Another reason is that we can use the reassurance of solidarity in the days surrounding this speech, rather than each one of us working out his or her own inner response in face of a barrage of views coming across the media. Invitation open to members of the Society
and their guests.
Sunday Lecture Series
Is humanity doomed to war, deception, manipulation, betrayal? Human fellowship – is it a pipe dream? People are imperfect, and so are their relationships. Yet most people are good at heart. The good at heart need only education in how to relate in ways they wish to relate, and they may be left free to follow their heart. They will naturally create fellowship. In reality it doesn’t happen. The reason is that some, a few, are not-so-good at heart. Left free to follow their heart, the few have the capacity to contaminate the fellowship of all. It is time for the human race to put its mind and its dedication to solving this horrific problem of the spoiling of everyone’s fellowship by the few. There can be no worthier goal than worldwide human fellowship, in which each is honored as a fellow child of the universe. The general public
is invited.
KnitWits KnitWits, the first one of 2007 !!! Bring a dessert and/or an appetizer and whatever you want to drink. New players/knitters
welcome! Invitation open to members of the Society and
their guests.
Living Ethics Discussion One way of putting the Ethical Society's mission is to heal human relationships and build up fellowship. But in real life, it's not always simple or easy. Still, at other times it is. Let's talk with each other about our experiences of building fellowship - times it's been frustrating, and times it's worked. Invitation open to members of the Society and
their guests. |
It's Pot Luck Sunday!
"Iraq For Sale"
