Ethical Humanist Society of Long Island

Ethical Humanist Society of Long Island -- News

CURRENT NEWS

A Word From Our Religious Director
-- Posted Aug 24 2010
I was so pleased to hear that the EHSLI members present at the membership meeting in June had affirmed the Board’s invitation for me to work with you as a leader for the coming year! I have enjoyed my time with you so far and look forward to deepening our connections and our work together.

My experience, as many of you know, is as a Unitarian Universalist minister, and as I have not completed training as an AEU Leader, the EHSLI Board has designated my position as Religious Director. Whatever the nomenclature, I think the invitation is to provide professional religious leadership and experience to the society.

What exactly that constitutes, of course, always provides fodder for a good discussion, but I can sum it up pretty neatly. It is my goal to help the society thrive. That means, among other things, working together to provide the best Sunday experience possible, supporting the religious education program, strengthening our outreach into the community, supporting present members and connecting with visitors.

I keep asking myself, what is the best vision that we have for what EHSLI can be in our own lives and in the wider community? And then, what do we need to do to realize that vision?

So, that’s what I’m going to be working on. My position, as you know, is half time. The Board has asked Mel Haber, Jim LoPresti and Linda Napoli to work with me in the role of an Advisory Committee to help determine the best use of my time. If you have any thoughts or questions about my role, I encourage you to speak with one of them.

And, I encourage you to talk with me. I want to know you better, I want to hear your stories: how you got to the society, where you came from, what concerns you have, what you are excited about! I’m expecting to keep office hours on Wednesdays, and will be available at other times. My email is caldame@gmail.com, my phone is 718-640-7742.

I think there is much for us to learn from one another, and I am looking forward to the year ahead!

Calvin

--
Calvin O. Dame
469 18th Street
Brooklyn, NY 11215
718-640-7742

Shoe Drive
-- Posted Aug 17 2010
The Garden City Day Hab is hosting a shoe drive to help those less fortunate from 8/16/10 – 8/31/10. There is a drop box in the lobby at the Ethical Humanist Society of Long Island building. Please stop by and donate your unwanted shoes.

Weill Student Social Action Grant Winner Announced
-- Posted Aug 17 2010
The Board is pleased to announce that the Weill Student Social Action Grant has been awarded to Yana Cherepashenskaya of Lynbrook for her proposal to raise money for Hewlett House, a nonprofit cancer resource center for patients and their families. Yana's grant application stood out in two ways. First, she had been personally touched by the stories of a teacher and classmate, both who have struggled with cancer. Second, she thought of a way to raise money for the organization through making and selling "Angels of Hope" pins and ornaments. Yana, as president of her school's art honor society, has friends and classmates eager to help her with this project. Yana is a senior at Valley Stream South High School.
The Ethical Humanist Society of Long Island created the Weill Student Social Action Grant for middle school and high school students who are helping to create a better world. The two grants, for up to $500 each, fund student projects in areas of peace, humanitarian efforts, the environment, disaster relief, or disadvantaged groups. The project can be a fundraiser that connects to an existing organization (such as the American Red Cross) or makes a direct change (such as a neighborhood clean-up.) The grants will give the student funds to conduct the project.
Students must be Nassau or Suffolk County residents, aged 12 to 18, and enrolled in middle school or high school. We have only funded one grant so far for 2010, so we are hoping to fund another. If you know of any students (not EHSLI members) who are looking to make a difference, please have them contact our office for an application.
Yana will be coming to EHSLI sometime in the coming months to describe her project. We hope that everyone will turn out to support this dedicated young woman who supports our ideals.

Wednesday Brown Bag Group
-- Posted Jul 20 2010
The Wednesday Brown Bag Group (formerly known as The Leader’s Lunch) meets every Wednesday in the boardroom from 12:00 – 1:30pm. If you enjoy “talking politics” then this group is for you. For more information contact Ray Diamond at 516-731-1053.

President's Message - June 2010
-- Posted Jun 09 2010
Let’s see, I’m late as usual for my President’s newsletter article, and Susan is patiently waiting for it, as I’m holding up the presses. The article is for the June issue, which coincides with my being President of the Society for a year. Thus, it should come as no surprise that the only topic I can come up with to write about is a review of the year.
Obviously, the most important event of my year as President was the hiring of Calvin Dame as our part time Religious Director. Throughout the 60 year history of the EHSLI there have been only a few times that a President has recommended the hiring of a person to lead us. Selecting the right (or wrong) person can shape the Society for years to come and only time will tell whether the Board and I have made a good choice. I am, however, convinced that Calvin is a perfect fit for us.
Our 50 year old building was treated to some much needed attention. First, our heating and cooling machinery was given a tune up - resulting in better operation and decreased costs. Next, the outside of the building and much of the inside was painted for the first time in years. Finally, work began on improving access to the building through our parking lot entrance resulting in a more open area that will eventually have a patio with tables and a seating area.
Financially, the Society saw a slight increase in pledge donations from our members and a slightly larger increase in rental income. We were able to decrease expenses considerably and resolved most of our past debts and obligations. We continued instituting new financial controls and record keeping and are no longer running at a deficit.
The Society’s Board has made a commitment to try to increase membership. We now have a weekly advertisement running in eight local community newspapers. We improved our Facebook.com webpage and now have a Meetup.com website where all events of the Society are listed. Finally, we replaced our one page black and white “who we are” brochure with an eight page color booklet that is catchier and more informative.
Our Sunday school also saw a resurgence beginning in September. Under the supervision of our Director of Religious Education, Joan Petersen, and teachers, Sharon Stanley, and Kori Schroder, the number of children enrolled has increased.
Tara Klein took over Supervision of the YES Group from Eric Alexander after the summer. Our teens meet twice a month to discuss issues that are of importance to them and this year they took over the running of the Teen Poetry, Music, and Art Festival, combining it with their annual pasta dinner.
We had an exciting year of engrossing Platform addresses mixed with Festivals and special events. Darwin Day – our celebration of science and the Teen Art and Music Festival were two of the special events held during the year that were especially successful.
While not everything always went smoothly, I feel we are now going in the right direction and the future looks very positive. Most importantly, I would like to take a second to thank those members who have volunteered and given their time to help out during the year. Well, maybe I’ll need more than a second, because in just a quick count, I came up with over 50 members – that’s almost 1/2 of our membership - who help out with their time on a regular basis. In the end it’s all of the members working together who do make us a true Society that we can be proud of.

Childrens Ethics Program
-- Posted Jun 08 2010
Children’s Ethics Program- Highlights of our Year Together

It’s hard to believe another full year of CEP activities have gone by. The children have had a productive, engaging and fun-filled year. Here are some highlights:

1. Social Action: the children decided to focus on the environment for most of their social action activities this year. They organized a recycling program at the society, and CEP families took turns returning the collected bottles for deposit. We raised about $50, which will be donated to the Ethical Friends of Children. The children have encouraged members to use reusable drinking mugs, and participated in a beach clean-up at Bayside Marina. They also raised money for breast cancer research, and prepared gift bags for the homeless. The children have much to be proud of in their efforts to “create a caring world”.

2. Music is a universal language: CEP participants were treated to two very special Sunday activities in which they learned about communicating through music, and that everyone has their own unique talents. The children really enjoyed this activity- they are enthusiastic performers and had a great time acting out skits and expressing themselves through music.

3. Comparative Religion: On two separate Sundays we were visited by a Sikh family and a Hindu woman, who shared with us some of the customs and traditions of their religions. The children learned that although there are many differences between these religions and ethical humanism, our fundamental beliefs are very similar. Special thanks to these wonderful people for helping us understand and feel connected to other religious groups.

4. Festivals: For our Thanksgiving festival, the children performed a skit in which they played different foods arguing over which one was the most important for the Thanksgiving meal. In the end they realize that it takes all kinds to make a successful meal, just as it takes all kinds of people to make a successful world. On Darwin Day, CEP children displayed their great knowledge of the scientific world and participated in many fun activities as well. One highlight was getting to meet the sea creatures brought to us by the Cornell Cooperative Extension. For Spring Festival, the children made sunny faces and sang “Here Comes the Sun” to welcome the new season. They also joined society members for a birdhouse-painting activity, and planted flowers (the following week due to rain) to beautify the front of the building.

5. Recognition Day: The children are working very hard in planning their Recognition Day activities, which will include a group performance of Aesop’s Fables, individual talents and two group songs.
They will each receive certificates to acknowledge their participation in the program.

The CEP kids are truly a wonderful, dynamic, enthusiastic and fascinating group of children, and it is an honor and privilege to work with them. They each have unique gifts that they bring to the program, and together they make a great team.

Thanks to all of our CEP families for their support and assistance throughout the year.

Special thanks to CEP co-directors (and multi-tasking SuperMoms) Kori Schroeder and Sharon Stanley- we worked hard and together put together a very successful year. It was great working with both of you.

Last but not least, thanks to the Children’s Ethics Program participants:
Chloe Agostino, Khiron Anderson, Jada Caraballo, Reid Hetzel, Eric Morgenstern, Kristen Morgenstern, Ian O’Boyle, Kira O’Boyle, Jordan Schroeder, and Gabriel Stanley

Food Drive
-- Posted Jun 08 2010
LAST CHANCE FOR FOOD DRIVE
Summer is almost here and we only have 2 more platforms to collect food for the INN. Let’s see how many food items we can collect over the next 2 weeks. Please bring in at least 5 items and place them in the basket in the lobby. While we are at our barbeques and parties we will know that we have played a role in helping our needy neighbors have food on their tables. Thanks to all of you for your generosity.

Our Times Coffeehouse
-- Posted May 26 2010
Our Times Coffeehouse will be on Friday, June 18 at 8:00pm featuring Dala Girls. Darlings of the Canadian music scene, Dala are poised to bring their harmonies and fresh brand of acoustic pop to the world. Amanda Walther and Sheila Carabine of Dala have come a long way in a short time. Dala has performed at Toronto’s legendary Massey Hall a total of six times. Drawing upon influences like the Beatles, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and Bob Dylan, Dala write songs that are both catchy and insightful. Amanda’s ethereal soprano voice blends seamlessly with Sheila’s velvety alto, creating the lush harmonies that have become their trademark. For more information visit their website at www.ourtimescoffeehouse.org

Folk Dancing
-- Posted May 24 2010
Lois Blatt invites you to Folk Dance for FUN and GREAT EXERCISE!!
Wednesday mornings in July and August (starting on July 7th) – 9:00 to 11:00am – in air-conditioned comfort – at the Ethical Humanist Society.
Join our friendly Folk Dance class.
Beginners and Intermediate Dancers are all welcome.
International circle dances and some line dances from Greece, Israel, Balkan countries etc. will be taught.
For further information, all Lois at (516) 536-8755
$5.00 per session

Teen Arts Festival & Pasta Dinner Wrap-Up
-- Posted May 20 2010
Big congratulations go out to the YES Group for planning an awesome day at the Society on Saturday, May 15th!

The Teen Arts Festival featured some incredible musicals acts. Singer-songwriter Jill Reda returned to open the show solo, and was later joined by Nicole Pfeiffer on vocals as the band Trouble Clef. YES members Dan Harding and Keith Simonelli joined forces as "Minimum Wage, Maximum Rage" to perform the humorous Tenacious D song "Tribute." Later they were joined by Archecard Elizer for a cover of the song "I Get All the Girls," plus the new Green Day classic "21 Guns." Archy later performed with the YES group's Mayra Fournier, where Mayra showcased her beautiful voice that we can't get enough of! Siblings Willane and Sidney Saint Hillare played some great songs on violin, including Beauty and the Beast. Naomi Williams returned this year to belt out a few songs, including "And I'm Telling You" from the Dreamgirls soundtrack. A real treat were Teen Arts Festival newcomers Kira and Bre Metcalf-Oshinsky: an incredible sister team from a musical family. The girls sang and played guitar and piano, including some originals and a late-90s pop medley. They sold their CDs and donated half the proceeds to EHS! A twin sister team jumped in to perform on vocals, piano, and drums. Much of the later portion of the program was filled with impromptu jam sessions, including a female chorus singing songs like "Viva la Vida" and "I'm Yours" while accompanied by Archy on piano.

We had some fantastic art lining the walls, from YES's MacKenzie Schroder and Josnelly Meza, CEP's Reid Hetzel, Kristina Garcia, Nicole Boyd, Jessica Boyd, Alexis Baldillo, Hayley Dicken, Alice Cohen, Rifa Lofeson, David Ruiz, Chelsea Kinstler, Jared Langenavev, Jillian Schon, Melissa Wasserman, Dalon Bradley, and Yi Ting Paung. Two festival musicians also displayed their art: Naomi Williams and Willane Saint Hillare.

In addition, we had a lot of other fun things going on! We had 10 great raffle items that helped us raise some money, plus a couple of fun craft activities like designing flower pots (which later became the centerpieces for the Pasta Dinner, and then people took home to use), and selling/cutting up last year's Teen Arts Festival t-shirts. We put up one of our famous interactive YES murals, titled with the event's theme "YES We Do Have a Voice." It came out looking really great! We sold light refreshments, and screened "Story of Stuff," a 20-minute video comprehensively explaining the problem with our nation's cycle of production and consumption. We also had some brief presentations by the YES group and the CEP. Some people seemed excited to be in our building for the first time!

After a quick turn-around in the auditorium, it was time for the 16th annual YES Pasta Dinner! Kori and Karen were the kitchen rockstars, with a little help from meatballs from downtown Northport's Maroni's Cuisine. The keynote speech was by Tara Bono, Program Coordinator for Citizens Campaign for the Environment. Tara talked about CCE's reusable bag campaign, and after talking about how plastic bags are killing animals, sitting in landfills forever, and contributing to the Pacific and Atlantic garbage patches, the audience was left with a mix of guilt and fear over their own use of plastic bags! The teens in the room seemed interested and inspired to make a difference!

After all the music from the Teen Arts Festival, the evening entertainment was more of a jam session than past Pasta Dinners. Alumni Derek Smith did a few solo songs, and the "YES Band" performed an acoustic version of the SNL/Lonely Island classic "I'm on a Boat." Mayra and Archy sang a few songs together, and Dan and Keith did a reprise of "Tribute." After that, the jamming began! All the musicians played together, singers joined in, and even Eric jumped in to help sing; Baby Rayne in tow! There were some sing-a-longs to songs like "Imagine" and "Party in the USA." It was great to catch up and hang out with Society members and old friends! Our new Religious Director Calvin Dame, was there to support us throughout most of the day. Special guests included YES alumni Irene Antoniazzi, Derek Smith, Jeremy Altmann, and members of the Brooklyn YES group, Xena and IO. Brooklyn joined the YES group in sleeping over at the Society, which was a lot of fun (and the crashing was much-needed after such a long day!).

Special thanks to our official event supporters: Five Towns College, the Hofstra University National Center for Suburban Studies, Dowling College, Laurel Coston, Vision Long Island, PsychAlliance, Outten & Golden, and Uncle Bacala's restaurant. The events couldn't happen without help from some key people, most importantly the YES parents who helped get the kids to extra long meetings and helped them with all the extra work they had to do at home. Special thanks to Kori Schroeder and Karen Harding for doing all the cooking for the Pasta Dinner--no small task! Thanks to Phyllis and Don for their unwavering support. Amanda Leibenhaut helped a great deal throughout the event planning process with administrative and outreach support. Thanks to Lyn Dobrin for the press release, and to Steve Hetzel for designing our logo. Thanks as always to Eric for stepping in to MC and keep the program running/entertaining! Finally, Alison Pratt for setting up the framework for this event and working with us from the beginning!

Everyone had a lot of fun at the Festival and Pasta Dinner--I even managed to really enjoy myself in the midst of all my frazzled running around! Check on our Picasa/Facebook pages to see some pictures. Now for some well-earned relaxing for the YES group!

Tara Klein
YES Advisor

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