Ethically Speaking: Feb and March 2013
6
February & March 2013 Newsletter of the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture www.BSEC.org Greetings from the Board Ethically Speaking Greetings BSEC Members, The Board of Trustees of the Society sends its warmest wishes to all of you for much joy, love, laughter, purpose, and adventure in 2013. This coming calendar year will be one of transition at our Society. As you all know by now, Catherine Bordeau, our dear Clergy Leader in Training, comes to the end of her three-year contract at the end of June and has, with a heavy heart, chosen not to continue on with us. Her decision is in part because of her need and desire for a full-time position and in part because of her spouse’s job move to Mexico. On Sunday, January 13 th , 2013, the membership of the Society gathered for our annual winter member meeting to reflect on Catherine’s news in community. Following a shared values conversation led by Ellen Rai der and updates from the Board concerning our finances, our committees, and the outcome of the pledge dinner in November, we sat in a circle to share our feelings and thoughts around Catherine’s departure. First, Jean outlined a timeline of events this fall related to our leader, from Catherine’s request to the Board in October for a full-time contract, to the Board’s subsequent research concerning the Society’s financing options, to Catherine’s ultimate decision, in mid-December, not to continue at BSEC. After a brief Q & A period regarding these events, each member had an opportunity to offer his or her reflections on the changes ahead for our community. Though many people in the room expressed feelings like sadness, loss, confusion, disappointment, and frustration, there was also a strong sense of appreciation for the warmth and care that Catherine brought the Society. Beyond that, there was the certainty that we are OKAY, that our Society is healthy and full of leaders and collaborators. We can see this moment as an opportunity for us to re- examine who we are as a group and to learn from our experiences with Catherine moving ahead. Continued on P.3 Leader Message Sun., Feb. 10 th , 11AM - Sunday Platfor m - “Unity Without Uniformity: The Merging Ethics of Dr. King and Malcolm X” with Herb Boyd: Award winning writer Herb Boyd will explore some lesser known aspects of two major figures of the 20th century. Sun., Feb. 10 th , 1-2:30PM - Ethical Education Meeting: CSA teachers will share their lesson plans for this new semester. Mon., Feb. 11 th , 7:45PM - Ethical Living: Meditation Circle - BSEC Meeting Room Come explore chakra healing. You may want to bring a Yoga mat and/or a pillow. Sun., Feb. 17 th , 1PM - Ethical Action Meeting : BSEC Library. All are welcome. By now, all of you should have heard the news that I will be leaving our society and community at the end of my contract in June. This is a good decision for me personally, and I think it will be a good decision for our community generally. You all have gained so much warmth, strength and cohesiveness as a community since my arrival two and half years ago. I have no doubt that you – as a community – will continue to grow and thrive even in my absence. I have no doubt that you will find another leader who will bring different energy, strength and vision to share with you. I approach this transition with both sadness and joy, and I look forward to many conversations with each of you about how you are experiencing the transition. Please make a point to meet with me before I leave. I will be back in New York City at 8PM on February 4 th , and I will be in my office starting February 6 th . I am very much looking forward to seeing you all again. With peace and love, Catherine Ethically Speaking February and March 2013 Catherine Bordeau Save the Date: Upcoming Events
-
Upload
brooklyn-ethical-park-slope -
Category
Documents
-
view
215 -
download
0
Transcript of Ethically Speaking: Feb and March 2013
7/29/2019 Ethically Speaking: Feb and March 2013
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ethically-speaking-feb-and-march-2013 1/6
February &March 2013
Newsletter of the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture www.BSEC.o
Greetings from the Board
Ethically Speaking
Greetings BSEC Members,
The Board of Trustees of the Society sends its warmest wishes to all of you for much joylove, laughter, purpose, and adventure in 2013. This coming calendar year will be one transition at our Society. As you all know by now, Catherine Bordeau, our dear Clergy Leader in Training, comes to the end of her three-year contract at the end of June and h with a heavy heart, chosen not to continue on with us. Her decision is in part because o her need and desire for a full-time position and in part because of her spouse’s job movMexico.
On Sunday, January 13th, 2013, the membership of the Society gathered for our annua
winter member meeting to reflect on Catherine’s news in community.
Following a shared values conversation led by Ellen Raider and updates from the Boardconcerning our finances, our committees, and the outcome of the pledge dinner in November, we sat in a circle to share our feelings and thoughts around Catherine’sdeparture. First, Jean outlined a timeline of events this fall related to our leader, fromCatherine’s request to the Board in October for a full-time contract, to the Board’ssubsequent research concerning the Society’s financing options, to Catherine’s ultimatdecision, in mid-December, not to continue at BSEC. After a brief Q & A periodregarding these events, each member had an opportunity to offer his or her reflections othe changes ahead for our community. Though many people in the room expressedfeelings like sadness, loss, confusion, disappointment, and frustration, there was also astrong sense of appreciation for the warmth and care that Catherine brought the Societ
Beyond that, there was the certainty that we are OKAY, that our Society is healthy and fof leaders and collaborators. We can see this moment as an opportunity for us to re-examine who we are as a group and to learn from our experiences with Catherine movinahead. Continued on P.3
Leader Message
Sun., Feb. 10th, 11AM - Sunday Platform - “Unity Without Uniformity: Th
Merging Ethics of Dr. King and Malcolm X” with Herb Boyd: Award winnin writer Herb Boyd will explore some lesser known aspects of two major figures ofthe 20th century.
Sun., Feb. 10th, 1-2:30PM - Ethical Education Meeting: CSA teachers willshare their lesson plans for this new semester.
Mon., Feb. 11th, 7:45PM - Ethical Living: Meditation Circle - BSEC Meetin
Room Come explore chakra healing. You may want to bring a Yoga mat and/or pillow.
Sun., Feb. 17th, 1PM - Ethical Action Meeting : BSEC Library. All are
welcome.
By now, all of you should have heard thenews that I will be leaving oursociety andcommunity at
the end of my contract in June. This is a good
decision for me personally, and Ithink it will be a good decision forour community generally.
You all have gained so much warmth, strength and cohesivenessas a community since my arrival twoand half years ago. I have no doubt that you – as a community – willcontinue to grow and thrive even inmy absence. I have no doubt that you will find another leader who will bring different energy,strength and vision to share with you.
I approach this transition with bothsadness and joy, and I look forwardto many conversations with each of you about how you areexperiencing the transition. Pleasemake a point to meet with me before I leave.
I will be back in New York City at 8PM on February 4th, and I will bein my office starting February 6th. Iam very much looking forward toseeing you all again.
With peace and love,Catherine
Ethically Speaking February and March 201
Catherine Bordeau
Save the Date: Upcoming Events
7/29/2019 Ethically Speaking: Feb and March 2013
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ethically-speaking-feb-and-march-2013 2/6
One small flame’Countless fragmentsDimming in their downward flight Pressures from all directions
Flying over headCram out their tiny lights Ancient shackles A distant far off beauty In descending weaknessTwo pull together and igniteThey burn a hair’s flame brighterMoving under pushing up andaboveCalling the soul to rememberTwo more braid together, then
fourThen slowly hundreds, thousands,millions morePure radiance fire burning light Their force, their hope is strong Together they gatherTo remember the soul spirit Together they push back thenight.
A Hair ’s Light By Kim D. Brandon
The Brooklyn Society Writers
(Writers’ Group)
This group includes writers of all levelsand disciplines dedicated to promotingthe art and craft of writing. Membersand non-members of BSEC are welcome.
The Brooklyn Society Writers, meetsSunday 1-3PM. Upcoming meetings:
Feb. 10th
, Feb. 24th
, and March10th.
To receive additional information or toreceive reminder announcements,location changes or cancellationscontact Kim Brandonat [email protected].
Maurice Diggs rode his bicycle from home in Sheepshead Bay to the Waldorf Astoria on Monday, January 7th and was joined by other members
of the Ethical Action Committee andaround 400 New Yorkers to let Gov.Cuomo know that fracking is not the way to go in NY State. Cuomo wasthere for a fundraiser and on January 11th his Department of EnvironmentalConservation was closing its comment period about fracking, the toxicmining technique that extracts gasfrom underneath rock partly by injecting a brew of chemicals that havedestroyed water supplies where it is
used. A moratorium on the techniqueis due to expire in late February.
The Board of Trustees of BrooklynEthical took a stand against fracking, both in NY and nationally, in November 2011, and the ethicalaction committee rallied thecongregation to raise their voiceduring this key time. The hazards of
David Galarza of Occupy Sunset Park at an Ethical Action platformPhoto Credit: Ben Halberstam
Brooklyn Ethical Says No to Fracking!
By Gregory Tewksbury
The Ethical Action committee organizes the Society to discuss and act on
social justice issues. It meets the third Sunday of every month in the library. All are welcome.
– Gregory Tewksbury, chair
fracking are recognized worldwide.France, Germany and the state of Vermont have banned fracking as havethe cities of Syracuse, Albany and
Binghamton.Scientist Sandra Steingraber reminds us,“When you blow up the bedrock andinject it with toxic chemicals, you cannot control or fix what happens.” Even if water isn’t immediately contaminated,fracking could lead to futurecontamination once the cement that isused to seal wells gives way. “Cement isnot immortal,” Steingraber continued.“It cracks. And when it cracks, it opensup portals of possible contamination between all the bad stuff in the shale andthe water that we depend on for life.”
This spring, the committee is paying particular attention to environmentalissues, including “greening” the society and exploring divesting Brooklyn Ethicalfrom fossil fuel investments in its stock portfolio. So watch for more on that at the June member meeting.
2Ethically Speaking February and March 2013
7/29/2019 Ethically Speaking: Feb and March 2013
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ethically-speaking-feb-and-march-2013 3/6
Continued from P.1
T he Board has been in touch with the American Ethical Union andother Ethical Culture leaders in the area for support in this time of transition. Specifically, we have requested the names of leaders who would be interested in being part of our platform calendar, as well asnames of potential leader candidates.
Additionally, the Board approved the formation of a five-member
Leader Search Task Force to be composed of two Board members andthree other Society members selected by the Board. This smaller group will do the work of finding a new clergy leader. They will solicit member input and participation at each step along the way. The Board will keep you posted as this group comes together over the next monthor so.
Separate from the Leader Search Task Force, a Leadership Council has formed. All interested members are strongly encouraged to attend.This group’s work will prove indispensable in the times ahead; its purpose is to cultivate leadership skills among our members to fillsome of the leadership gaps at the Society. The next meeting date isJan. 29th, 7PM, at the home of Lucy McNair. Please RSVP to Lucy at [email protected] if you’d like to attend. As future meetingsare scheduled, interested members can check in with Rebecca to jointhis council at [email protected].
We have much building to do together but we are thoughtful,cooperative, skilled, creative, and hard-working. We won’t findanother Catherine but we’ll certainly come up with a responsible planfor our future. We look forward to walking this path with all of you.
With great appreciation,
Jean Rohe, President Rebecca Lurie, VP
Remi Gay with the Children’s Sunday Assembly at the Wampanoag FestivalPhoto Credit: Ben Halberstam
Board president Jean Rohe presenting Abby Scher with the Anna Garlin Spencer Volunteer Award.Photo Credit: Ben Halberstam
Fiona Boneham with Shoshana Berkovic during a break-out discussion at a recent Sunday platform.Photo Credit: Ben Halberstam
Donna Minkowitz and Tom Castelnuovo at the membership pledge dinner in November 2012.
Photo Credit: Ben Halberstam
Ethically Speaking February and March 2013
7/29/2019 Ethically Speaking: Feb and March 2013
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ethically-speaking-feb-and-march-2013 4/6
Ethical Living Events
Women's Season CircleFriday, February 1st
Potluck Dinner 7PM / Circle Begins at 8PM
Join the Women's Season Circle to welcome mid-winter!Groundhog's Day is also known as "Imbolc".We are a small group of women who have begun to convene on a seasonal basis (cross quarters, solstices and equinoxes) to createa circle of space and time that is open, flexible, spontaneous, focused, and charged.
We will begin with a soul-stirring pot luck dinner at 7PM.
The circle will begin at 8PM.
Please bring: Something to share for eating or drinking that reflects this season. (forabout 8-13 folks usually) and a seasonal show and tell for ritual and honor.
Meeting will be held at Janice Novet's Home.
Contact Rebecca Lurie ([email protected]), Phyllis Soonachan([email protected]) or call the BSEC office (718-768-2972) for details andlocation.
Meditation Circle Monday, February 11th: 7:45PM
BSEC Meeting Room
We gather as a group to share an hour of meditation practice, on the second Monday of each month. Join us on Monday, February 11th, a s we explore Chakra Healing. You may want to bring a Yoga mat and/or a pillow .
Book Club comes to the Sunday Sharing Circle
As part of the new Ethical Living Committee the Sunday sharing circle will integrate a monthly Book Club the last Sunday of each month at 10AM in the BSEC Library .
The first book will be Life and Destiny by Felix Adler (out of print) for discussion
on Sunday Feb. 24th and March 24th at 10AM.
A copy will be available in the volunteer office.
We will discuss Small Is Beautiful by E.F. Schumacher on Sunday April 28 and May
26 at 10AM.
Ethical Education:CSA Events
Our annual CSA favorite,Mystery Pals, will be held on
Sunday, February 10th. Adult members who wish to participate should come toBSEC at 10:30AM.
Kids will be doing their part during CSA. The mysteries will be revealed during Munch with the Bunch.
Interested or curious?Contact lucyrmcnair@gmai
l.comEthical Education will have planning meetings andcurriculum discussionsthroughout the year.
Our first meeting of thissemester to kick it all off will be on Su nday, February 10th 1-2:30PM and willinclude syllabi presentations by our
teachers.All are welcome to join!
Ethical Action The Ethical Action Committee’s mission is to educate our members and the larger community about vital local and global ethical and social matters. The Ethical Action Committee (EAC) recruits speakers for BSEC platforms, organizesseminar and workshop programs, and sponsors book discussions and video events. Committee members network withneighborhood groups that share our concerns.
The Ethical Action Committee meets the 3rd Sunday of every month in the Library.
Upcoming meeting dates: February 17th and March 17th.
All are welcome.
Ethically Speaking February and March 2013
7/29/2019 Ethically Speaking: Feb and March 2013
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ethically-speaking-feb-and-march-2013 5/6
The Children's Sunday Assembly had a tremendoussemester this past fall thanks toour teachers: Alva of the upperassembly, Otis of the lowerassembly and Simba of the pre-
assembly. We thank Lucy McNair for organizing, andfacilitating - well just about everything. We also thank Catherine and all who haveshared with us their time. A special thank you to Ellen and Warren for their contributions, passion and commitment as wemove forward with an ethicaleducation curriculum that will
be based on our overall shared values at Brooklyn Society forEthical Culture.
BSEC has been so inspired by this effort that we engaged in preliminary exercises at themembership meeting expressing our core values. The gathered data may then be presented to the board, and a version may result that might be publicly posted as done by various Ethical Society chapters. It is an exciting timefor Ethical Education here at BSEC!
Working on the future has not taken time away from
treasuring our past. We kept thetradition of Wampanoag honoring Native American heritage asall assemblies and graduates of Ethical Education joined the
platform making it an inter- generational celebration. Oursleepover was also a hit, certainly not a sleeper hit -- since wealready know it to be one of the highlights of the year! We thank all our volunteers and especially our youths for their work. As a new semester begins we willcontinue to come together in
various forms to celebrate ethics,education and humanism. To makeit all possible,Ethical Education will have planning meetings andcurriculumdiscussionsthroughout the year.Our first meeting of
this semester to kick it all off will be onFebruary 10th and will include syllabi presentations by ourteachers. We welcome all who areinterested to join us.
CSA Sleepover Cupcake Decorating Photo Credit: Fiona Boneham
Children from the Lower Assembly in fullcostume at the Wampanoag Harvest FestivalPhoto Credit: Ben Halberstam
CSA ContactsLucy: [email protected]
Alva: [email protected]
Otis: [email protected]
Simba:[email protected]
YES Assembly in St. LouisPhoto Credit: Fiona Boneham
Ethically Speaking February and March 2013
Ethical Education
7/29/2019 Ethically Speaking: Feb and March 2013
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/ethically-speaking-feb-and-march-2013 6/6
BSEC Staff
Catherine Bordeau - Leader in Training Damal Edmond -Administrative DirectorBen Halberstam - Communications Manager
Newsletter EditorsBen Halberstam
Joel Shatzky
Board of Trustees 2012-2013Tom Castelnuovo" Fiona BonehamKim Brandon" " Tom Castelnuovo Alec Gershberg " Rebecca LurieLucy McNair" " Donna MinkowitzErin Moore" " Jean Rohe
“BSEC: Guiding free-thinkers since 1907”
Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture53 Prospect Park West Brooklyn, NY, 11215718-768-2972 www.bsec.org
W ebsite: www.bsec.org
Blog: www.bsec.org/BSEC/Blog
Facebook: Friend “Brooklyn Ethical”
and “Like” our page:
www.facebook.comEthicalCultureBrooklyn
To submit an article or photography to the
newsletter please send an E-mail to
[email protected] and check
the Newsletter section of website for dates
and guidelines for submissions.
Interested in BSEC membership?
Contact Carolyn at [email protected]
Book Club comes to the Sunday Sharing Circle Sundays, Feb. 24th and March 24th at 10AM
The Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture wishes to note the death of Robert (Bob) Kirschner (Jan. 9th, 1921- Jan. 7th, 2013), father of memberDiane Kirschner.
In the 1960s and 70s, Bob was an active BSEC member, serving as board president and as a Sunday school teacher. He was later a member of theLakeland Ethical Culture Fellowship and the Bergen Ethical Society, as well as the managing director of the Weis Ecology Center in Ringwood, NJ, when it was owned by Ethical Culture.
He dedicated his life to helping people and trying to make this world a more equitable, peacefu l and kinder place.In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory can be made to the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture.
Ethically Speaking February and March 2013
Stay Informed, Connected,and Involved with BSEC Memorial Notice
