November 2013

President's Corner

Posted on November 20, 2013 by John Hooper

Before I tell you about the important progress we are making in both reinforcing the Humanist core of Unitarian Universalism and acting as a bridge between Unitarian Universalism and the secular/non-theist community, I have an exciting announcement to make:

On November 18, 2013, your Board of Directors unanimously approved the appointment of Maria Greene to the part-time position of Development and Communications Director of the Unitarian Universalist Humanist Association (HUUmanists). Maria will guide our efforts in three areas: Membership Development/Fundraising; Local Group identification, formation and affiliation; and Communications. Please join me in thanking Maria for taking on this critical job in our movement and in giving her our enthusiastic support. In a related action, the Board has appointed Rev. Dr. Neil Gerdes to the position of Secretary of the Association, replacing Maria.

Let me tell you about just a few of the exciting "happenings" involving your UU Humanist Association. Read more about President's Corner »

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UUA President Morales on Science and the Search for Meaning

Posted on November 11, 2013 by John Hooper

Unitarian Universalist Humanists will be very encouraged by reading UUA President Peter Morales' recent article "Science and the Search for Meaning," published in last summer's issue of The New Atlantis. Peter forcefully reaffirms the Unitarian Universalist principle: "we affirm and promote a free and responsible search for truth and meaning." The entire essay could be interpreted as a thoughtful explication of our Unitarian Universalist Humanist Association (HUUmanists) core values of Reason, Compassion, and Community. Thanks, Peter. We needed that!

Here are Peter Morales' words:

Two Views on the History and Promise of the Unitarian Universalist Association

Posted on November 9, 2013 by Maria Greene

As part of Michael Werner's New England book tour, he made a stop at The Unitarian Church of Westport, CT for an event with Denny Davidoff, moderated by HUUmanists president John Hooper. Here is the video from that event with great thanks to Wilson Converse of eyedit.tv.

Two Views on the history and Promise of the Unitarian Universalist Association. A discussion

A Local Group Profile: Humanists of UUCF

Posted on November 8, 2013 by Mary Bellamy

[Editor's Note: This is the first in a series of Local Group profiles that we are doing in order to give members an idea of the variety of types of groups out there and to help share ideas. If you are associated with a local group, please share your profile!)

Humanists of UUCF is based at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Fairfax, Virginia.

When was the group founded? We had our first regular meeting in September 2012.

When and how often do you meet? We meet monthly on Monday evenings for 90 minutes.

What is your average attendance? It varies greatly from about 15 to 40 attendees. Read more about A Local Group Profile: Humanists of UUCF »

Big, Bad Booth?

Posted on November 4, 2013 by Roger Brewin

I've been "running" the HUU booth at General Assembly, with an able assist from Jack Reich and each year, a rotating cast of enthusiastic others, since 2002. I take some pride in the fact that we are usually among the largest and most energetic displays in the exhibit hall. I take pride in the fact that we share our space with other humanist and social justice organizations - this year the Channing-Murray Campus Ministry, the Humanist Institute, Secular Student Alliance, and a Gun Control group called "Change the Conversation," were all on board.

Greg Epstein of Harvard Humanists and Kevin Watson of The Humanist Institute Read more about Big, Bad Booth? »

Ribbons on the Road

Posted on November 4, 2013 by Roger Brewin

A collection of two dozen fabric arts panels made by humanist and UU artists around the country, began its fall tour during the last weekend of September, with a showing at a Michigan community event and a UU Fellowship Sunday service. "Ribbons Not Walls" (a project of HUUmanists) invites people to create yard long representations of immigration related events and themes. The collection includes a starkly poetic rendering of a portion of the "wall" between the US and Mexico by 13 year old Illinois UU Alayna Vesto, two panels featuring the primitive quilting style of Linda Lee, lead artist of the well known Farmworkers Memorial quilt out of Florida, and the HUUmanists "Librotraficante" (Book SmUUggler) Iogo, stitched and be-ribboned by Michigan secular humanist Sherron Collins. Read more about Ribbons on the Road »