Past Events — Ethical Society of Austin

Jan. 22 How a Bill Becomes Law in Texas - Hans Maverick, who has been a member of the Ethical Society of Austin for a few years now, and a grassroots activist for many more years, gave a presentation on how proposed bills are enacted into laws in the Texas legislature.

Jan. 15 Becoming the Change: Transforming Anger into Peace Power - This is a video presentation of a program Dr. Arun Gandhi gave at the New York Ethical Society on October 21, 2021.

Jan. 8 Burning Bowl Ceremony - We start the year with the Burning Bowl Ceremony. We let go of a burden we've been carrying, and send a message to our future selves.

2022

Dec. 18 Our Winter Solstice celebration is a participatory program. We invite each person to bring something to share: a memory, a poem, a story, a song, anything that means something to you about this season.

Dec. 11 The Concept of Worth in Ethical Culture - This was a a video of Dr. Berson’s platform for the Ethical Society of Northern Westchester on May 30, 2021.

Dec. 4 Colloquy on Childhood Memories - The purpose of Colloquy is to help participants, in a communal setting, “delve more deeply into the depths of their own being and to develop the habit of self-reflection, to live in a closer conformity to their stated beliefs and to find a source of inspiration.”
During a Colloquy, participants reflect on a theme introduced by a facilitator. Sharing about the session’s theme often promotes deeper insight.

Nov. 27 George Orwell’s “Notes on Nationalism” - Written in 1945 just as the smoke was about to clear across Europe and Japan, George Orwell penned this famous essay giving us his definition of “Nationalism.”

Nov. 20 Replanting our Fields: Long-term, National Planning for Ethical Culture - Carolyn Parker and Lynn Gilbert report on the AEU’ President’s Retreat.

Nov. 13 How Do We Respond to the Climate Crisis? This is a video presentation of Baltimore Ethical Society's June 13, 2021 program by Dharna Noor.

Nov. 6 Colloquy on Quitting - The flip side of persistence is knowing when to quit.

Oct. 30 All Society Platform with Senator Russ Feingold

Oct. 23 Han Shot First, a Conversation About Ethics, Heroes, and How We Share Our Values - How have our ideas about being a hero changed? We talked about our evolving ideas of what it means to be a hero. In real life or fiction, who were your heroes and who are they now?

Oct. 16 The Divided Heart of These United States - The deeply humanist ideals that underlie the Constitution and Bill of Rights have been in tension with the reality of oppression and exploitation since before the founding of the Republic. What will become of the American Experiment?

Oct. 9 Striving to Live Our Ethical Values - A video of Louise Jett’s May 29, 2022 platform at Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture

Oct. 2 Colloquy

Sept. 25 The Gavel Heard Round the World - Dr. Nori Rost talked about what it mean to live in a post-Roe society.

Sept. 18 Unpacking Ableism: Understanding the Disability Experience - Rachel Kallem Whitman talks about how disability is more than a diagnosis but also a source of identity, community, and culture. It’s time to talk about what it means to be an ally in the fight against ableism.

Sept. 11 Fall Membership Meeting

Sept. 4 Colloquy on Authenticity - Where in your life do you feel comfortable in being authentic and where are you uncomfortable?

Aug. 28 How Can We Live Our Values When Others Won’t? - A video presentation of a platform given by James Croft, Leader of the Ethical Society of St Louis on July 31, 2022.

Aug. 21 Roe v Wade and the New Dred Scott - Jon Meador reviewed the essential holdings of Roe and Dobbs and point out how Dobbs is nothing more than a polished-up version of Dred Scott.

Aug. 14 Building the Beloved Community - What would our world be like if we - individuals and groups - could relate to each other with compassion, respecting the worth and dignity of all, and recognizing our interconnectedness?

Aug. 7 Colloquy on Imperfection - Which of your Imperfections do you embrace?

July 31 Racial Literacy in Schools - Mariama Richards discusses the importance of early education in racial literacy and its teaching at the Ethical Culture Fieldston Schools.

July 24 American Ethical Union 107th Annual Assembly - All Hands on Deck, celebrating the volunteers of Ethical Culture

July 17 Food Recovery: Putting Good Food to Good Use - Keep Austin Fed is a champion for our neighbors experiencing food insecurity.

July 10 The Faith of a Humanist - In what way, are we, at an Ethical Society, “people of faith”?

July 3 Colloquy on Fighting - What do you fight for? How do you fight?

June 26 The Death of Democracy, or the Death of Democracy? - Democracy is dying we’re told. Who’s telling us this? Nearly everyone who wants to write a book about it.

June 19 Undone by Women - A recorded talk by Anne Klaeysen, Leader of the New York Society for Ethical Culture.

June 12 The Lost Cause: Unpacking the Myth that Pervades our Culture - Jone Johnson Lewis, Consulting Leader of the Ethical Society of Austin, reviewed some of the history of the creation and perpetuation of the myth, and how that myth survives in today’s culture, even among those who know that the narrative is based on a deliberate rewriting of history.

June 5 Colloquy on Patience - Where are you patient, and where are you passive?

May 29 My Ethical Hero - Members shared their personal ethical heroes, the stories of what these people accomplished, the ethical principles at work, and how they have tried to apply these lessons in their own lives.

May 22 A More Compassionate Society: Myths, Concerns and resources for Going Vegan - Ethical Society member Lacey Mount talks about her path to choosing a vegan diet.

May 15 All Society Platform Celebrating How We Got Here

May 8 A Philosophy of Life - When Felix Adler outlined his “ethical philosophy of life” he was careful to label it “an ethical philosophy” and not “THE ethical philosophy.” That itself reflects one of his crucial founding ideas: the acceptance of diversity in belief.

May 1 Colloquy on Changing Your Mind

April 24 The Uses of Humor - In October, 2019, Hugh Taft-Morales gave a platform exploring the ethical uses of humor.

April 17 To Go Boldly: Ethical Culture and Star Trek - Who knew in 1966 that a cheesy SF television program would spawn a cultural phenomenon that continues well into the 21st century? Who knew that the Prime Directive was just one way in which humanism showed up in American living rooms 56 years ago?

April 10 Multi-society Platform: Remaking Our Relationship With the Dead

April 3 Colloquy on Power - Power: the ability to do something, to create change in the world, is essential to life. Ethics is impossible without the power of agency. We might even say that ethics is the skillful use of power.

March 27 Kindness, What’s Your Story? - What are some ways to practice kindness in daily life, even in fleeting contacts with others? Tell us about acts of kindness you’ve experienced, witnessed, or performed.

March 20 Spring Membership Meeting

March 13 Put a Banana in your Purse for a Week - If we are, individually or as a community, to learn, grow, and develop, it means we need to know how to handle change.

March 6 Remembering Rob Corbett

Feb. 27 Colloquy on Being the Other

Feb. 20 Languages of Connection - Cortney Kingery discussed the psychology behind Dr. Gary Chapman’s work and present different ways it can be utilized in our efforts toward living more fulfilled lives.

Feb. 13 Program cancelled at the last minute due to presenter illness, extended Joys and Concerns sharing.

Feb. 6 Colloquy on The Gifts of Despair - Despair is a painful, wretched feeling, Can it also be a useful thing if it forces us to change? If it gives us permission to let go? Have there been times in your life when despair, looked at differently, was a gift?

Jan. 30 AEU All Society Platform, W. E. B. Du Bois: Will the Truth Set You Free?

Jan. 23 How to be Your Own Tea Monk, a conversation about creating connection

Jan. 16 Religious Diversity and Tax Exemption in Texas: An Examination of Strayhorn v. Ethical Society of Austin. Does a non-profit organization have to espouse a belief in God or a Supreme Being in order to qualify for religious tax exemption?

Jan. 9 Community for Free Thinkers - Jone Johnson Lewis reflected on what kind of community fits the needs of freethinkers, and what freethinkers bring to community that’s special. What inspires us to move beyond our own narrow needs to address the needs of other individuals, locally and globally, and the human community as a whole?

Jan. 2 Burning Bowl Ceremony