ECSSV is introducing a new program in 2020: EC2 or “Ethical Culture Everyone Counts.” EC2 is a platform for members and guests to share their skills, expertise, experience, and resources with other members and guests. EC2 will act to enhance and strengthen relationships among our members and guests.
Members and guests are invited and encouraged to ask for help as needed. Such needs might include: transportation, meal preparation, shopping, organizing, reading, lending supplies and equipment, gardening expertise, mending, technology assistance, visiting, translating, pet-sitting, dog walking, writing/proofreading, fruit picking, house-sitting, time management, etc. Members and guests are invited and encouraged to offer their help in providing services as listed above.
The Caring Committee will be the focal point for this program. Over the next few weeks, a detailed description of the program, along with applications, will be sent to all members. The forms will also be available at all of our events so that our guests can participate. The Caring Committee will receive all the applications and will work to make a match. Please use our contact form to let us know you are interested. Thank you!
UPCOMING EVENTS: Winter/Spring 2020
Event dates can also be found on our Meetup page and our calendar
Video Night With Discussion And Food: What Makes A Good Life?
Wednesday January 22nd 2020, 6:30pm
Paula and Ben’s home (RSVP for location details)
What makes a good life? Lessons from the longest study on happiness. Robert Waldinger Do you want to be rich or famous like one survey says over half of millennials want? Or is there something else that makes a good life? For 75 years, The Harvard Study of Adult Development has been tracking the lives of 724 men (teenagers at the beginning), with about 60 still alive and participating in the study. What makes a good life? Not riches and fame! There were two groups of men in the study: sophomores at Harvard College, and a group of boys from Boston’s poorest neighborhoods. What’s the lesson that comes from all this research? Good relationships make a good life! But there’s more to it than that! Join us to watch the video and to discuss it.
Vegan dinner served at 6:30, discussion at 7:30. PLEASE do not bring any food or drink into the home. RSVP for location details (you can use our Meetup page if you have an account there, or you can use our contact form.)
Book Club: Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
Sunday January 26th 2020, 11am
Neutra House (181 Hillview Ave., Los Altos CA 94022)
This month, we’ll be reading ‘Meditations’ by Marcus Aurelius. All are welcome, though please read the book and bring along at least one point for discussion. If you have chance, look over the list to help choose the next book.
Abstract:
Few ancient works have been as influential as the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, philosopher and emperor of Rome (A.D. 161–180). A series of spiritual exercises filled with wisdom, practical guidance, and profound understanding of human behavior, it remains one of the greatest works of spiritual and ethical reflection ever written. Marcus’s insights and advice—on everything from living in the world to coping with adversity and interacting with others—have made the Meditations required reading for statesmen and philosophers alike, while generations of ordinary readers have responded to the straightforward intimacy of his style. For anyone who struggles to reconcile the demands of leadership with a concern for personal integrity and spiritual well-being, the Meditations remains as relevant now as it was two thousand years ago.
Although it’s fine to just show up, it would be greatly appreciated if you RSVP so we have some idea how many people to expect and can set up the room accordingly. You can use our Meetup page if you have an account there, or you can use our contact form. Thanks!
First Sunday Ethical Action Meeting: Where From? Where To?
Sunday February 2nd, 11am
Neutra House (181 Hillview Ave., Los Altos CA 94022)
Ethical Culture has a long history of taking on projects to make the world a better place. Since 2006, our Society in Silicon Valley has included ethical action as one of our core beliefs and activities. It’s time to assess what we’ve done and to look at what we plan to do next.
You belong in this group if you want to take a deeper dive into the history of Ethical Action in our movement, explore what actions might be deserving of our efforts, understand different approaches, and decide what to do next. You belong if you are curious; you belong if you are motivated to do something to make things better. Please join us!
Although it’s fine to just show up, it would be greatly appreciated if you RSVP so we have some idea how many people to expect and can set up the room accordingly. You can use our Meetup page if you have an account there, or you can use our contact form. Thanks!
Friday Morning Ethics Discussion
Friday February 7th, 10am to noon
Holder’s Country Inn (998 S. DeAnza Blvd, San Jose CA 95129)
Using situations in life and from the news of the week, we’ll explore ethical issues of the day. The topic will change every month. Bring issues from your life or the news to share.
Although it’s fine to just show up, it would be greatly appreciated if you RSVP so we have some idea how many people to expect. You can use our Meetup page if you have an account there, or you can use our contact form. Thanks!
Coffee and Conversation
Sunday February 9th, 11am
Neutra House (181 Hillview Ave., Los Altos CA 94022)
Coffee & Conversation sessions are informal, inclusive, supportive gatherings. We just talk about things that are on our minds, things that make for, or detract from, a fulfilling human life in the real world for ourselves and for other people. We listen to each other, share our thoughts, sip our hot drinks, and enjoy being together. We do this at Neutra House in Los Altos the second Sunday of each month at 11:00 in the morning. Linda and John will lead the discussion.
Although it’s fine to just show up, it would be greatly appreciated if you RSVP so we have some idea how many people to expect and can set up the room accordingly. You can use our Meetup page if you have an account there, or you can use our contact form. Thanks!
Sunday Spotlight: Colloquy led by Ben Wade
Sunday February 16th, 11am
Neutra House (181 Hillview Ave., Los Altos CA 94022)
Join us one Sunday each month to hear from an inspiring, active speaker who will share information about working to make our community and our world a better place. Topics run the gamut from basic needs to social justice to the environment. We welcome you to participate by listening and engaging in thoughtful dialogue, with a little live music mixed in. We provide the coffee, tea, and a welcoming space for inquiring minds and open hearts to learn from one another.
Although it’s fine to just show up, it would be greatly appreciated if you RSVP so we have some idea how many people to expect and can set up the room accordingly. You can use our Meetup page if you have an account there, or you can use our contact form. Thanks!
Evening Ethics Discussion and Food
Wednesday February 19th, 6:30pm
Paula and Ben’s home (RSVP for location details)
Ethical dilemmas from our daily lives will be the focus of the discussion. Bring ethical situations you personally face to the group for a hearty and thoughtful discussion. For instance, are you faced with an ethical choice and wonder what the right thing to do is? Does something you see in the media make you wince because you think it’s unethical? Did some person act in a way that received media attention because it was seen as very “moral” and it got you thinking about what you would do in the same situation? Bring it to the group and we’ll discuss it!
Vegan dinner served at 6:30, discussion at 7:30. PLEASE do not bring any food or drink into the home. RSVP for location details (you can use our Meetup page if you have an account there, or you can use our contact form.)
Friday Morning Ethics Discussion
Friday February 21st, 10am to noon
Holder’s Country Inn (998 S. DeAnza Blvd, San Jose CA 95129)
Using situations in life and from the news of the week, we’ll explore ethical issues of the day. The topic will change every month. Bring issues from your life or the news to share.
Although it’s fine to just show up, it would be greatly appreciated if you RSVP so we have some idea how many people to expect. You can use our Meetup page if you have an account there, or you can use our contact form. Thanks!
Book Club: A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny
Sunday February 23rd, 11am
Neutra House (181 Hillview Ave., Los Altos CA 94022)
All are welcome, though please read the book and bring along at least one point for discussion. If you have chance, look over the list to help choose the next book.
Although it’s fine to just show up, it would be greatly appreciated if you RSVP so we have some idea how many people to expect and can set up the room accordingly. You can use our Meetup page if you have an account there, or you can use our contact form. Thanks!
Video Night With Discussion And Food
Wednesday February 26th, 6:30pm
Paula and Ben’s home (RSVP for location details)
Join us for another video exploring issues related to ethics. We will look into the deeper and more introspective questions in life. The goal of the night is to be inspired and motivated to pursue meaningful virtues in our everyday lives. Suggestions for videos under 30 minutes are welcome!
Vegan dinner served at 6:30, discussion at 7:30. PLEASE do not bring any food or drink into the home. RSVP for location details (you can use our Meetup page if you have an account there, or you can use our contact form.)