UPCOMING EVENTS: Summer 2019
Event dates can also be found on our calendar page
Friday Morning Ethics Discussion: Immigration From A Personal Perspective
Friday August 16, 10am to noon
Holder’s Country Inn (998 S. DeAnza Blvd, San Jose CA 95129)
We have talked about immigration issues in a theoretical and legal sense. Let’s discuss how we interact with those who are immigrants, or if we are an immigrant, how have we interacted with others. What about the sense of being “other” in a dominant culture? Who is “other”?
Arthur Dobrin, Ethical Culture Leader Emeritus of Long Island Society, has a code of ethics that includes: Open Your Home to the Wayfarer and Never Think that You Are More than Another.
How do we see these ethical principles? Do we agree? Do we live by them when it comes to immigrants in our midst? Or how we think about immigration as an issue if we accept these guidelines from Arthur Dobrin?
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!
Sunday Spotlight: Racism And The Weight of History
Speaker: Visiting Ethical Culture Leader Hugh Taft-Morales
Sunday August 18, 11am
Neutra House (181 Hillview Ave., Los Altos CA 94022)
400 years of systemic racism and white supremacy in the United States has caused horrific damage to people and communities of color. Whites who acknowledge this damage and want to help heal the wounds of racism, however, sometimes are paralyzed by the weight of this history. How can we get beyond unproductive guilt so as to contribute to campaigns for real racial justice? Guest speaker Hugh Taft-Morales, from the Philadelphia and Baltimore Societies, explores how he uses history to recommit himself to anti-racism activism.
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.
The program begins at 11 a.m. and ends at 12:30 p.m. We’d love it if you’d stay for a beverage and light refreshments after to share your thoughts. 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 August 21, 7:30pm
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.)
Book Club: Women vs. Feminism – Why We All Need Liberating From The Gender Wars by Joanna Williams
Sunday August 25, 11am
Neutra House (181 Hillview Ave., Los Altos CA 94022)
There’s never been a better time to be a woman. Thanks to those feminists who fought for liberation, young women today have freedom and opportunities their grandmothers could barely have imagined. Girls do better at school than boys and are more likely to go to university. As a result, women are taking more of the top jobs and the gender pay gap has all but disappeared. Yet rather than encouraging women to seize the new possibilities open to them, contemporary feminism tells them they are still oppressed.
Women vs Feminism: Why We All Need Liberating from the Gender Wars challenges this stance, unpicking the statistics from the horror stories to explore the reality of women’s lives. It argues that today’s feminism is obsessed with trivial issues – skinny models, badly phrased jokes and misplaced compliments – and focuses on the regulation of male behavior rather than female empowerment, pitching men and women against each other in a never-ending gender war to nobody’s benefit.
• There are also some relevant videos featuring Joanna Williams online, in case you don’t get chance to finish the book, e.g. https://youtu.be/o6RB_39E9eo https://youtu.be/XESxW2FC8ag
• All are welcome (though please read the book)
• Please bring along at least one point for discussion
• If you have chance, look over the list to help choose the next book http://ethicalsiliconvalley.org/ecssv-book-club/
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 August 28, 6:30pm
Paula and Ben’s home (RSVP for location details)
Join us for another video exploring issues related to ethics, where we 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.
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.)
Sunday Study Session
Sunday September 1, 4pm
BJ and Lawrence’s home (RSVP for location details)
Want to know more about Ethical Culture? Have you attended some of our gatherings but don’t really know what Ethical Culture is all about? Attend this gathering where we review some of the documents created around the ideas and ideals of Ethical Culture as well as some of the current writings on Ethical Culture. This discussion will introduce Ethical Culture to new folks, refresh the ideas for the folks who’ve been around a while, and offer lots of ideas for discussion.
Please RSVP for location details, as this event is held at a private home. Use our Meetup page if you have a Meetup account, or you can contact us by email or this site’s contact form .
Friday Morning Ethics Discussion
Friday September 6, 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 September 8, 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!