The Ethical Culture Society of Silicon Valley (ECSSV) is an affiliate of the American Ethical Union. Ethical Culture is a humanistic religious, philosophical, and educational movement inspired by the ideal that the supreme aim of life is working to create a more humane society. Our focus is on how we live our lives. Our faith is in the capacity and responsibility of human beings to act in their personal relationships and in the larger community to help create a better world.
The Ethical Culture Society of Silicon Valley is a vibrant, caring community dedicated to cultivating ethical growth and action in its members and in the larger world. We are a democratic fellowship for people seeking a rational, compassionate philosophy of life without regard to belief or nonbelief in a supreme being.
We discuss ethical dilemmas that arise in our lives and in the world around us; hold programs to learn about ourselves, each other, and the issues of the day; and seek to be engaged citizens of our nation and our world. We collaborate with other organizations working for a more just and humane world.
Sunday Spotlight: The “UnChurch” Service
Sunday, August 20, 2017 11am to 12:30pm
Neutra House, 183 Hillview Ave., Los Altos, CA 94022
Join us one Sunday each month to hear from an inspiring, active speaker who will share information about an organization 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.
This month’s speaker is Rebecca Armstrong, and her theme is “The Unchurch Service.” In her words, there has been too much reliance on blind faith or blind obedience to authority. Our question is: What would “religion” – or its non-faith-based alternatives – look like without that blind faith and blind obedience?
The program begins at 11 a.m. and ends at 12:30 p.m. We hope you can join us for the event, and we’d love it if you stay afterward for a beverage and light refreshments and to share your thoughts.
It’s OK to just show up, but it always helps to know how many people to expect. You can use our Meetup page if you have a Meetup account, or you can contact us by email or this site’s contact form .
By the way, we’d love your input on our programs! If you have an idea for a topic or speaker for Sunday Spotlight, please let us know. The easiest method is to use our contact form and write something like “spotlight suggestion” in the subject line.
UPCOMING EVENTS: SUMMER/FALL 2017
Event dates can also be found on our calendar page
Wednesday July 26, 2017 7:30pm to 9pm
Video Night: Relationship Building
If ethics is about relationships, how do we build relationships? Join us for this 26-minute video as the Leader of the Washington Ethical Society reviews what their Society has done. Can we do that too? Should we?
Soup is served at 6:30pm, video starts at 7:30. 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 .
Saturday July 29th, 2017 3pm
San Francisco Mime Troupe (not an ECSSV event)
Location: St. James Park, N. 2nd St, San Jose, CA 95112
If you’re free this Saturday afternoon, join us to catch the San Francisco Mime Troupe’s new show “Walls”! It’s at 2:30 PM (3:00 curtain), so we’ll keep it very simple this year – no potluck picnic, just musical theater in the park (with a social-justice edge). “Walls” asks the question: How can a nation of immigrants declare war on immigration? The answer is FEAR!
This is not an Ethical Culture Society event, so no RSVP is necessary. Just show up with a beach chair or blanket (we’ll sit together), a sun hat, your sense of humor, and an open mind. The performance is free, but a donation will be requested (and is encouraged.)
Friday August 4th, 2017 10am to noon
Friday Morning Ethics Discussion
Location: Flavours of India, 4233 Moorpark Ave, 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. Please join this group and feel free to invite others! Bring your unique point of view and add to the discussion, which starts around 10:30.
Flavors of India serves lunch beginning at 11 AM. This place was formerly Lyons Restaurant, so we will have our favorite room upstairs. Quiet, private, roomy. Join us. Arrive early if you’d like to order food (highly recommended!). It’s OK to just show up, but it always helps to know how many people to expect. You can RSVP via our Meetup page if you have a Meetup account, or contact us by email or this site’s contact form .
Sunday August 6th, 2017 4pm to 6pm
Sunday Study Session
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.
Sunday August 13, 2017 10:30am to noon
Coffee And Conversation
Location: Ada’s Cafe, 3700 Middlefield Rd., Palo Alto, CA. 94303
This recurring event happens on the second Sunday of every month at the Cafe in front of the library at Mitchell Park Community Center. There is no predetermined theme, just friendly and respectful conversation. RSVP if possible so we can arrange the tables. If it’s raining or too chilly to be out in the open, we’ll be in one of the conference rooms inside the library or on the second-floor covered balcony that overlooks the library entrance. Look for the little blue Ethical Culture Society sign and you’ll know it’s us! You can RSVP using our Meetup page if you have a Meetup account, or you can contact us by email or this site’s contact form .
Wednesday August 16th, 2017 7:30pm to 9pm
Ethics Discussion and Food
Soup is served at 6:30pm, discussion starts at 7:30. 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 August 18, 2017 10am to noon
Friday Morning Theory Discussion
Location: IHOP Restaurant, 5403 Stevens Creek Blvd., Santa Clara CA 95051
We don’t pay for the room except by ordering food, so please consider this when you join us for the discussion
Please join this group and feel free to invite others! Bring your unique point of view and add to the discussion, which starts around 10:30. Arrive early if you’d like to order food (highly recommended!). It’s OK to just show up, but it always helps to know how many people to expect. You can RSVP via our Meetup page if you have a Meetup account, or contact us by email or this site’s contact form .
Wednesday August 23, 2017 7:30pm to 9pm
Media Night
Soup is served at 6:30pm, video starts at 7:30. 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 .
Sunday August 27, 2017 11am to 12:30pm
Book Discussion
Location: Mitchell Park Library, 3700 Middlefield Rd., Palo Alto CA 94303
Our book this month is Neil Postman’s “Amusing Ourselves To Death.” We try to reserve the Greenbriar Room upstairs in the Mitchell Park Library. There is limited space, so please RSVP via our Meetup page if you have a Meetup account, or contact us by email or this site’s contact form .