ChiCago EthiCal humanist Newsletter of the Ethical humanist sociEty of chicago

oCtobEr 2016

Welcome to Our Sunday Morning Programs in OctoberKATHERINE OZMENT, award-winning author and journalist, speaks Sunday, October 2nd, on “Grace Without God: The Search for Meaning, Purpose, and Belonging in a Secular Age.” Ozment will discuss why so many Americans are leaving the traditional framework of organized re-ligion and what this means for individuals,

families, and communities as we seek to create connection and meaning in life.

BOB CREAMER and CHRIS ROBLING present “Clinton Vs. Trump: The Battle for the Presidency,” on Sunday, Octo-ber 9th. Democratic activist and consultant Creamer and Re-publican analyst and consultant Robling will engage in a lively debate on who they think should

succeed Barack Obama and lead our nation for the next four years. This will be the seventh quadrennial appearance at the Society of these veteran political advocates.

BYUNG CHUL (B.C.) KOH, professor emeritus of politi-cal science at the University of Illinois in Chicago, speaks

Sunday, October 16th, on “Origins of the Korean Divide and North Korea Today.” A Korean War orphan, former Korean air force officer and journalist, and frequent visitor to both Koreas, Koh will discuss how the country came to be divid-ed. He will describe conditions in North Korea today and discuss its viability and possible threat.

CLARK ELLIOTT, professor of artificial intelligence and cognitive science at DePaul University, speaks Sunday, October 23rd, on “The Ghost in My Brain: How a Con-cussion Stole My Life.” Elliott will discuss how with the help of two Chicago-area clinicians he recovered from a debilitating traumatic brain injury.

SETH DARLING, a research scientist at Argonne National Laboratory and a Fellow at the University of Chicago, speaks Sunday, October 30th, on “The End of Water as We Know It.” Darling will discuss the increas-ing use of water and its impending worldwide shortage. He will warn of a conflict in this century much like that over oil in the last century.

• Our Adult Education Committee is having its annual meeting on Sunday, October 2nd, at 12:15 p.m. It is open to all. We’re asked to bring our ideas and proposals for fu-ture Fiction Circle, Ethical Humanities, or other programs. • Our Second Saturday Coffeehouse, on October 8th, at 8 p.m., features “A Prairie State Companion,” a musical and comedic look at the upcoming presidential election, mc’d by Ken Novak. (It will include a visit by an unreasonable fac-simile of one of the candidates.) The $8 at the door includes refreshments. A great enjoyable evening. Don’t miss it!• Our Film Discussion group, led by John Ungashick, meets on Monday, October 10th, at 7:15 p.m. We’ve again chosen two current movies. A Tale of Love and Darkness, based on a memoir by Israeli novelist Amos Oz, is about a young boy’s bond with his emotionally fragile mother.

It was directed by and stars Natalie Portman. The Light Between Oceans is a tragic melodrama about a couple and a baby they’ve rescued. It was directed by Derek Cianfrance, with Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander. The backup film is Little Men, set in gentrifying Brooklyn. • Our Creative Writers group, led by Sue Sherman, meets on Sunday, October 16th, at 12:15 p.m. As usual we’ll be sharing our short, original works. A welcome to newcomers!• Our Fiction Circle is on Sunday, November 6th. We’ll

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Other Society Events

The meetinghouse of the Society is at 7574 N. Lincoln Ave., Skokie. Sunday programs start at 10:30 a.m. A social hour fol-lows. For parking, use our lot, spaces at the adjoining store, How-ard St. or Jerome St., or the lot at the Albany Bank. If you need transportation, call the office by 1 p.m., Friday—we’ll try to get a ride for you.

discuss Aristophanes’ Lysistrata and its recent remixes: Meg Wolitzer’s 2011 novel The Uncoupling and Spike Lee’s 2015 film Chi-Raq. English translations of Lysistrata are available online and at libraries, The Uncoupling in paperback and at libraries, and Chi-Raq by streaming at Amazon Prime. Contact Ken Novak to borrow an audio version of The Uncoupling and to see Chi-Raq.

Recent Sunday Programs• Kim McWhorter, a Society member, spoke August 14th on “Working with Pets.” Ray Berg was moderator.

Kim was joined in the program by veterinarian Cyndi Olsen and activist Mary Veeneman. Kim recalled her intro-duction to caring for cats many years ago. She described working with other volunteers at Harmony House of Cats, a local not-for-profit, no-kill shelter, where cats, many of them strays, are examined and treated for various diseases.

Cyndi discussed her “passion for veterinarian medicine,” giving details on using acupuncture and chiropractic heal-ing with cats. Mary pointed to her work in cat rescue and placement efforts and in helping people to keep their cats at home. They noted that in caring for pets children learn to be more humane. They showed many appealing, wide-eyed photos of cats they have known.

• Mignon DeKlerk and Kara Malenfant, Society mem-bers, spoke August 21st on “Bringing the World Home: Stories of the Peace Corps.” Leonard DeKlerk was mod-erator.

Kara began with a history of the Peace Corps, founded by President Kennedy in 1961. She described being a volunteer English teacher in Armenia in 1992–1994, where she lived with an Armenian family. She talked about her immersion in this Caucasian country’s “rich culture” and her interactions with its people. She said “My experience there has made me more patient and tolerant.” She noted her nostalgic return visit this past summer.

Mignon described being a Peace Corps volunteer in Zim-babwe in the early 1990s, where she lived with a Shona family and taught business skills, “spreading the gospel of capitalism” to subsistence farmers. She praised this coun-try’s culture, especially its music and dance. She shared many stories with the people she met, like those of a local

women’s rights activist. ‘We have much in common,” she said. Both Kara and Mignon showed many pictures.

• Our Creative Writers annual showcase program was presented on August 28th. It was introduced by Sue Walton and led by Sue Sherman. As examples of our own creative writing, audience members first wrote and read their impromptu reactions to a screen-projected image of a man holding a rope. Then we enjoyed a stirring medley of original poems, essays, musings, and short stories by Sue, Milt Zerkin, Rochelle Zappia, Charles Kuner, Tony Zappia, Betty Gabel, John Taylor, and Judith Ball.

• Eric Zorn, noted Chicago Tribune columnist, spoke September 11th on “OK, Now What: Where Are the City, State, and Country Headed?” Anil Kashyap was moderator.

A professed liberal, Zorn commented on the raging presidential contest. He reviewed current polls, but warned of his “abysmal track record in making predictions.” He praised Hillary Clinton as “a fearless storyteller” who has been unfairly rated, and wondered why Donald Trump has attracted so many followers. He criticized votes for a 3rd party candidate as “luxurious and destructive.”

Zorn reviewed “the present predicament” of the budget impasse in Illinois. He rapped the long history of under-funded pension liabilities, created by both Republican and Democratic administrations. He charged Governor Rauner with “malfeasance” for “playing chicken” with legislators in pursuing his anti-union “turnaround agenda.” He called on us not to ”demonize Speaker Madigan” but regretted that “neither side is willing to compromise.” We’re in “an irresponsible state of continuing paralysis,” he concluded.

• Mark Larson, a professor of education at National Louis University and curator and longtime interviewer for AmercanStoriesContinuum.com, spoke September 18th on “Ensemble: Stories from the Chicago Theater Com-munity.” Shari Pollack was moderator.

Larson noted how few theater companies there were in Chicago in the 1950s, and said there are now more than 250. He discussed the origins and “interesting moments” in the history of Chicago theater and noted the emergence of such companies as Steppenwolf, Black Theater Ensemble, Playwrights Theater, Chicago Shakespeare, Compass Play-ers, Court Theatre, and Lookingglass, They support each other and are “the spirit of Chicago,” he declared.

Larson played some of his many audio interviews and showed pictures of many now-famous actors and directors who began their careers in Chicago before moving on to New York and Los Angeles. Among them were Michael Shannon, George Wendt, Ed Asner, Katie Rich, David Schwimmer, Robert Falls, and Chuck Smith.“There’s a lot going on in Chicago,” he concluded. “We need to stay!”

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Who We Are

The Ethical Humanist Society of Chicago is a self-governing, inclusive, caring community—providing a home to those who seek a rational, compassionate philosophy of life without regard to belief or non-belief in a supreme being.Like traditional religious communities, we celebrate births,

conduct wedding ceremonies, and host memorial services. We provide for the ethical education of our children. We believe in working together for a better world, and strive to act so as to bring out the best in others and thereby in ourselves.

Notices and Announcements• We are launching Game Nights on the first Saturday of the month. The first one will be on October 1st, 6 to 9 p.m. They will be low-key fun events where individuals and families will enjoy a variety of games and meet new people. You can bring your own food and beverages or, if you arrive before 6:15, chip in for pizza. For more information, email gamenight@ethicalhuman.org. See you!• Our Fall Children’s Fair is on Sunday, October 23rd. It starts at noon in the parking lot, which will be closed for the fair and not available for the morning program. Entry is free. Nominal ticket prices for food, various games, a raffle, and fantastic balloon creations. Lots of fun!• Our next soup kitchen is on Monday, October 24th, again at Evanston’s Second Baptist Church, 10 a.m.–1:30 p.m. A few volunteers are needed to prepare and serve a hot, nutri-tious meal for many of our less fortunate neighbors. A sign-up sheet is on the bulletin board in the hallway, or contact Marilee Cole or the office for more information. • Enjoy the coffee and social hour after our Sunday morning programs. We provide the coffee and serve the bite-sized snacks brought by our members, using a sched-ule corresponding to their last names: 1st Sunday, A–D; 2nd Sunday, E–K; 3rd Sunday, L–P; 4th Sunday, Q–Z. We also appreciate the volunteers who help with the setup and cleanup. Thanks, everyone!• Visiting the Society for the first time? Welcome! We hope you like the wide variety of our Sunday morning pro-grams. You may have first been with us at our secular Sun-day School or at one of our activities and interest groups. We hope you’ve met like-minded people and found the caring, nonsectarian humanist congregation you are looking for. At our monthly Newcomers Chat, you can learn more about the Society and consider becoming a member. If you have any questions, please email joinus@ethicalhuman.org.• Getting married? Naming your baby? Having a memo-rial service? Our Ethical Officiants, trained to perform weddings, baby namings, and memorial services, are Matt Cole and Katie Merrell. For a caring, secular ceremony, inquire at our office.• Our Tribute Fund is a way of honoring each other—like condolences on the death of a loved one and congratulations on a birth, wedding, or personal achievement. Each trib-ute is printed in the newsletter. Forms are on the literature tables.• Renting space in our building—for a party, meeting, class, concert, ceremony, or special event—is easy. One room or several. Reasonable prices. Contact our office for details. • Do you need public transportation to our Sunday meet-ings? A #290 bus leaves the Howard L station at 9:30 a.m. and goes to Touhy and Cicero, a short walk to our building.

A return #290 bus to Howard leaves Touhy and Cicero at 1:20 p.m. The Skokie Swift’s Oakton St. station is nearby.• Get a weekly e-mail update on future programs and ac-tivities—subscribe to our website: www.ethicalhuman.org. For our monthly printed newsletter, a subscription is $20 per year if you’re not a member, a contributing friend, or new on our mailing list.

Sunday School Scoop . . . Golden Rule Sunday School fun began with our picnic in

Winnemac Park and our first Sunday of getting-to-know-you games. On the 18th Mike Rush led us on our annual bug walk, helping us identify dozens of insects and learn more about the natural world. We got to know more about each other, what we have in common, and how we are dif-ferent.

October is filled with activities, beginning with our monthly lunch packing for the Lincoln Park Community Shelter and with a potential extra-service project at Em-ily Oaks. At our annual Children’s Fair, on the 23rd, R.C. Juggles will return with his amazing balloon creations, and we’ll have the gift basket raffle, cakewalks, myriad games, food, and photo opportunities. We urge all our friends to attend. It will be fun for everyone! We’ll end the month by making Halloween decorations and creating a Day of the Dead Ofrenda with contributions from our whole commu-nity. In between we’ll begin exploring our topic for the year: Ethical Humanism.

Our People . . . • Anil Kashyap, Society member and professor of eco-nomics and finance at the University of Chicago, used the fivethirtyeight website to comment on Britain’s vote in June to leave the European Union: “The Brexit May Be Just the Beginning of Anti-Europe Votes.” Anil has also been ap-pointed to the Bank of England’s Financial Policy Commit-tee by Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, who called him “a leading expert on financial risk.”• Ed Gogol, a member of the Society and president of Final Options Illinois, co-authored a letter in the Spring 2016 is-sue of The University of Chicago Magazine. In it he advo-cated for “the legal right to obtain the means to a peaceful, dignified, humane, pain-free death.”

—Katherine Ross, Director

The Ethical Humanist Society of Chicago, founded in 1882, is a chapter of the American Humanist Association.Officers & Trustees: Katherine Ross, President; Jan Kuhn, Vice

President; Ray Berg, Secretary; John Ungashick, Treasurer; Svet-lana Bekman, Matt Cole, Alan Kimmel, Sue Sherman, Ed Thomp-son.Sunday School Director: Katherine RossYES Advisors: Lisa Crowe, Sharon Appelquist Office Administrator: Sharon AppelquistNewsletter Editor: Alan Kimmel Ethical Officiants: Matt Cole, Katie Merrell

Ethical Humanist Society of Chicago

7574 N. Lincoln Avenue, Skokie, IL 60077-3335Phone: (847) 677-3334; Fax: (847) 677-3335Web Site: www.ethicalhuman.orgE-mail: office@ethicalhuman.org

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Ethical humanist sociEty

OCTOBER 2016 CALENDARThe office of the Society is openevery weekday - 10 am to 2 pm.

Call 847-677-3334 with any questions.

2nd SAturdAy CoffeehouSe

8:00 p.m.

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

film diSCuSSion Group

7:15 p.m.

BoArd of truSteeS

7:15 p.m.

10:30 B.C. Koh “Origins of the Korean Divide and North Korea Today”12:15 - Creative Writers; Sunday Progam Committee

10:30 BoB CreAmer & ChriS roBlinG

“Clinton Vs. Trump: The Battle for the Presidency”

10:30 ClArK elliott

“The Ghost in My Brain: How a Concus-sion Stole My Life” 12:15 - Children’s Fair

10:30 KAtherine ozment “Grace Without God: The Search for Meaning, Purpose, and Belonging in a Secu-lar Age”12:15 - Adult Education Committee

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3010:30 Seth dArlinG “The End of Water as We Know It”

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