38 Old Country Rd
Garden City,
NY 11530

(516) 741-7304

PREVIOUS ISSUES
December 98
November 98
October 98
September 98
June 98
May 98
April 98
March 98
February 98
January 98
December 97
November 97

• Viewpoint
• The President Reports
• Sustaining Our Spiritual Home
• Food Certificates
• Travel Group for Singles
• New Newsletter Feature
• Pandora's Box -- Public Affairs Committee
• Response to December's Viewpoint
• Religious Education
• Personals
• Endorsement
• Weather Advisory
• Book Group
• Letter to the President
• Letter to the Leader
• Film Nights at EHS
• Nominating Commitee
• Long Island Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives

The recent (to some endless and to others endlessly fascinating) discussion about singing and standing brings me to some thoughts about Ethical Leadership.

During the course of the two-month dialogue, I was, alternately accused of being a dictator and exhibiting leadership qualities. This raises the question about the proper role of professional leadership in an Ethical Society.

It is a quandary. We are a democratic organization, after all. So what members want is what members get. Or is it? The Leader of the Society - whoever her or she may be - is the guardian of our spiritual, religious and philosophical life. As the leader I have been empowered by the Board of Trustees to shape, mold, supervise, conduct and protect the core of our institution, the Sunday morning meetings. This, and pastoral care, are at the center of being an Ethical Leader.

When I inadvertently set off the furor over singing one Sunday morning, I requested that our president put the matter onto the agenda of the Membership Meeting so I could hear the sentiment of the membership.

I listened to what was said and I tried to consider all aspects. But there was something more. I also took into consideration the desires of those who weren't there - humanists without affiliation and former members of the Society and tried to imagine the ways that our Society can reach deeper and further.

With all this in mind, I reached a decision. Not everyone will be satisfied. Unfortunately, there are some matters that can't be split down the middle without arriving at something so insipid that it is acceptable only because it offends no one.

Here it is: We will continue to sing on Sundays; we will expand our repertoire (all suggestions are welcome); and those who want to stand will be invited to do so.

Those who don't want to sing shouldn't feel pressured into opening their mouths and those who don't want to stand needn't feel pressured to get on their feet. Singing and standing isn't a litmus test of loyalty or a comment on anyone's character. Some want to sing because it makes them happy and some want to stand because the music sounds better that way.

I think making a joyful sound together is a good thing.

===== Arthur Dobrin

Back to top

I firmly believe that 1998 was one of the great years of accomplishment in the history of the Long Island Ethical Humanist Society. Of course, any measurement of that type is subject to the weight of opinion. Realistically, we must take into account some of the excellent long-range planning and actions of various Boards of Trustees prior to 1998 even though this year is when many of those plans finally came to fruition. When making assessments of any kind it is wise to realize that no society lives in a vacuum but is subject to many and various actions and events that it is largely not solely responsible for but must react to. All this being said, I still believe we have had a banner year.

Our financial house is being put in better order than it has been in many, many years and, depending on the final outcome of this year's face-to-face pledge campaign, we are looking at the real possibility of a sensibly balanced budget with absolutely no hidden expenditures or deficits in it. We are current with the A.E.U. and our plan for paying off our debt to them has been accepted.

The Leader's Advisory Council is deliberating and considering a slow and orderly 'changing of the guard' against the day (perhaps more than five years down the road) when Arthur Dobrin will take a lesser role in the Society's day-to-day operation and we might have need of a new Leader.

The special information folder which holds documents of vital and private importance to our members, to be used in emergencies, is gaining more and more acceptance within the Society. It can lead to the Society playing a more central part in our lives and many have been filled out and filed with Arthur for safekeeping.

The gifting program, which was scheduled to be formally kicked-off in December, has been postponed, due to an illness, but will definitely start rolling in earnest at some date early in 1999.

Our member, Joe Milizio has been informing the Society, on various Sundays, of the value of this program and will continue to do so as we move on toward the future.

Our web site has been established and we are a vital part of the coming millennium. It can be found on the web @ WWW.EHSLI.ORG.

We are alive - we are vital - we are ready for next year and many years to come. You, our membership, have injected a new and flaming spark into the Long Island Ethical Society that will stand us in good stead as we plan for a solid and safe future. This new spirit and vitality will lead us into next year filled with more than hope for the future. We know we can accomplish and we will. Happy, Happy New Year.

===== Richard Rapp

Back to top

I think of the Ethical Society as my spiritual home - the place I come for moral and spiritual sustenance. Here I find companionship and ethical concern, friends with whom to share my joy, and to whom I can turn in time of sadness.

It is here that my son was nurtured into adulthood with respect for diversity, received caring guidance in Sunday school, then gained respectful appreciation and invaluable experience as he moved from student to Sunday school teacher. And it is here my wife and I come on Sundays to be intellectually stimulated, morally sustained, and socially reinvigorated for the weeks to come.

Thus it pains me to see the Society forced to be so preoccupied with money, straining to raise the minimal amounts required to sustain the community that continues to give so much to so many - and yet, how can we function without maintaining our building and paying our leader and staff a minimally decent salary? This is why I volunteered to help with our fundraising drive - hoping to share with others the depth of my appreciation of, and concern for, the Society so that others might also feel moved to increase their annual pledge. Only with such commitments can we hope that our Society may be finally freed of the need to be pre-occupied with fund-raising. And, if not us, who? And if not now, when?

======= David Sprintzen

Back to top

Supermarket Food Certificates will be on sale each Sunday for you to purchase. This is a great fundraiser for the Society.

You can purchase denominations of $5.00, $10.00 & $25.00. We have certificates for A & P, King Kullen, Edwards & Waldbaums. These ertificates can be used on your weekly trip to the supermarket and the Society will benefit.

Back to top

Mark your calendar! Thursday, January 14, 1999 @ 7:30pm

On January 14th, 7:30pm, we will have a speaker from SERVAS. This is an organization that arranges alternative modes of travel housing. Instead of the same-old hotels, there are other options. Travel Club for Singles invites all single, widowed, divorced and separated people to join us, at this, or any other meeting. Further information, call Sheila Marcus at (516) 887-9203, or Arlene Brown at (516) 546-3750.

Back to top

Our members have lots of interest, from hiking to collectibles, from movie-going to chatting. Sometimes a member needs something but doesn't know that someone else has it.

Often finding someone who shares an interest is a hit-and-miss affair.

To make matches easier, we will have a column helping people find one another.

So, you want a companion to walk on the beach? Are you looking for a Scrabble player? Do you like listening to old records? Or going to motorcycle shows? Or the circus?

Please send in your requests. We will post your notice.

Back to top

Back in 1997, the US Department of Agriculture proposed changes that would broaden the definition of organic foods to allow the use of biotechnology (gene mutation), biosolids (municipal sludge), and irradiation in the preparation, processing and packaging of "certified organic foods."

It is not surprising that major food corporations have been among the principal protagonists for these rule changes, since they would seriously damage the organic farmer's ability to compete in the marketplace. Two hundred thousand letters later, (including 35 letters from the Public Affairs Committee campaign), Secretary of Agriculture, Dan Glickman stated, in part "...food produced with these products and practices will not be allowed to bear the organic label."

But the battle for how food is being labeled is still being waged. Monsanto Corporation, in particular, was and still is, pushing for rules that allow genetically engineered foods into our markets without any identifying labels. Monsanto has, to this point, been successful in their efforts to keep labels off genetically engineered food, but there is a movement out there to fight back. We as consumers can not make educated, free choices without proper information.

And to make matters worse, the USDA is once again considering Monsantos agenda as well as other ways of weakening the organic food laws by allowing loopholes in the standards. Three main issues are on the table at this time: 1- loopholes to allow continuous indoor confinement in organic animal production; 2- the use of animal medications including antibiotics in organic production; and 3- eliminating the ability of organic certifiers to prevent the sale of mishandled or fraudulent organic products.

Unfortunately by the time this newsletter reaches you, the official time for public action will be over, but it is still important to stay informed and even express our feelings over this. The USDA docket of this proposed action is #TM-98-00-7. The USDA can be contacted: Eileen Stommes, Deputy Administrator, USDA-AMS-TM-NOP, Room 4007-S, AG Stop 0275, PO Box 96456, Washington DC 20090-6456. Or you can join the Organic Consumers Association which is seeking to create an independent national accreditation system at OCIA 175 County Rd 6, Findland, MN 55603. It would appear important to both work with the USDA to define national standards and to seek out independent accreditation to protect the consumer from political manuevering.

A thought about all of this: Is this controversy really about pure food, or is it about "life-style" decisions bering made for bottom-line market-driven reasons? We have been blessed (?) by a high-tech capability for accumulating knowledge and information at an incredible rate. Science fiction writers these days are hard pressed to keep up with reality. And as we learn to do these things - like cloning human beings, creating new life-forms, killing (or creating) life-threatening viruses - we need the wisdom to make benign "real- time" decisions that are not bottom-line motivated.

As Arthur frequently says during a platform - take a minute to reflect on it.

===== Pandora's Box - Irv Sheraga with Janet Rudolph

Back to top

Dear Arthur,

I read your "Viewpoint" article for December 1998 and was deeply appreciative of your thoughts about our children. I run into the same prejudices here - some say tell the children's story downstairs - keep the kids out of Sunday.

They are our future and our present joy. Thank you for these insightful words.

Warm regards, Judy Toth - Ethical Society St. Louis

Imagine a room the size of a football field. The lights are bright, there is a cacophony of voices, and tons of coins are being swirled, shuffled, dropped and poured all to the beat of Salsa music. This was the scene at the Jacob Javits Center when fourteen of our Sunday School parents and children participated in the annual Common Cents Collection along with eight members of the New York Ethical Culture Sunday School and club groups.

We were told that last year over 2 million pennies were sorted and counted to raise more than $200,000 for New York's homeless. Thank you to all who donated pennies and participated on that day.

The Sunday School's family program for December was sharing of holiday traditions which included food, music and stories.

Arthur joined us to talk about the humanist candle lighting ceremony he encourages for this time of year.

Finally, symbolic candles were made illustrating the principles of love, peace, hope and justice.

=====Linda Napoli

Back to top

• Matt Napoli, son of Linda and Rob, spent the first two weeks of December dancing the Nutcracker's Russian dance and Spanish variations for the Northstar Ballet company in Fairbanks, Alaska.
• Kristen Molzahn, daughter of Louise and Sunday School babysitter, has been named Student of the Quarter for Fashion Technology at Nassau Tech.
• Erik Molzahn, son of Louise, was named Game M.V.P. at a Thanksgiving hockey tournament in Valley Forge Pennsylvania.

In its December meeting, the Board of Trustees of the Society unanimously agreed to endorse the following statement, as proposed by the Public Affairs Committee:

"We, the Ethical Humanist Society of Long Island, call for the closure of the 'School of the Americas.'"

Back to top

If the weather is questionable on a Sunday morning please call the office @ 516-741-7304. The message will be updated by 9:00am with information on the closing of the building.

Back to top

• February: H, Eliabeth Shepard - "A very poignant, enthralling debut." The Boston Globe
• April: Guided Tours of Hell, Francine Prose - "Irresistibly readable." The New York Times Book Review
• June: Breath, Eyes, Memory, Edwidge Danticat - "Danticat's calm clarity of vision takes on the resonance of folk art." - The New York Times Book Review

Back to top

Letter from Muriel Neufeld:

Dear Richard,

Thank you, Arthur and the Board for electing me to Lifetime Membership in the Long Island Society. I appreciate the honor.

After forty six years as a member, I feel that my life has followed a path motivated by what I have learned through my close affiliation with our Society.

I owe mine and my sons dedication to achieving human and civil rights for all people to our education in ethical living. I believe that members who devote a good part of their lives to the Society get much more in return.

Thank you very much.

Sincerely with love, Muriel

Letter from Devorah Weinmann:

Dear Arthur,

The week that you posed the question "What would you do?" [to take money from a mobster to build a children's wing at a hospital named after him] we got a great response from our 12 year old in the car going home.

After a brief description of who Gotti is and how he gets his money, we explained the issue in the question. Sabrina gave a response so simple that we never heard it from the adults at your platform.

She said that the money could not be accepted because it wasn't Gotti's to give. This led us to a discussion of how to get the money from him and give it to the families of his victims.

Thanks for the opportunity to see how this kid's mind works!

Hosted by Paula Grenot and Lisa Saft Join us in viewing films that we like, on a giant screen TV, which may or may not present ethical issues ...you be the judge. After the film stay for a brief (but heated?) discussion. Popcorn to be provided. Please BYOB (beverage). Schedule as follows:

• Thursday January 21,1999, 7:00PM- "Devil in a Blue Dress" : 1995, 101 min. Sexy film noir for the 90's w. Denzel Washington.
• Thursday March 18,1999, 7:00PM- "Times of Harvey Milk" : 1984, 87 min. Oscar winning documentary about one of the first openly gay politicians.
• Thursday May 20,1999, 7:00PM- "Cold Comfort Farm" : 1995, 105 min. Upbeat British farce w. wonderfully bizarre characters.

The nominating process for election to the Board of Trustees of our Society officially begins in early January. Between now and the end of February all members of the Society are eligible to either volunteer in writing as candidates for any of the four vacancies or to suggest the names of members for consideration by the Nominating Committee.

The names of members under consideration should be submitted to Andrew Schofer, the out-going chair, c/o the Nominating Committee.

Beginning in early March the committee will meet to discuss the potential nominees in order to present to the membership a list of six qualified candidates at our Annual Meeting held in May 1999.

The Board of Trustees consists of twelve members who hold office for a three-year term. Each year four Board members step down from their post and may only run again if they have served one previous three-year term.

An involved membership and a Board of Trustees consisting of hard working and caring individuals are a guarantee of a secure and steady future for our Society. All members are encouraged to join the nominating process and should seriously consider running for a Board position. I am sure you will find it a rewarding experience.

===== Andrew Jacobs

Back to top

Janet Rudolph's excellent Public Affairs Committee report on the School of the Americas first brought this issue to my attention. I decided to attend the demonstration at Fort Benning on November 21-22 with another LIA board member and some Hofstra students.

This yearly event, commemorating the slaying of the six Jesuit priests by SOA graduates, began about eight years ago with half a dozen participants. Last year 2,000 people attended and 601 committed civil disobedience by "crossing the line" (trespassing) into Fort Benning, risking arrest. Second time crossers receive a six month jail sentence and a $3,000 fine.

This year 7,000 people attended the demonstration. It was truly awe inspiring to see thousands of college and high school students, radical nuns, Grandmothers for Peace, Veterans for Peace, etc., all united against this inhumane and obsolete taxpayer-supported school. Those who planned to "cross the line" were required to take civil disobedience training and pledge to behave nonviolently in the spirit of Gandhi and Martin Luther King.

Sunday morning 2,319 people linked arms and entered Fort Benning four by four in a quiet and orderly manner. People hobbled in on canes and in wheelchairs. College students had tears in their eyes. In the end, so many had trespassed that the government was unable to process them and just sent them back out a couple of hours later (a "freebie" for next year!). Although I did not trespass, I felt the importance of my presence along with the 5,000 other supporters. This was a truly amazing spiritual experience.

Another similar event is being planned in Washington D.C. for May 1-4, 1999. there will be a vigil and civil disobedience at the Pentagon on the weekend followed by lobbying of legislators on Monday and Tuesday. I hope that you will consider joining me for the weekend at this event; I would love to see a group from the Ethical Society there with our banner. Please feel free to call me at (516) 621-3309 for more information.

We are getting closer to winning this one. In September the House of Representatives voted on a bill to cut off funding for the SOA; we do not have majority but we are getting closer. Peter King is the only Long Island Representative who has not voted to close the SOA. If you are in his district, you can help by voicing your wishes to him.

Other News: The LIA will be cosponsoring a program at Hofstra University for the International Scene Series. It is called Universal Human Rights at 50: Making the Rhetoric Real. The dates are February 17, 24, and March 3, 10, 17,24 1999 from 11:30 - 12:30. Call the Alliance office at (516) 741-4360 for more details.

===== Peggy Jacobs, Ethical Society representative to LIA

Back to top