38 Old Country Rd
Garden City,
NY 11530

(516) 741-7304

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• Viewpoint
• Religious Education
• The President Reports to You
• General Membership Meeting
• Summer Plant Sale
• Bereavement Support Group
• Public Affairs Committee
• Comparative Religious Ethics
• Drama Group Friendship
• Personals

In a recent issue of The New Yorker, Henry Louis Gates, Jr. laments the disappearance of loyalty. Loyalty, like most virtues, is double-edged: too much of it leads to tribalism, too little of it leads to a cold, cold world.

Gates may be right. Today we suffer from a lack of binding ties, commitments and abiding commitments. Instead, we are awash with a consumer ethic, a view which responds to everything as though it were a commodity designed for our own consumption. So businesses nurtured in communities pack up for richer pastures, workers stay for only a few short years at any one job, friends are let loose at the slightest inconvenience. All this leads to a very thin emotional life. Human beings need one another and we need one another over long periods of time and, as once was said in wedding ceremonies, we need each other in sickness and in health.

Our Ethical Society, fortunately, has a core of loyalty members, people who have been with it through exciting times and dull (though never through a time in which we didn't have to worry some about having money). In fact, in the last 30 years, every person who has been president of the Society, aside from those deceased, remains a more-or-less active member. Four former presidents are presently members of the Board of Trustees.

The by-laws of the Society call for a category of members known as Life Members. Only recently did we discover this provision. In one fell swoop, we corrected the oversight. At the March meeting of the board, we designated all those whose membership extends thirty-five years or more the honorary title.

Here are the names of those who have earned the accolade: Barbara Balaban, Adele and Frank Berardi, Gloria and Ed Biow, Mort Goldsen, Dorothy Gunzenhauser, Torleif Jensen, Helen Karp, Sol and Bettina Kornbluh, Winifred Lynn, Sophie Meyer, Muriel Neufeld, Milton Rosenblitt, Eugene and Lynn Schapiro, Morris and Julia Sukenik, Fred and Dorle Weil, Rhoda Weill, Harry and Sylvia Weiss, Victor and Inge Zadikov.

This year our Spring Festival on April 5 was celebrated with a carnival run by the children. Although this was a surprise to a number of the people who came on that morning, most people stayed and enjoyed themselves. Because of their participation, we were able to raise $221,35 for the children's Ethical Action Program. Thank you to everyone who made it a wonderful day.

On April 26 we will have our first Senior Affirmation of the year. Stephanie Rudolph, and granddaughter of Betty Levin. (a long time member of the Essex Ethical Society), is an intelligent young woman who is busy with her many activities. Stephanie is an accomplished clarinetist and was an All County player for NYSSMA. She is editor of her school newspaper and is on the tennis team. Self-described as sensitive and shy, Stephanie enjoys writing and believes in following her own ideas. In the 8 grade herself, Stephanie has been tutoring 6 and 7 grades in math for her community service this year.

Stephanie is a positive contributor in the Senior class and is a lively participant in their discussions. In the six years that Stephanie has been in our Sunday School she has blossomed into a lovely, introspective young person. We are proud of her and look forward to her presentation on April 26.

On Sunday, March 15, our leader, Arthur Dobrin, gave one of the most important addresses I have ever heard him deliver. I truly hope you were in the audience to hear him explain his growth into what he called ' A Humanist Pastor.' To those who were there and , equally, to those who missed his talk, I would like to emphasize the importance the new program that Arthur announced during that address, which I consider to be the herald of a new age at our society.

A sturdy and secure folder has been very carefully designed to hold either the originals or the duplicates of the important papers that are absolutely necessary in times of difficulty and stress-times when we need the assistance. These include a durable power of attorney, burial instructions, a health-care proxy, a living will - anything a member considers important enough to entrust to the care of our leader-for use only when and if there is an important enough emergency in a life or a family. Each folder will be sealed and the information contained within will bear the sacred trust of secrecy from all eyes. The idea behind this program is to help insure every member and his/her family maximum support during the most difficult times in their lives: incapacity and /or the death of a loved one.

I believe that our society must be a central, vital, and substantial force in thee lives of all its members. It must offer the moral and ethical strengths we all need, and it must be able to contribute basic assistance to us during the most difficult times we all must go through. I truly believe that this program will form the groundwork toward the end, and result in a more unified society.

Upon entry into the society, all new members will be offered an explanation and the opportunity to become a part of this urgent and vital program. I sincerely believe it is in your best interest to join in this course of action, and I hope you will contact Arthur to obtain as much information as you might need to help you decide to participate. It is in no way mandatory.

Once all your questions have been properly and satisfactorily answered, I know you will join me and my family and become an eager participant.

On Sunday, May 17 we will hold our annual spring general membership meeting. I would like to ask you to please make plans to join us for several extremely urgent reasons.

I think that all general membership meetings are of extreme importance to every member and to the society, but this one will include some features that others before it never did.

Of course the new members of the next board of trustees will be elected by those present at this meeting. There can be nothing more urgent than casting your vote for those who will guide our society for the next several years. Your vote is an absolute necessity.

I will report to you on my April 18, meeting with the board of trustees of the American Ethical Union. This will concern our current debt to the A.E.U., the recognition (and adjustment) of this debt, and the final disposition of it. I will detail the instructions that our board will have given to me prior to the meeting, how the A.E.U. either accepted or rejected those suggestions, and I will answer all your questions. The results of this particular meeting with the A.E.U. board will effect our society for years to come.

I plan on unveiling our society's budget in an entirely new form at the May general meeting. There will be a vote on our budget at that time, but you will be given a complete explanation of its new form, so that at the meeting in November, when we actually do vote on I, you will have been apprised of the changes, and they will come as no surprise. Once again, your questions will be thoroughly answered, and you will have the unique opportunity to suggest adjustments to the new form the budget will take.

I hope that we will be able to meet and exchange ideas on Sunday, May 17. Please join me.

This is an opportunity to add beauty to your home and garden with select quality plants. Last year was the first time plants were sold as a fund raiser for the society. The prices were reasonable and the quality exceptional and guaranteed. This year the variety and sizes of annual and perennial plants will be numerous. The hanging baskets of fuchsia and impatiens were "out of this world" last year and will be offered again this year. Popular varieties of vegetables and herbs also will be available.

Plant order forms will be available at the society starting April 26. All orders need to be in by May 17 and will bee available for pick-up at the society May 30 and 31.

The plant sale was a very successful fund raiser in 1997 and made plant buying easy.We hope to raise more money for the society this year if society members and their families and friends order their flowering plants, hanging baskets, and vegetable and herb plants from the society. All profits go to the society.

Talk to Helga Katz, Bessie Sanchez, Joan Beder, Will Baum, Barbara Alexander, Lillian Willinger, and others, who were delighted with their plant purchases last year.

Look for the flyer in May's newsletter or speak to Pat Spencer, George Roemer, Rene Silver, or Richard Rapp, if you have any questions.

The bereavement support group will meet every Wednesday at 7:30 pm in the library. The goals include sharing strengths and insights. For more information, call Jim Lo Presti, 516-798-8525, Dorothea Hays, 516-538-2284, or Pat Milizio, 516-546-5714.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
Next meeting: May 17 at 10:00

( Public Affairs Committee is sponsoring the speaker that day so please speak to a member before attending to see if a regular meeting will occur)

There has been a lot of discussion in the society lately about how the Public Affairs column gets written, so this seemed to be a very good time to discuss the process.

First, a bit about the committee. We see ourselves as serving two main purposes. The first is to present society members with information about social causes and the second is to provide opportunity for social action. The social action is done primarily through our monthly letter writing campaigns. The newsletter column is our main tool for providing information.

A typical letter writing after the platform results in about 20 to 25 letters with some additional people bringing home the information to write at a later time. Because our numbers are so small, we try to hook up with other agencies that have agendas we agree with, in order to add our voices to theirs. We feel that this potentiates our numbers. Agencies we have worked with include the Audubon society, the National Labor Committee, and the Workplace Project.

Once we work with another agency we usually find ourselves on their mailing list which gives us access to their news updates and their newsletters. Facts from them will often show up in the newsletter column because they are issues that the PAC has already approved and worked with.

A bit about timing: The PAC meets the third Sunday of each month. The newsletter deadline is the first Sunday which can mean as much as 3 weeks between our meeting and the deadline. The newsletter then takes about another 3 weeks to come out. Obviously we cannot use any time sensitive material. The committee does discuss newsletter content but sometimes the issues do change as the deadline approaches.

The bottom line is this: We want to use this column as an educational and social awareness tool and provide additional opportunities for letter writing among the membership. In each issue cited, the source of the information is credited so that each individual can make up his or her own mind about its accuracy. (Obviously no one on the committee can visit Burma or Haiti's sweatshops so we do rely on outside information.)

Anyone with questions or who would like to have input is welcome to join us. The meetings are always open. In fact some of our most interesting issues, such as support of Roisin McAlisky (Bernadette Devlin's granddaughter) and concerns about nuclear energy, were brought to us by "transient" committee members.

We often hear about the Judeo-Christian ethic. But what is that ? While Judaism and Christianity are similar in some respects, their ethical outlooks differ in other ways. Furthermore, there is a third ethical tradition to which scant attention is paid, Islam. In this three part course, we will look at all three traditions and trace their ethical implications.

Come join us on three consecutive Thursday evenings at 8 pm in the society's lounge. May 14, 21, & 28. The course will be taught by Arthur Dobrin, who teaches a similar course at Hofstra University.

Imagine that you're home alone, late at night, with your husband/wife, and there's a knock at the door. And when you open the door, standing there are your two "best friends." They want to come in because they are frightened. Of course you let them into your home, and of course you welcome them. But there's a catch. They've brought their luggage with them. They want stay with you permanently. Would you take them in or "throw them out?"

In Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance this is one of the dilemmas faced by the protagonists: What is the meaning of friendship?

The Ethical Humanist Society's ? DramaGroup, The Ethical Players, will be presenting this provocative and Pulitzer-Prize-winning play at the society on Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30 pm, May 15,16,22,and 23. Contributions are $10 per ticket. We urge you to see this wonderful play. Seating is very limited, so call in your reservations early at 516-741-7304.

Ruth and Joseph Kaufman, who were married at the beginning of World War II, marked the anniversary of that milestone by providing flowers for the Sunday Platform. The following Sunday Joe and son-in law Stephen Holden went to the post season college basketball tournament together. Everyone in this three generation Ethical Society family seems to be young in spirit. The Baums, Arlene and Will, observed the twentieth anniversary of their marriage and formation of their r blended family. Less than a month later grandchild number eight, Madeleine Kiren Lerner, was born to Christine and Jeff (Arlene's son) in Worcester, MA.

Aiyana, daughter of the late Steven Katz and granddaughter of Helga and Leopold , turned eighteen on March 29 in Eugene, OR. Her education was started in our Sunday School and now she has been accepted at college for the fall semester. Where has time flown?

Speaking of college and being young in spirit, have you heard about Sophie Meyer ? This past president of our society and of the American Ethical Union, as well as of the retirement community where she now lives in Newtown, PA, has returned to college to complete the credits she needs for her bachelor's degree,. She wasn't telling anybody until she proved to herself that she could still get excellent grades and enjoy the experience at her age. Way to go Sophie.

Adelaide Klipstein happily reported that she was able to share in the celebration of son Steven's 55 birthday. He lives in Stony Brook. In May two of our Sunday school students will mark birthdays: Samantah Rudolph on the twelfth and Emily Weill on the thirty first . Emily's cousin, ten year old Alex Weill, provided the violin solos at our last platform meeting in March. Not only did she play superbly but she had come all the way from Woodbridge,CT. to enable us to hear her. Thank you to Alex and to her parents Stan and Grace for the treat.

Duffy Spencer, Ph.D., has been inducted into the 1998 Women's Hall of Fame in the Town of North Hempstead.

Joan Beder, Ph.D., presented a paper at the seventh annual Nephrology Conference in Nashville, TN. Her subject was Specific Type of Social Work Research With Dialysis Patients. Also, Joan's article on Nurse Attitudes Regarding Physician Assisted Suicide appeared in The Journal of Gerentological Nursing. Dr. Beder is vice-president of our Long Island Ethical Humanist Society.

Most of our travel news seems to be about visits to Florida. About a month ago Rhoda Weill, with children and grandchildren, spent some time there.

Tony and Annette Pumo visited family members for about ten days in Port Charlotte, Fla. Irma Shapiro also spent some time in the Sunshine State. She made us aware that there is now a fellowship of Ethical Humanists of which Harry Weiss is the president. Irma had the opportunity to attend one of their meetings and later to enjoy a visit with former members of our society Edith Erder, Barbara and Mike Friedman at the home of Harry and Sylvia Weiss. Also present were Betsy Braunstein and former executive secretary of our society, Joanne Jones Swanson. Lots of reminiscing and warm hospitality made for a wonderful visit.

On the bulletin board in our society lobby are posted letters which appeared in newspapers to which members wrote. Dorothy Gunzenhauser communicated with the ADVANCE of Bucks County on the subject of the United States failing to keep its word in regard to our commitment to pay dues to the United Nations.

Tony Pumo wrote his letter in response to a letter from a scout master who defended the exclusion of homosexuals from participation in the Boy Scouts both as members and/or leaders. We urge you to read the very striculately expressed ideas of our fellow members.