38 Old Country Rd
Garden City,
NY 11530

(516) 741-7304

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

• Viewpoint
• Religious Education
• The President Reports to You
• Pledging Part I: Giving Is Good
• Courses with Arthur Dobrin
• Pandora's Box -- Public Affairs Committee
• EHS Travel Club for Singles
• Flea Market Fundraiser
• Film Nights at EHS
• Video Library
• Sports or Spirits -- by Arthur Dobrin
• Personals
• New Look!
• Book Group

Recognizing the shared nature of leadership, the American Ethical Union every other year sponsors a training program to deepen an understanding of our philosophy and to provide the tools necessary to carry out group tasks.

So in the middle of July, as New York baked in its worst heatwave, Linda Napoli, Lisa Saft and I spent a blissful week with 28 others from various Ethical Societies on a mountaintop in North Carolina. It was a wonderful seven days of reflection, stimulation, connecting with others and with nature. The week exemplified a slogan we have adopted at our Society: Celebrating the human community and its connection to the Earth.

We have returned filled with new ideas about how to enhance and deepen our experiences here in Garden City. Over the course of the year we will try out some of what we learned. Nothing dramatic, but small experiments in how to reach new levels of commitment and understanding.

Those who have participated in the women's retreat know the value of spending extended time together in a lovely setting. Let's think about how we might increase the opportunities to support and stimulate one another. And it's not too early for anyone interested in leadership in our society to begin thinking about two years from now when, once again, the American Ethical Union will issue its call to join others on a mountain top to get a glimpse of what the future of religious humanism can mean.

=== Arthur Dobrin
back to top

Each of these experiences has renewed my commitment to developing our Sunday School program to its fullest potential.

Going to the Lay Leadership Summer School was an intensely wonderful experience. The combination of philosophy, group work, sharing, and fun in the beautiful and peaceful environment of "The Mountain" has renewed me spiritually as a person of Ethical Culture and as a Religious Education Director.

Initiating a one week summer Ethics program as a community outreach has renewed my optimism that there are more families on Long Island who are amenable to what we have to offer.

Planning for the Fall season by meeting with the teachers, talking with parents and looking into new methods and curriculum materials, has as always renewed my excitement for enriching an already good program and making it better. I welcome all the members of the society to help this happen with your input and interest.

We may be in need of one, possibly two teachers this year. If you are interested in taking part in this rewarding experience please call Linda at 516-248-8382.

If you have any ideas for placement of our Sunday School flyers, please call Linda. Thank You!

=== Linda Napoli
back to top

Our opening program, September 13th, will celebrate Doctor Arthur Dobrin, the man and our leader and the thirty years of unstinting devotion and service he has given to the Society. It will also feature a discussion of "THE NEXT THIRTY YEARS" and what we dream and hope for, what we envision and can plan for, and how each of us can contribute to making those dreams and plans become a reality. There will be many contributions. It should be an exciting morning and I hope we will all "break bread" (please bring "finger food" that can be shared) together in a spirit of what has gone before and what is still to come.

The new pledge committee (Barbara Grey, Andrew Jacobs, Joe Milizio, Art Silver, and David Sprintzen) has been working with a purposeful determination to make and keep our Society fiscally sound. The plans they have made which have been approved by the Board of Trustees are detailed in another part of this newsletter. An agenda which mandates that we stay within the confines of a reasonable budget for 1999 deserves our full support. They have done an incredible amount of work and planning during the summer months from which we will all benefit.

During the year we will begin to fully explain the method by which we can each provide, through charitable gifting, a contribution to the solidity and longevity of our Society and, at the same time, benefit ourselves individually. It is an exciting and necessary program, one that will bear fruition in our children and grandchildren and their future's. I am particularly looking forward to its formal beginnings.

The "information folder", which Arthur introduced during one of his addresses is gaining the approval of everyone who has met with him. It will contain copies of those documents you wish to leave in his care until an emergency arises and they might be needed. A huge burden can be lifted from your loved ones at times of great stress if this folder and its contents are kept safely and current. Arthur will be glad to speak with you about this folder if you need more information.

We are sponsoring a concert starring SYLLA HASKELL, international singer, entertainer and comedienne, from which the Society, the Queens Society and the A.E.U. will benefit. I urge you all to set aside the night of September 19th. Complete details are provided in an accompanying flyer. I look forward to seeing you all very soon.

=== Richard Rapp
back to top

Current pledges simply do not adequately fund the operating expenses of the Society. Therefore, your Pledge Committee has set a challenge for the Society to increase pledging by members of at least 30 % over the next two years. At the present level of pledging, this will generate an additional $ 25,000 per year for our community. Each of us must fully participate for the campaign to be a success and have a sense of ownership in the future of the Society; the consequences of not meeting this challenge will be increased debt, a possible assessment, cutbacks of staff or programs, but most devastating would be not realizing our fullest potential.

Speaking for myself, I can share some of my reasons for joining the Pledge Committee. I am fully committed to working with others to help this community improve - socially, educationally, morally and financially. I have found, as you may have, at EHS a second home for my family to establish and develop new friendships, spark our ideals, increase our understanding of the world and provide us with a special place where caring and support can be practiced daily. I believe one must give equal to or greater than the benefits one receives. This community is well worth contributing my time and abilities and generously pledging my financial support. My family's pledge in both 1999 and the year 2000 will be increased as a tangible commitment to a community that we value. I hope that you will realize your strong feelings of commitment and wish to express yourself through greater financial support.

We on the Pledge Committee, the Board of Trustees and those canvassers joining us in the 1999 Pledge Campaign ask that you listen to our message and consider the merits of our case. Show your support, by embracing the campaign concepts and generously increasing your pledge by at least 30 % over the next two years so that we can all benefit together. We are extremely enthusiastic about the expected benefits that can accrue to this community. The Committee and I look forward to speaking with all of you often about this important topic over the next several months.

=== Andrew Jacobs
back to top

• ETHICS SEMINAR
  This course continues after more than 15 years. Each month participants read selections together from one of the great ethical philosophers. You don't need to be a philosopher to attend. You don't have to be a student to attend. You don't even have to be smart, just interested in the ethical philosophies that help explain what it means to be ethical. And you don't have to attend classes before, or even expect to be present at all future classes. But, if you want to know a little more philosophy than you now know, this is the class for you. It meets the first Tuesday of each month at 8 p.m. This season we will read excerpts from The Passion of the Western Mind by Richard Tarnas.

• HUMANISTS READ THE BIBLE
  Humanists view the bible as one of the great influential books in human history. Unfortunately, many non-believers are ignorant of what the bible actually says. Come join a small group of humanists who, together, read the Jewish bible from several different translations. We will meet the second Tuesday of each month at 8pm.

Now understand I am not placing blame, I was there also buying what water I could, but it did give me pause for thought. Here in an emergency the community did not act like a community. The people first to see the notice and the most aggressive got water while others who were also in need of it but couldn't get to the store or hadn't seen the notice got none. What of those with small children, elderly, the sick or just no available car? Those that could, took and those that couldn't well... there was no one who seemed to care.

It struck me that this is very much how the economic world tends to work. It's the same mentality that allows Catascosinos to take home an enormous pension while Long Islanders paid the highest electricity rates in the nation, that allows Nike to pay their overseas laborers pennies while paying Michael Jordan millions, that allows Disney to hire sweat laborers while Michael Eisner, the CEO, makes a fortune. Its a mentality, I would add, that we need to fight against for it takes away our basic humanity. It allows us to overlook, more so, to trample on the worth and dignity of others.

This is why the work of the Public Affairs Committee is so valuable. Besides our public impact, we are also working to add that drop of humanity to the workings of the world and in doing so to respect and become more aware of our own. Please come join us in this quest.

One issue that many members were interested in just as we broke for the summer was the School of the Americas located at Ft. Benning, Georgia. This is a tax-supported school, which is teaching brutality, lessons of political terror and other forms of social control to Latin American military personnel. Many of the massacres, assassinations and other human rights abuses that have occurred there have been traced to graduates of the school. Some have even wrested state control and become brutal dictators. The most famous of these is Manuel Noriega of Panama.

It has been labeled the School of the Assassins by a Panamanian newspaper. Protesters here in the United States have tried to draw attention to what is happening in this school and many have been arrested for trespassing and defacing government property. They have been given stiff prison sentences and fines. Amnesty International in London is presently considering a request to name those jailed as prisoners of conscience.

Two bills are languishing in committees to close down the school. HR 611 was proposed by Rep. Joseph Kennedy and has 148 cosponsors and S. 980 was introduced by Senator Durbin and has 15 cosponsors.

I will write more on this next month. In the meantime, they have a very interesting web site at http://www.soaw.org.

=== Janet Rudolph
back to top

If you have any questions before then, call: Sheila Marcus at 516-887-9203 or Arlene Brown at 516-546-3750.

back to top

Those of you who have helped with past flea markets know how exhausting, but how exciting and exhilarating it can be. In addition to all the hard work, there's lots of camaraderie and fun, sorting through other peoples junk, deciding how to price the items, and finding stuff you just can't live without.

So . . . here's what we need from you:

• Save and store all your clean, workable stuff until the week of the sale. If you can't store it we will try and find some place to store it for you. Please, no clothing, shoes or books!
• Sign up to help. We need people to come in during the week before the sale to help with sorting and pricing, and on the day of the sale to help staff the booths, help in the kitchen, etc.
• If you have extra storage space, let us know. If you have a van, station wagon, or large car, and can help transport the stuff from people's homes to the Society, we can use you.
• We need people to help publicize the event, send it in to the papers, make up flyers and posters, and distribute them.

Call the office if you can help, or call Arlene Baum at 516-248-4919 -- Thanks a million!

=== Arlene Baum
back to top

• Thursday September 24, @ 7:00PM- "Jules and Jim" (subtitled): 1961, 105 min. Directed by Francois Truffaut w. Jeanne Moreau.
• Thursday November 19, @ 7:00PM- "Local Hero": 1983, 110 min. Scottish director Bill Forsyth's charming offbeat comedy.
• 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.

We're also looking to our members for tapes to keep or to duplicate and return. So if you have a video you feel would be of interest, please call David Fersh at 516-271-9593 and he'll arrange to have Siskel and Ebert preview it. -- See you at the movies.

back to top

It is still $30, with $6 going to the Society. I can also send books to friends and relatives that live "out- of- town", with no mailing cost to you.

If there are any questions please call me at 516-921-3730 or speak to me at our Sunday meetings.

=== Anne Sheraga
back to top

Chances are, not in Sunday school. Instead, they may be on the playing field kicking a ball into a net or at a restaurant celebrating a 10-year-old's birthday.

Everywhere across Long Island the lament is the same from religious leaders: We can't get the children into classes on a regular basis.

It isn't that Long Islanders are less religious than 10 years ago. It is that increasing pressure has been brought to bear on children and parents' time from new quarters. League play has come to dominate family life. While not necessarily a bad thing, it does present a question of priorities. Is it more important for children to play organized sports, under the supervision of adults and sanctioned by the community? Or is it better to cajole children to attend Sunday school? Is it more important to have a less-work-for-mom.

'What right-minded child wouldn't want to play ball.' and-dad birthday party in a restaurant where cooking and cleaning are left for others? Or is it better to insist that children be exposed to something designed for their spiritual development?

The decisions aren't easy. Oh, they are abstractly. But in the real world, these are difficult choices parents faces. What right-minded child wouldn't want to play ball and not spend yet another two hours in a classroom, no matter how uplifting? So there are leagues for this and that, uniforms and equipment, practices and games that all compete for one's time. It takes a tough parent to say to a child, "I know, but you will be grateful to me when you are big that I made you go to Sunday school. "Trust me."

League play, unfortunately, has mimicked some of the bad traits of professional sports. For example, winning seems to trump everything else. Many coaches, therefore, demand complete loyalty to the team when a youngster signs up. They say, "You attend every practice or you don't play." This unfortunately empowers the child to turn to the reluctant parent and state; "But I have to go to practice this morning. If I don't, I'll be a bench-warmer for the rest of the year."

It is curious that we have reached this impasse, in light of the renewed interest in raising ethical children and providing them with a sound spiritual grounding. At their best, sports may teach moral values. But certainly a couple of hours a week can be found to also teach these values in one's own religious home.

Fortunately, at least one community is listening to the clergy. Garden City groups have agreed to limit village athletic events to a 1 p.m. start on Sundays. This is a hopeful beginning in re-ordering our values. There should be at least a few hours a week in the lives of everyone left free for worship and religious education.

Now if only we could get birthday parties back in the homes. Cupcakes and ice cream are not too difficult to clean up.

Arthur Dobrin's article appeared in Newsday on July 13,1998
back to top

• We would like to welcome our newest members Elaine Gersten of Syosset, Barbara and Mel Haber of Little Neck, and Marion Persons also of Little Neck to the Society.
• Ullman Rosenfeild has been added to our list of Lifetime Members.
• We wish our Sunday School students Justin and Liz Milizio and Andrew Harding a Happy Birthday, they celebrate their birthday's this month.
• Our condolences to the families of Jean Smith on the death of her father and Larry Feldman on the death of his sister.
• Ester Orner broke her pelvis in a fall over the summer. After recuperating at North Shore Hospital, she is home.
• We are happy to learn that Jerry Ginsberg is home from the hospital.
• Irv Sheraga is also home recovering from pneumonia.

back to top

back to top

Come join us in our fiction book group. We meet every other month on a Friday night. All the books chosen are available in paperback and none is more than about 200 pages.

So read for pleasure, read for stimulation, read to break the "frozen seas of soul".

• October: Dreams of My Russian Summers, Andrei Makine - "One of the great novels of this century." Philadelphia Inquirer
• December: Baumgartner's Bombay, Anita Desai - "The book is exhilaratingly alive . . . Astonishing." Newsday
• 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