38 Old Country Rd
Garden City,
NY 11530

(516) 741-7304

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• Viewpoint
• Religious Education
• Pledging
• Pandora's Box -- Public Affairs Committee
• Autumn Dinner
• Personals

So too we are bringing back something old but good, the face-to-face pledge campaign. Once upon a time, our Society organized itself into teams, which visited every member to talk about money. No one questioned whether this was good or effective. It simply fell into disuse as many good things often do.

The real value of the all-members canvas, though, isn't the pledges it brings in. More importantly, it is a chance to meet with another member, like yourself, to talk about the value the Society plays in your life. This is a critical part of community building and therein lies the importance of the campaign.

Together we can realize our most important aspirations. This program is an integral part of that process.

This is not so unlike a family where everyone has a chance to talk. And central to that conversation are finance. What do we want to do? How do we accomplish it? And how will we pay for it?

A family can have this conversation at the dinner table. The Society can, too, by inviting a member into your home to have tea and biscuits, and a discussion about one of the most important institutions in your life, the Ethical Society.

==== Arthur Dobrin
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By ethical identity, I do not mean allegiance to the Ethical Culture movement and adult membership in a local Ethical Culture Society, although that is most certainly to be hoped for. The ethical identity I'm referring to is that inner compunction to do what's right when it's most difficult or least beneficial, to believe that there is potential for good in every human being and to take an active role in making this a better place in every possible way. Can an ethical identity such as this be developed in our students?

If we are fortunate, a child will enter Sunday School classes at the age of three and graduate when she is 13 or 14. If we are really lucky, she will then join the Y.E.S. group at her society. In such a case, the answer to the question I pose is probably, "YES."

Imagine an environment of free inquiry where one can analyze and resolve dilemmas both real and imaginary, discover the courage and accomplishments of ethical heroes and heroines, learn to listen to and differ from the opinions of others with respect and tolerance, study the lives and words of Felix Adler, Algernon Black and other Ethical Culture figures, and be exposed to an organization and adults who are committed to the concept that ethics is central to living a sustainable life.

Attendance at Ethical Sunday School provides these experiences and the student who grows up in this atmosphere no doubt internalizes at least some of its highest principles.

However, what about those children who attend for only five years or three or perhaps just one? Children go where their parents take them and there are a myriad of reasons why they may leave our Sunday Schools.

Do we have an impact on these more transient students? Will they remember their experience with us years from now? Will they develop any kind of ethical identity?

There is no definite answer to this question. But for us to give even a tentative "yes," Sunday School Directors and teachers have to be conscious of the importance of the time we have with each child who comes through our doors.

We must nurture their empathy, their natural inclination to be good and help others, their understanding of the real world and their ability to make conscious ethical decisions.

Of course, we want the Ethical Culture movement to grow. Our message is valuable. We seek the highest for every individual as well as for the larger Society. I think that the stronger and larger our Religious Education component is, the more of a future we have. But, most importantly, the larger purpose is to leave an imprint on the lives we touch for however long because those lives touch others and on and on.

===== Linda Napoli
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When one attends a concert, the ballet or a charitable event, the printed program generally contains a list of principal donors. It is not at all unusual for non-profit organizations to honor those who make significant contributions. The Pledge Committee and the Board believe it is time to honor those members of the Society who made proportionally generous pledges. The following list of names comprises 15% of the membership who have contributed 50% of currently pledged funds.

Despite the generosity of these members, the Society is experiencing financial difficulties. In short, we are in debt.

We all know that appealing for funds are a thankless task and we tend to shy away when approached for contributions. But if we feel strongly about this Society, as most of us do, we simply have to realistically face the problem. Now it is up to the 85% of the membership whose names do not appear to come forward and assume a greater share of the financial responsibility and welfare of this community.

There are members who cannot increase their pledges. They simply do not have the means. We know this and those members are urged to give of their time as most of them now do.

The Pledge Committee, the Board and the Canvas Team have agreed to increase their pledges by at least 30% over the next two years. Can the membership do the same?

===== Art Silver
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Last year Jennifer Gordon from the Workplace Project spoke at our society.

Just to refresh your memory about who they are, hear what they write about themselves: "No human being should have to trade health or dignity for work. And when immigrant workers are exploited, all workers- immigrant and US born suffer deteriorating working conditions. Yet Latino workers on Long Island face alarming rates of work related injury, and are often paid less than minimum wage, when they are paid at all. The Workplace Project, founded in 1992, is a non-profit membership center which fights such exploitation through organizing, supported by community education, leadership training and legal advocacy."

Congress passed legislation in Nov. of 1997 granting permanent residency advantages to immigrant Cubans and Nicaraguans. Unfortunately this was done at the expense of other Latin American communities, and has been felt particularly harshly here on Long Island. A bill is now pending in the House of Representatives to equalize the playing field and allow Salvadoran, Guatemalan, Honduran and Haitian immigrants who have been in the US since Dec. 1995, to become permanent residents by meeting certain eligibility requirements. The bill is HR 3553 initiated by Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL). Please call your representative to support this bill. By the way, if you'd like to contact the Workplace Project their phone number is (516) 565-5377.

Continuing from last month, we wanted to give a few more details of the infamous legacy of the School of the Americas. This is the taxpayer-supported school that teaches the tools of repression and military tactics to Latin American tyrants. The list of atrocities is lengthy so we picked a few representative cases. For more be sure to check out the SOA Watch at /www.soaw.org/

Archbishop Oscar Romero was assassinated in 1990 in El Salvador. Three quarters of those implicated; specifically Salvadoran Military officers were trained at SOA. A Salvadoran army patrol executed six Jesuit priests in 1989. Nineteen of the 27 officers involved were graduates of the SOA. A 1992 human rights tribunal in Columbia cited military officers for crimes against citizens. 105 out of the 246 cited were from the SOA. Officers in Peru were convicted of murdering nine university students and a professor in 1994. The most senior officers were graduates.

Please support bills to close this school (HR 611 and S. 980). Both are languishing in committees at this time.

===== Janet Rudolph
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We're having a party on Saturday, October 10th, and we're hoping all members will be there. It's our Autumn Dinner, starting at 7 p.m., and there will be good food, terrific entertainment, and wonderful people- you, we hope.

This event, which is absolutely free, is the kick-off for our pledge campaign. But don't panic - no one will be asking you for money at this dinner. The dinner is our way to celebrate the vitality of our Ethical Society.

We're delighted that the pasta buffet will be donated by our friend, Franko Neretich, with Angelo Morinelli, chef/owner of La Cisterna Restaurant in Mineola. Franko has created a terrific menu with lots of variety. The wonderful bakers in our Society are providing dessert.

The entertainment, too, is from our talented members. Please let us know if you'll be bringing children, so that we can provide for them as well. Hope to see you then. RSVP to the office at 516-741-7304.
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• Henrietta Nessin had cataract surgery and for the first time in her adult life she doesn't need glasses.
• Tom Smith spent the summer traveling in Turkey and Austria.
• The Stanley's Baby, Gabriel, arrived six weeks early weighing in at 4 lbs. 2 oz. Everyone is home doing fine.
• Will Baum will be having an exhibition of his portraits at the Great Neck Library, 159 Bayview Avenue, Great Neck. 516-446-8055. September 27 through October 25.
• Laurie Brooks Gollobin has received the Aurand Harris Memorial Children's theater Award for her play "Devon's Hurt." This annual award comes from the New England Theater Conference. Another of Laurie's plays, "A Deadly Weapon," is being performed this fall in Ireland by the Graffiti Theatre Company. The play was specially commissioned by Graffiti
• If you missed Arthur Dobrin's interview on CNN Sunday, September 13th, you can download it on the web at CNN.Com/Transcripts/9809/13/sm.04.html