EthicalStL.org

Licensed counselors and filmmakers Laurie Simons, MS, LMHC, and Terry Sterrenberg, MSW, LCSW, are a married couple of mixed cultural heritage. Laurie is Canadian, and Terry is American. From 1982 to 1992, Terry joined Laurie in Canada and during that time their two sons were born in a Calgary hospital. They moved to the Seattle area in 1992 and experienced the culture shock of switching from the worry-free health care system in Canada to the complicated, expensive, and anxiety-provoking system in the United States. In making this documentary they learned that the battle for national health care in both countries has been an adventure story, fraught with heroes and villains. And they learned how two neighboring countries ended up taking such drastically different paths.

No, not the (whole) musical. But Jesus is a superstar in America - a figure that looms large in our culture. He has fans and detractors, as well as folks who don’t see what the big deal is either way. This platform will explore some of these different ways that the figure of Jesus is thought of, interpreted, and used by individuals and groups of many backgrounds and beliefs. Part of this exploration will include three songs from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Jesus Christ, Superstar, performed by Billy Dechand, Tom Rogers, Keith Roper, David Taylor, Kate Lovelady, and members of the Ethical Voices Chorus. Note that for copyright reasons the music has been removed from this recording. However the music is available on YouTube at lt;a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7dwMLZtExs" target="_blank"gt;http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7dwMLZtExslt;/agt;

Why do humans go to war? Why can't humans solve problems intelligently? Why with all our amazing technological advances have we not advanced in resolving conflict peacefully? Why do nations inflict so much suffering often in the name of morality and justice? This talk explores these dilemmas of the human condition and how our thinking about war and nationhood keep us from change. lt;brgt;lt;brgt; Stephen Werner teaches mythology, philosophy, and theology at Webster University and Saint Louis University. He is also a poet and composer. He has appeared often at the Tuesday Morning Men’s Group talking on topics from Greek Mythology to Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack.

Ethical Humanism takes as one of its premises the notion that moral decisions and public policy should be made on the basis of scientifically-gathered data (when possible). And practically every issue today is debated in part with arguments that boil down to "studies show." Yet we must be very careful in how we weigh, interpret, and communicate research findings. Especially as a movement that emphasizes both science and the unique worth of every person, how can we make use of scientific findings without mistaking real people for generic data?

In February the platform addresses are examining issues related to the American criminal justice system. A relatively recent part of our system are registries - publicly-available lists of people who have been convicted of sexual offenses or suspected of child abuse. Such registries may make sense at first glance, yet they raise many ethical questions about the processes by which names get placed on registries, how the registries are used, what their purposes are and whether they serve those purposes well, and whether they extend punishment beyond sentencing limits. We don't hear much about registries on the news, but as their use and scope grows, we need to consider the ethical issues of these lists that affect a growing number of people.

Corrections budgets across this country have increased dramatically in the past 25 years. The root causes of that increase are numerous, including more conservative approaches to sentencing, the increased time required for incarceration, the advent of new crimes each legislative session, the increased population in age range prone to committing crime, the deinstitutionalization of mental health systems and many other factors. As prisons have grown, the complexity and responsibility of ensuring constitutional living conditions and rehabilitative efforts have concomitant-ly increased likewise. Restorative Justice is a catalyst for changing individual’s cognitive beliefs and emotional character toward a productive life. The Missouri Department of Corrections is on the forefront of the restorative justice effort nationally.lt;brgt;lt;brgt;Mr. Lombardi is a 35-year veteran of the Missouri Department of Corrections, having served previously as the Director of the Division of Adult Institutions, Assistant Director, and a warden. As Director of Corrections he is responsible for 11,500 staff, 75,000 probation and parolees, and 30,000 inmates. He has been recognized with many awards, most recently the 2012 Region VII Missouri State Champion Award (Head Start Association).

Imagine what I could do. I like to make super high towers with my Legos and race my cars down the wooden floors of my apartment hall-way. I have crayons that I use to make my magic kingdom of dinosaurs and space-men. My favorite things to eat are french-fries and macaroni and cheese. I do not like broccoli. I have a mom and a dad. I go to school, I like to read. I like science. I like my art class. I love recess and gym I am a typical little boy. My mind is curious. I like to play and run and jump and ride my bike. I am seven years old and I will be in prison by the time I am seventeen.lt;brgt;lt;brgt;Antona Brent Smith earned her M.B.A. from the University of Iowa. She is a five-year resident of Kirkwood after relocating her family from the Kansas City area. Antona is the owner of Tayé Foster Bradshaw Marketing and Communications Group and former director of SPROG.

Yay! Another pledge campaign platform! This year's address takes its theme from the environmental issue of sustainability, asking, What makes a sustainable community? As with many other aspects of sustainable living, part of the answer is: people who think and act not as consumers, but as owners. As the owners of this Ethical Society, what do we want to celebrate about the past year, and what are our hopes for the future? Note: This platform will introduce an exciting new initiative for the future health and growth of the Society, so you truly don't want to miss it!

In 1876 the founder of the first Society for Ethical Culture, Felix Adler, said the following in his inaugural address: "There is a great and crying evil in modern society. It is want of purpose. It is that narrowness of vision which shuts out the wider vistas of the soul. It is the absence of those sublime emotions which, wherever they arise, do not fail to exalt and consecrate existence." Adler's hope was that Ethical Societies would inspire people to experience profound purposefulness, coupled with an expansive vision of humanity and a passion realizing each person’s worth and dignity—and that would lead us toward a richly humane and just society. How well does Adler’s concern reflect our concerns today?lt;brgt;lt;brgt; Bart Worden, a longtime member of the Ethical Culture Society of Westchester, was recently named Executive Director for the American Ethical Union, and continues to serve the Westchester Society as their Leader. He has been an active participant with a number of AEU committees and task forces, has served on the AEU board as a National Leaders Council representative, and is a faculty member for the AEU Lay Leadership Summer School.lt;brgt;lt;brgt; Bart obtained his bachelor's degree from Hope College in 1978 majoring in Philosophy of Religion. In 1983, he obtained a masters degree in social work from N. Y. U. and then worked as a social worker and psychotherapist for adults with psychiatric disabilities. He currently serves The Guidance Center of Westchester as the organization’s Associate Executive Director. Bart graduated from the Humanist Institute 1997 and worked as a leader intern at the New York Society for Ethical Culture prior to his appointment as Leader for the Westchester Society in 1998.lt;brgt;lt;brgt; Bart's wife, Ruthanne, introduced him to the Westchester Ethical Society twenty-seven years ago, and their sons, Gary and Jeff, are graduates of the Sunday school.

Jim Seko is an engineer who was skeptical of climate change. After much research he became convinced the problem is real and quite serious. Having been on both sides of the global warming debate it became clear that talking about the problem was solving nothing. Engineers enjoy the work of finding solutions, and Jim’s research on solutions has resulted in some good news: The hard work of developing the technology to dramatically reduce our carbon footprint has already been done by scientists and engineers. The power of this technology is impressive: It will result in dramatic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions AND will save a lot of money. All we need to do is invest in this money-saving clean energy technology. In this platform, Jim will walk us through the choices we have as individuals and help guide us in the best actions we can take now. lt;brgt;lt;brgt; Jim has been a member of the Ethical Society of St. Louis since 2011.lt;brgt;lt;brgt;NOTE: The slides accompanying this presentation lt;a href="http://www.EthicalStL.org/platforms/ESSTLPlatform2013-01-13.pdf" target="_blank"gt;are available on our web sitelt;/agt;.