This week we keep in mind Veteran’s Day: the service and sacrifice of service members and their families. As “Abundance” is the theme of the month, Rev. Rebekah will explore how the idea and culture of service is connected to creation and a legacy of empowerment.

Plan to be with us for this important day in our year, when we remember those we have lost and reflect on all they have meant to us. Nationally-acclaimed poet Gayle Danley will share some of her work, and then offer a special workshop for the WES community, inviting you to process grief through poetry

At the request of Black Lives of UU, WES will explore core anti-racism concepts and turn the lens on our own culture, to see more clearly how white culture and a preference for whiteness shows up in our community.

Rev. Pratima Dharm will speak on the topic of grief as a common human emotion experienced by people of all cultures around the globe. Though, the rituals of grief and their observances can be unique depending on particular regional and religious influences, shedding of tears are the most common human expression connected with grief.

We often have to hide parts of our selves, either because they are explicitly unwelcome or because we imagine them to be so. Amanda will share stories of the courageous among us, who have found ways to be fully themselves, despite all odds. Music from singer/songwriter LEA. #WEScourage

Many of us are engaged in social justice work, or political action, seeking to change the recent direction of our country. How do we maintain hope and build up our bravery for that work? And, at the same time, how do we stay true to our Ethical Culture principles? Music from the WES Chorus.

As WES seeks to become a more intentionally anti-racist, multicultural community, what tools do we need to learn? How does it feel to be part of the majority culture at WES, and how does it feel to be part of the minority cultures also represented? Music from the WES Chorus.

What does it look like to welcome into our lives all that is...the good, bad, and ugly? How do we increase our capacity to accept the reality we live with, while still holding a sense of the possibility of change? Amanda will explore the Buddhist tradition in this experiential platform.

Imagine you were a traveler from a far-off land, or another time...or even just a different Ethical Society! When you arrived at WES for the first time, what would you find? Would you understand our language, our customs, our (humanist) rituals? Together we will imagine welcoming the stranger to our unique and ever-changing community.

Join John Crestwell as he tackles the complicated relationship between individuality, authenticity, and embodying the sacred.