This month we've been focusing on environmental issues and how in the quest to live more ethically we need to change our behaviors so that they are more sustainable for the continuation of our planet. Most ESWoW participants live in the US, and we focused on some actions we could take in our daily lives.

Yet Climate Change affects everyone in the world. Last week people came together in Cochabama, Bolivia for a World People's Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth. Now you might be thinking "Wasn't there a UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen this past December? Weren't they trying to get all the people of the world to come to agreement on what actions must be taken to prevent the most devastating affects of Climate Change?" And you'd be right. So why the need for another conference now? My understanding is that while there was some progress in Copenhagen, there was not enough.

The concerns addressed at the conference in Bolivia include the impact that global warming will have on food production, the impact of more and more extreme weather in the form of floods, droughts and storms, and even the disappearance of island nations. I found it sobering, scary even, to read about the affects of Climate Change on other parts of the world.

In reading materials about and from the conference, I am struck by the notion of interconnectedness that pervades the approach of this gathering and the continuing work participants will be doing. An interconnectedness of all the people of the world, all the species of the world and of all living beings to the planet on which we live. The very title of the conference gives prominence to the notion that this is not just about people, but also Mother Earth. Read more »

It's hard to believe that we have been observing Earth Day for 40 years. I remember the first one and the little green button I had that simply said "environment" on it. In some ways, we, as a country, have made some progress in protecting our environment, but in other ways, we haven't made much progress at all.

Having an understanding of and a sense of responsibility toward the natural world we are part of fits in well with my Ethical Culture perspective of the world. Just as I have relationships with human, some close and very intentional, and some neither close nor intentional, I have a relationship with the world around me, whether or not I am intentional about it. For most of my life, at least since the first Earth Day in 1970, I have tried to be as intentional as I could in using as few resources as I can, being somewhat obsessed about recycling, and lately, not owning a car, biking and using public transportation. I have a good appreciation of how one's life circumstances influence the choices we make - I didn't feel I had the option to not have a car when my two children were young, but I think it is important to always reflect and make the best choices we can in the moment. Read more »

The Community Call originally scheduled for April 4, 2010 will now be held on April 11, 2010. Bart Worden will be joining us on April 11 at noon Pacific, 1pm Mountain, 2pm Central and 3pm Eastern Time. He will be talking about issues of sustainability for our theme of caring for the earth in April. The number to join the call is 866-740-1260 and the access code is 5766842#. On Sunday, April 18, Kate Lovelady, Leader of the Ethical Society of St. Louis will be joining us to speak about living ecologically. The contact information for the call is the same for the call on April 11th. We hope you can join us and please feel free to invite others who might be interested to join the call.

As Hugh and I have both mentioned, this year the National Leaders Council of the American Ethical has chosen to focus on the social justice issues surrounding Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered and Queer/Questioning people.

Working on the issues is important. Why are they important? They are important to me because with an Ethical Culture life perspective I believe that all people have worth and dignity based only on the fact that they are human beings. Any laws, or societal practices which limit the ability of any individual or group of individuals to live with the rights and respect accorded to other individuals violate my religious beliefs.

The laws making the most news these days that affect people who are queer are around same sex marriage and the policy of American military "don't ask, don't tell."

There's good news on the marriage front in Washington, D.C. Hugh Taft-Morales sent the following to me on March 3.

Washington, D.C., can begin to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples Wednesday, now that the Supreme Court has refused to block the city's gay marriage law.

Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the court Tuesday, supported the decisions of lower courts that upheld a City Council vote legalizing gay marriage, the Associated Press reported. Opponents had argued that D.C. residents should have been allowed to vote on the issue.

"It has been the practice of the court to defer to the decisions of the courts of the District of Columbia on matters of exclusively local concern," Roberts wrote. Read more »

I'm in heaven. Well, actually, I'm at the library. The Cambridge Public Library. The new and improved main Cambridge Public Library.

Today I got to go on a tour of the new library with a group of clergy in Cambridge. This might be the best perk I've ever had as a clergywoman. We started with a meeting in the morning, getting to hear about several important things in the city including the efforts being made to help the many residents here who are originally from Haiti and the importance of responding to the federal census.

The meeting was in a big, modern room in the basement. Nothing all that special. So when we had the first stop on the tour, I was pleased to see a well-designed, very accessible auditorium. Then onto the top floor of the library.

When we stepped off the elevator into a big open, airy space with lots of windows and a great view of Cambridge I remembered having heard as a child that people in Ethical Culture didn't think there was a heaven (or a hell), but if there was a heaven, it would be like the public library. This space, with creative furniture, a rug looking like stones that I'd like to have in my living room, and great displays of books was so inviting. Lots of thought went into planning this space and the enjoyment of the youngest residents of Cambridge was the result.

One floor down was the quiet floor complete with a silent room. Good. I don't like that there is no longer much expectation to be quiet in a library. My worst "disciplinary infractions" as a youngster were violating quiet library policies when I was in junior high school. My friends and I would go to the library pretty much everyday after school to do our homework and hangout. Poor Mr. Sparkman, who had a group of smart, studious and giggly girls to contend with every day. But still, the library is where you are supposed to be quiet. Read more »

Hugh Taft-Morales is now a certified Ethical Culture Leader! Certified is the word we use in Ethical Culture instead of ordained. Hugh has completed twelve modules on subjects such as the foundational aspects of Ethical Culture and the current thinking in the Ethical Movement. Indeed, Hugh helped craft the most recent National Leaders Council statement on Ethical Culture (PDF). He also worked on practical modules such as congregational development and pastoral counseling. Hugh completed one year of internship with the Northern Virginia Ethical Society and is in the midst of internships with the Baltimore and Philadelphia Societies, and of course, our own Ethical Society Without Walls.

Hugh brings knowledge, caring and dedication to the Ethical Movement. He is interested both in the philosophical aspects of Ethical Culture and also is working hard to bring ethical action to life on a Movement-wide basis. At our Assembly last year, Hugh organized a service project of visiting people in senior residences who are not regularly visited. I participated and was pleased with Hugh's efforts to organize this big project and satisfied by the visiting I did. For this year's Assembly, Hugh is working on activities around Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning issues. I know it will be a good program.

I felt quite fortunate to be able to work closely with Hugh in my role as Dean of Leadership Training for the American Ethical Union, and even more closely as he began his internship with ESWoW. I'm sad that Hugh's time with ESWoW will come to an end at the end of May, and I'm hoping that we might be able to find the financial resources to have him continue in some capacity with ESWoW. Read more »

The American Ethical Union Assembly is an event which invites everyone in the Ethical Culture Movement to come together for several days in community. This is especially important for us in the Ethical Society Without Walls since this is our primary way of meeting each other in person.

This year, the Assembly will be held in Scranton, PA which is in Northeastern Pennsylvania. There is no ethical society with walls right near by. Some people have asked why the Assembly was planned in a location without a society, and when I hear that question, I remind them that it is near an ethical society because the Ethical Society Without Walls is everywhere!!!

My hope for this Assembly is that we will have lots of ESWoW members attending the Assembly and helping with some of the volunteer roles that are often done by members of local societies. Greeting people who are coming to the Assembly is a great way to connect with more people around the Movement.

The Assembly is a combination of opportunities for learning and connecting, doing a social service project together and some moments of recreation. Our own Hugh Taft-Morales will be coordinating the social service project, much as he did at last year's Assembly. I appreciate Hugh's continued dedication to making the "deed before creed" aspect of Ethical Culture more real and also giving us the opportunity to be of service and in relationship with each other at the same time. Again, I see this as particularly important for ESWoW since we don't usually have the opportunity to work together to make the world a better place.

In addition to the social service project, there will be workshops on topics including Ethical Culture history and values, ethical living and a focus on LGBTQ issues. Read more »

There isn't much need for barns in Cambridge, MA, right outside of Boston, yet there are regular barn-raisings here. Last week there was one at my house.

About 35 volunteers descended upon my home in Cambridge to help weatherize it for the coming winter and check on other energy saving measures. Living in the chilly northeast, taking steps to eliminate air flow from outside to inside is a good way to be both more ecological and economical.

The concept of having these barn-raisings was developed last year in a community group concerned about really doing something to help the environment. Using the old-fashioned concept of neighbors coming together to help each other out, and adding the idea of teaching skills to volunteers who could then use those skills in a variety of ways, around 20 homes and several community centers (including the Margaret Fuller Center) in Cambridge have been made more energy efficient. Another important aspect of the barn-raisings is to build a sense of community, so there's always a party afterwards, and in warm weather, live music too.

The group that organizes the barn-raisings is called HEET for Home Energy Efficiency Team. Work is done on a volunteer basis, with knowledgeable team leaders teaching people how to do various tasks such as caulking windows, installing interior storms, and very importantly, sealing along the band joist - the seam between the house and the foundation. (I am learning a lot!) Although most of the light bulbs in my home had already been changed to compact fluorescents, volunteers did manage to find and change several incandescent bulbs to more efficient cfls. Read more »