Washington Ethical Society

Join Amanda as she explores the hold that phones--and our other gadgets--have on us. Are they all bad? Is it a generational thing? (Spoiler alert: not entirely). Amanda will rely on research & conversation with our teens...as well as her own phone-breaks during her sabbatical.

Amanda will return from her sabbatical to share with us the idea of chapters in the stories of our lives–& how we can write our own, with ourselves as the hero, the villain, the sidekick, or all three! Join us to look at family systems.

Pause: We are surrounded by noise. We even go so far as to create noise when there isn’t any. How can we learn to appreciate the silence and beckon it during these chaotic times?

What do you think of when you hear the term “con artist?” This Sunday we will explore how we can embrace confidence, creativity, and ethical values to bypass socially constructed barriers in order to live our dreams.

Year in Review -- Join us as we celebrate the close of the last year and welcome in a new one. We will listen to some of our favorite monthly songs since last September.

What is your art of life? Join multicultural artists from The Sanctuaries (thesanctuaries.org), as they creatively explore the major themes of their lives through poetry, storytelling, music, and more. You'll be uplifted, challenged, and inspired.

Felix Adler, the founder of Ethical Culture, was a intense and serious-minded professor. Felix Adler, the circus clown, was...not so serious (among other things, he added a rhinestone to embellish his red nose). Is there a place at WES for both Adlers? WES has increased its ​serious ​attention to anti-racism and anti-oppression work in recent years. For some of us, that feels like...well, a lot of work. How do we as a congregation balance our commitment to justice with the reality that many people see WES as a refuge from the "work" of the world? Amanda explores this timely and important topic, supported by music from the WES Chorus.

Amanda explores the way that we can bring playfulness to our lives–from parenting to handling our most annoying acquaintances to dealing with the stress of making our way in the world. Using family systems theory & the hunt for our inner child.

Using personal narrative & attention to recent socio-political developments, Anthony Pinn explores the manner in which the current historical moment speaks to the continued troubling nature of difference in the United States.

"Becoming One Planet: A Story of Race, Justice, and Power" Destiny Watford. Community activist and Goldman Prize Recipient Destiny Watford describes her journey as a teen, organizing to keep an incinerator from moving into her neighborhood. Join her to be inspired by her own story, and moved to action for our world.

“Becoming Just: Building an Anti-Opressive Community,” Zeb Green, Clergy Intern. This Sunday we will explore what it means to be a justice building community. Justice and anti-oppression work is an ongoing process, always on the cusp, always emerging. It is work that keeps going and has no finish line. We find justice through the continuous struggle to live it.

"Becoming Whole: A Humanist Response to Suffering" Amanda Poppei, Senior Leader. What happens when we experience deep pain--grief, loss, betrayal? Traditional religions might tell us there is a plan or a purpose to our pain. What does humanism have to say about how we emerge from the deepest struggles of our lives, and what, if any, meaning do we take from them? Music from the WES Chorus.

Remember the register in the front of your checkbook, before we paid for everything online? Those entries meant more than just whether you had money in your checking account. Join Amanda as she examines living a “balanced” life. Music from Johnnie Buzek & friends.

What does it mean to persevere-- not through big things, but on a daily basis? Join us as we explore one child's story of perseverance, and discover our own. This special Sunday will bring a dose of beauty and whimsy.

What does it mean to be healthy? Whether from a sudden illness, a chronic condition, or the natural effects of aging, we all face issues of health and healing.  Join us for an exploration on persevering through the struggle of learning to live and cope.

For our annual Pay Attention to Love Day, Amanda will explore what it takes to persevere in love. In any kind of relationship–romantic, familial, friendship–how do we keep on loving when things get hard?

Join Amanda and her colleague Ryane, a leader with the Washington Interfaith Network and founder of The TraRon Center, in this unique platform dialogue. Ryane and Amanda will talk about how we persevere in the fight for social justice, even when faced with insurmountable odds.

Join two WES teens and Global Connections members, Jason & Russell, in an exciting and emotional platform as they share messages from our sister community of El Rodeo and personal experiences of the recent annual delegation trip. Special media productions (i.e. videos), providing a direct line of communication between our communities, will be prevalent!

Join Rev. Archene, Affiliated Minister at Cedar Lane UU, as she reflects on her own experience as a person of color, woman, & lesbian & how that influences the way she works for justice & against oppression. She has invited our own Clergy Intern to join in reflecting on his experience as a white man.

What does it mean to be intentional about our shared community life? How do we show up in this space in a way that welcomes all, that makes space for different identities and experiences, and that honors our diversity while also celebrating our shared values? And is that all just too much work?! Music from singer/songwriter Lilo G