Washington Ethical Society

When playwright Nicole Burton, an adopted person, set out to find her birth family, she couldn't have known of the odyssey and gifts that were in store for her. Her search and reunion unfolded in places as far apart as England, Italy and Louisiana. Nicole describes how reunion has helped her build courage, acceptance and a greater capacity for love.

How do we live truly sustainable lives--in our personal choices and in the world at large? What dos it mean to have enough, to have lives of plenty? And how can we seek to live sustainably in our religious community?

This annual Remembrance Day service seeks to honor those we have lost over the last year and throughout our lives. We consider more deeply the ways that w, and those we love, are both broken and whole, both flawed and somehow perfectly, uniquely ourselves.

Many have heard the insightful, honest, fascinating essays on National Public Radio's "This I Believe," by people from around the nation telling us what they accept as true. Four WES members say what they believe, how they came to believe it, and why it is so important to them.

We live our lives by coming into, and then occasionally falling out of, right relationships with ourselves, with others, and with life itself. Each new year in the life of the WES community, the opportunity arises to prepare ourselves with a fresh start.

At the beginning of the congregational year, Amanda considers whether we live in a secular age or a religious age--and how Ethical Culture can span the divide.

What blessings do animals bring to our lives? Furry friends invited to come.

Fritz Williams says he believes in cultivating opposite, but complementary views of life, and in meeting life's challenges with contradictory strategies. It is by encompassing these opposites, by being involved and vulnerable, but simultaneously transcendent and detached, that our lives are graced by resilience and joy.

Ethics As Religion, 13 September 1998, Don Montagna, WES Leader. Notes: Don explains why we all need religion, why we receive it in a community, how Ethical Culture builds a religion without supernatural creed, and finally how the community comforts members in grief.

Tikkun Olum - Repairing the World After Genocide, 15 April 2007, Estelle Laughlin, WES Member. Notes: Compelling testimony from a holocaust survivor.

If Not Us - Who?, 26 February 2006, Don Montagna, WES Leader. Notes: Wonderful platform on empathy. Do not dehumanize the 'other' but widen the concept of 'us'.

"Loving Someone Dying" by affirming the worth of every person since 1944.

"Loving Someone Dying" by affirming the worth of every person since 1944.

"Loving Someone Dying" by affirming the worth of every person since 1944.

Humanistic Spirituality, 19 September 2004, Don Montagna, WES Leader. Notes: Don explains why we need humanistic spirituality, what it is, how to create it. This highly rated talk is one of the member's picks.

Humanistic Spirituality, Don Montagna, 19 September 2004 Comment: "Brilliant! Why we need humanistic spirituality, what it is, how to create it." (Jo London) "Don delivers a mature reflection on the subject beginning with a 6 minute reflection on his leadership and the community 30+ years into his tenure." (Paul Baker) (49 minutes)

Christ vs. Jesus, 4 April 2004, Don Montagna, WES Leader. Notes: Don briefly mentions the Christ of Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" and then recounts the historical Jesus. Next, he interprets the teachings of Paul of Tsarsus and the Gospel of Love. He closes preaching the practice of love in the community.

Our annual memorial ceremony is an opportunity to honor your loved ones and keep alive within you their spirits at their best. People important in our lives continue to influence what we do and think even after death. By appreciating the blessings they gave us, we can more fully benefit from these gifts and pass them on to others. By understanding the errors they made, we can learn from their mistakes--rather than allow them to haunt us.

What is Good?, 1 December 2002, Don Montagna, WES Leader. Notes: Why is Good a central concept of EC? How is it defined and applied by philosophers in the face of contradictions? What about our own lives? Don gives a careful examination of these and related questions.

What is Good?, Don Montagna, 1 December 2002 Comment: "Felix Adler argued Ethics and Religion are real and amenable to rational, scientific analysis. He made "good" a central concept in his system. Don explains" (Paul Baker) (33 min)