Margaret Downey President, The Freethought Society By creating a Day of the Dead celebration, Margaret Downey and her team—Victoria de la Torre, David Tamayo, and Memo Benumea—seek to honor the cultural traditions of Mexicans and Mexican Americans. This meaningful celebration conveys the message that death is not to be feared. A non-theist leader for over 30 [...]

Sam Pizzigati Associate Fellow, Institute for Policy Studies Felix Adler promoted a more egalitarian America. An advocate for capping the income of the very wealthy, he hoped to tax away “pomp and pride and power.” Yet today we are more unequal than ever. Labor journalist Pizzigati will explore new approaches to reforming our economic and [...]

Hugh Taft-Morales Leader, Philadelphia Ethical Society Many of our harvest-season traditions have been crafted through selective appropriation of Native American culture. That culture informs how we frame our Thanksgiving holiday and the gratitude we profess—for nature’s gifts, in particular. Drawing on Robin Wall Kimmerer’s book Braiding Sweetgrass, Hugh will explore the potential for transcending superficial [...]

Donald Tibbs Professor of Law, Drexel University Tibbs, an activist for racial and social justice, will discuss the fraught ethics of contemporary policing, the subject of his forthcoming book, Unapologetically Black: How Policing Has Reshaped the American Constitution…And Why It Matters to Black America. Tibbs also is the author of From Black Power to Prison [...]

Hugh Taft-Morales Leader, Philadelphia Ethical Society Come and share poetry, music, and gratitude during our season of Thanksgiving. We will pass our plate to collect donations for Pay It Forward Philly, a new project that encourages local restaurants to provide food in a dignified manner to those in need. For the in-person gathering, unlike the [...]

Hugh Taft-Morales Leader, Philadelphia Ethical Society In this video of a platform from 2011, Hugh offers still timely and inspiring reflections on the meaning of home and homelessness.

Hugh Taft-Morales Leader, Philadelphia Ethical Society For thousands of years, humans have created statues in their own image. Artists have carved marble, forged metal, and sculpted clay to depict people as beautiful, heroic, or infamous. What purposes do these sculptures serve as cultural symbols and historical markers? How do they make life meaningful? Hugh draws [...]

Jeffrey Green, Political Scientist University of Pennsylvania Bob Dylan isn’t just a brilliant songwriter but also a modern-day prophet. So argues Jeffrey Green in his forthcoming book, Bob Dylan: Prophet Without God. Dylan is not a conventional prophet of salvation, explains Green, the director of Penn’s Andrea Mitchell Center for the Study of Democracy. But [...]

Come celebrate community as we gather to light candles and kindle hope for brighter days ahead. Please contact Hugh to recommend readings and/or to volunteer to be a reader.

There are no scheduled platforms for Sunday, Dec. 24 or Sunday, Dec. 31. We wish you all happy holidays and a hopeful 2024. Join us again on January 7th.