Hugh Taft-Morales Leader, Philadelphia Ethical Society May Day brings to mind both maypole dancers and Soviet-era military parades. Most who celebrate May 1 rejoice in nature and the imminence of summer. But others associate the day with the movement for economic justice by socialist and labor organizations. Hugh examines the holiday’s dual origins. What lessons [...]

Melissa Feinberg Rutgers University-New Brunswick Usually equated in the West with tyranny, Communism in Eastern Europe was rife with seeming contradictions. The system censored books but also ended illiteracy. Finding bananas in a store was almost impossible; yet the average person had more to eat than ever. Feinberg, chair of the Rutgers-New Brunswick history department, [...]

Hugh Taft-Morales Leader, Philadelphia Ethical Society The human race is confounded by our stubborn reliance on patterns of behavior that don’t work. Doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results is insane. Yet despite the unceasing harm caused by poverty and war, we continue to rely on capitalism to provide for us [...]

Hibba Abugideiri Villanova University  Why do Muslim women wear the veil, especially in the United States? Are face veils signs of oppression? Is Islam a misogynistic religion? And why has a 14 X 14 piece of cloth obsessed the West for over a century and endured as a symbol with global resonance? Abugideiri addresses misconceptions [...]

Robert Edwin (Bob) Steinfort Professional Musician and PES Member “Every song has some kind of spective,” says Bob. “Intro-. Re-. Per-. Pro-. Retro-. (Circum-?)” Our virtuoso pianist, Rollin Wilber, will join Bob for a lively program of music in a variety of spectives. They will perform their own compositions, as well as works by others. [...]

Kimiko Doherty Former Volunteer Peace Corps and PES Member Kimiko started her Peace Corps journey in Honduras. During two-and-a-half years in a rural town, she learned lessons that have lasted a lifetime. Come and hear about them, while helping Kimiko celebrate the 20th anniversary of that foundational experience. This is a Zoom-only platform. You can [...]

Stan Horwitz Senior Systems Manager Temple University and PES Member Oliver Jane Jorgensen Community Life Coordinator, Philadelphia Ethical Society Oliver Jane will discuss the role of social networking—through services like Instagram and YouTube—in Ethical Culture. Stan will provide tips and tricks for using Zoom more productively and with greater confidence. This is a Zoom-only platform. [...]

Betsy Lightbourn Prolific Reader, PES Member July 3 through August 11 are the official dog days of summer. It’s the perfect time to curl up with a book on the beach or in a park. Or read in air-conditioned comfort, if you prefer. This program of book reviews by our members will help you choose [...]

Rain date for the picnic, originally scheduled for July 9th. Join PES members to socialize, play lawn games, participate in singing folk songs (led by Hugh), and tour the camp facilities and trails. The swimming pool will be open at 1 PM.  Members of the Baltimore Ethical Society will be joining PES at this year's picnic! A carpool from 1906 Rittenhouse will [...]

All Societies Platform: The Encampment for Citizenship on Zoom Since its founding in 1876, the Ethical Culture movement has founded or co-founded several organizations. One of them is The Encampment for Citizenship, a progressive youth leadership program that met for the first time in the summer of 1946. Today, it has been reinvigorated by alumni [...]