April 2015 – BAH Newsletter

MESSAGE FROM THE BOARD

First Saturday Discussion: These events are either in the Glen Park library or the Women’s Building in San Francisco. In the first quarter, we discussed parenting of a transgender child and the international activities of International Atheist Alliance, including establishing secular schools and helping non-believers who are persecuted.
Perhaps the highlight of the first quarter was our Darwin Day celebration. Professor
Katryn Wiese delivered a fascinating, interactive lecture on the evolution of the earth and life on it. She also treated us to a tour of the extensive fossils and dioramas depicting prehistoric scenes in the City College Science building that is free and open to the pubic. In the coming months we will discuss efforts to pass a bill in California that would enable the terminally ill to seek assistance to end their lives and learn about the role of humanist organizations in Norway, one of the most secular countries in Europe.

Humanism Examined: This is a new discussion series that will be on the 4th the month in the Berkeley library. Its focus will be on an examination of the philosophy of humanism and its application to our lives and society today. John Figdor, the Humanist Chaplain at Stanford, got the series off to a great start with a discussion of
what we can believer after we stop believing in god. The next event on April 25 will be a discussion of the basic principles and historical develop of humanism lead by Jim Barnett, a graduate of the Humanist Institute.

On the second Saturday of the month, our reading group meets to discuss what they are reading. Currently the group is reading Citizens of the World: Readings in Human Rights” published by the Great Books Foundation. Used copies can be purchased inexpensively from Amazon. This is an anthology of historical documents and writings that have influenced our understanding of human rights. We have very stimulating discussions and learn a lot from the readings and each other. If you would like to join the reading group, let us know.

Volunteer Group

It was one year ago (February 2014) that the Bay Area Humanists started the Volunteer group. And, it has been a successful year.

We started our year volunteering at the San Francisco Marin Food Bank, at the San Francisco location, one Wednesday a month. In the early months we averaged 2-4 persons at the event. It was a great way to help in our community and to build closer relationships with other volunteers. In the summer we got our BAH t-shirts. The lime green color with its “Happy Humanist” has brought immediate attention to our group, no matter the size. As we entered Fall our monthly number tended to be a steady 5-7 persons. Not bad for an afternoon, weekday timeslot. The Food Bank processes food to other agencies who collectively serve more than 100,00 meals per day!

In November we added a monthly shift at At The Crossroads, a nonprofit in the Mission that does on the street counseling for homeless youth. There we are part of the Prep Night, where we clean book bags and assemble goody bags and hygiene kits and fold new clothes for the clothes closet. Our volunteer hours free up the organization to put its efforts to direct services for their clients. This volunteer event fills up quickly and we have had to turn people away.
In February of this year BAH had enough interest to start its weekend volunteer shift at the Food Bank. We have had 5-7 volunteers for each of these shifts.

The volunteer events have been very successful on several points. It helps with meeting the needs of our community. It has helped those looking for an opportunity to serve with a secular group. And, it has given BAH members an opportunity to talk about Humanism in a neutral place. We have already started to see people who have come to the volunteer events showing up at other events. We will continue to expand our volunteer efforts as our participants voice their interests.