Hello Members and Friends!
Welcome to our January update.
This month we have a couple of online events. Our regular meeting time on Saturday January the 9th we will have a presentation by friend of the group Jeff Wilcox about planning for retirement. Jeff is a professional financial planner so bring your questions and get information you can use. For those who wish to follow up with Jeff after the meeting feel free to do so.
This month we will be starting hopefully a bi-weekly social get together online called the Humanist Coffee Klatch. Join us on Wednesday January 20th at 1 PM for the first Klatch. I wanted to bring back the Humanist Nooner in some form and the Klatch will be an attempt.
And as always, thank you for being a member and friend of the group and hope you all have a great New Year.
-- Doug.
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We will continue to share accurate information as often as we can on social media channels and if members and friends need assistance (like you've lost a job or have to deal with family members being ill) check out our Community Outreach Resources and Education page.
https://is.gd/showlehelp
If you need assistance in navigating the public assistance channels due to a job loss because of pandemic closures, send a message to me or Shawn and we can use our personal experiences to help you.
Shawn has also offered to do pick-ups for things like groceries or prescriptions if you don't feel like you can safely pick them up yourself. Just give me a call at the group number 567-302-0209 or send us an email.
Here is some information for those who live in Lucas county and a links to some statewide resources available
COVID-19 in Ohio: Resources & Ways to Help
State of Ohio COVID-19 Information Page
The Lucas County COVID-19 Emotional Support Line
419-442-0580
Ohio Heroes 419-841-6781 – offers free counseling and support to front-line medical professionals
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Journeys to Humanism Story Submission
One of the missions of our outreach the Glass City Humanist Podcast is to educate and promote Humanism to the community. One way to accomplish that is to have a featured segment during an episode where we hear a personal story from a Humanist about how they arrived at Humanism. What was their journey and what helped them become a Humanist.
We are looking for positive, uplifting stories. An essay on the dangers of religion, while important to some people's journey, would be less likely to be picked for inclusion. There is no set length or format for a story however stories that can be read in 5 to 10 minutes are more likely to be used in the show.
Glass City Humanist would like the person who submits their story to read it during the show. We will arrange to record you reading your story to be included in a future episode. Reading your story isn't required but will help make the story richer and more personal.
A possible end goal for this project is to collect all the submitted stories into a future e-book and/or recording.
If you would like to participate in this project, fill out the form at the link below. We do require a name, valid email, and you must agree to let us use your story. You can also let us know if we can record you telling your story.
https://glasscityhumanist.show/journeys-to-humanism/
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Upcoming Meetings and Events
Planning for Retirement – Simple But Hard with Jeff Wilcox from LPL Financial
Saturday, January 9, 2021 1 PM
Friend of the group, Jeff Wilcox, will lend us his professional expertise to help us plan for the future like for retirement. Be sure to bring your questions and be prepared to be informed. Jeff works as a Financial Advisor for LPL Financial in Temperance.
As a Financial Advisor Jeff’s passion is to serve others through an understanding of what is important to them, helping them build customized strategies for their financial goals and partnering together to keep them on track. Becoming a Financial Advisor in 2016 builds on his professional training, skill set and 31 years of educational leadership roles as a Principal or Superintendent of 5 schools throughout the Midwest.
Jeff has found that his Strategic Planning experience, Problem-Solving Ingenuity and People Skills serve him well when helping individuals and businesses plan their financial futures. With this background, his primary goal is educating his clients enabling them to make wise decisions that are in their best interest and brings them true value.
Additionally, Jeff and his wife have owned a real estate company, Superior Properties USA, for the past 22 years. Superior Properties USA has rental homes and apartments in Ohio and Indiana.
Jeff and his wife, Kathy have been married since 1981. They are blessed with 7 children. They have 4 grandchildren. Over the past 38 years, they have lived throughout the Midwest. Jeff is a board member of 2 educational organizations and he is a member of two real estate organizations. He also serves as an educational and leadership consultant for the Maker Learning Network in Santa Clarita, CA. Jeff is a former college soccer player. Nowadays he serves as an assistant coach for his son’s varsity soccer team. Jeff enjoys reading and fishing as relaxing pastimes. Kathy is a special ed teacher at Rogers High School in Toledo. Both Jeff and Kathy are actively involved in their church.
Registration is used for security purposes and there is an optional opportunity to receive additional information about SHoWLE.
This event is free and open to the public
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0lduqprTguEtEyUliU0KXZ4xWFUwJNX2Wu
Humanist Coffee Klatch
Wednesday January 20, 2021 at 12 PM
Join us online for our first of many coffee klatches. Bring your coffee, adult beverages, lunch or what not and join us for social time. We don't have to talk about Humanism but if you have questions feel free to ask them. Let's catch up and see how we are all doing with a vaccine on the way.
This event is free and open to the public but registration is required at least once
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZApdeCspjIvH9x9x42NNHJJbwHMqMsLD82H
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News & Notes
Holiday Adopt A Family A Success
Thanks to the generosity of our friends and neighbors we were able to donate everything on the want and needs list for the family we adopted this holiday season. Thank you all. Thanks also to Board member Bev for taking on this project in the midst of dealing with the pandemic.
The presents (seen above), almost all wrapped, ready to be delivered to the Lucas County Children's Services
SHoWLE Monitoring Federal Lawsuit
At the end of November, the Lucas County Health Department voted to close all schools in the county for in-person instructions and extra-curricular activities from December 4th to January 11th because of a large surge in COVID-19 cases in the community. Even though the order exempted in-person religious activities, three religious schools filed a federal lawsuit claiming the order violated their 1st amendment rights.
The schools claimed that they were not being treated like secular businesses that were allowed to stay open even though those businesses have a greater risk of spread. On December 14th, a federal judge in Toledo ruled against the schools but on December 31, the 6th Circuit court of appeals issued an injunction against the public health department.
SHoWLE President Doug Berger had a letter to the editor published in the Toledo Blade on 12/13 pointing out the problem with the logic of the school's case.
Doug wrote:
Religious schools are a fact of life in the United States, and I agree that they shouldn’t be singled out by the government. But any comparisons should be apples to apples, not apples to casinos.
The Lucas County public health order is temporary and applies to all schools, public and private, and it doesn’t infringe on the religious schools religious activities even if I think it should.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost then took the side of the religious schools, even after saying he would defend state public health orders. Doug wrote and sent out a press release registering our disappointment in Yost's decision.
SHoWLE will continue to monitor this case and update everyone when we know more.
Use Your Phone With Zoom
Did you know you don't have to use video when joining us for meetings and events on Zoom?
In fact you can use your telephone and call into the meeting without using a computer. When you register for a meeting you will get a link and other information on how to join the meeting. One of those options is to call into the meeting by phone. If seeing the speaker isn't a priority or you just aren't able to use a computer you can join us on the phone.
We Have a Wish List Page
We have an Amazon Smile wish list that people can purchase items from and send to us. Some people, for personal reasons, refuse to shop at Amazon and we respect that. We have copied our list onto a web page on the website.
If you would like to fill our wish list but not from Amazon then just look for our items where you do shop, buy them, and send them to us at SHoWLE PO Box 6433 Toledo, OH 43613 If you would rather drop them off to us, contact us and we can arrange a drop off.
Also note that except for the books, we are not married to a particular product manufacturer on this list. For example we would like four folding chairs with padding but they don’t have to be from Flash Furniture.
Software we use were recently added so you can sponsor a full year of Zoom or Adobe Cloud for the group to use.
Do you have an idea for a meeting or event?
Do you have an idea for a topic for a meeting or an activity for us to do as a group? Let us know.
 If there is a particular topic or speaker you would like to see at a future meeting or have an idea for a group activity then please send us a note by email or fill out our contact form.
It would help if you provided as much information as possible about the idea - like who to contact or websites to visit.
There is no guarantee SHoWLE will turn your idea into an actual meeting or event but the odds increase if you are willing to host the event and/or do a lot of the leg work.
Activities and meetings for SHoWLE depend entirely on volunteer effort.
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The latest episode on Glass City Humanist:
Episode 016: Blasphemy Be Gone And Covid Cheats
In this episode Douglas talks about the passage of House Resolution 512 that calls for the global repeal of blasphemy, heresy, and apostasy laws. Next he talks about two cases of schools trying to use religion to circumvent public health orders and finally in a new segment called Humanism 101 he looks at Global Awarness.
00:45 Blasphemy Be Gone
08:34 Covid Cheats at School
17:56 Humanism 101: Global Awareness
Show Notes
Subscribe to the show newsletter
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Are you a member?
Joining the Secular Humanists of Western Lake Erie gets you the following benefits:
- A monthly meeting with like minded people
- Ability to guide and vote on the direction of the group
- Serve in leadership positions and on our Board of Directors
- Regular communications about meetings, events, and other topics of interest to the group before the general public
We have two membership plans:
$10 for an Individual
$20 for a Household (two or more people at the same address)
Just see a Board member at our next meeting or event or click on the button below to pay online or to get information on mailing it in.
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Do you have a special skill or hobby? Do you have an idea for a program or event you would like to see hosted by SHoWLE??
Let us know!
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You can now donate to the Secular Humanists of Western Lake Erie
Please help us provide a supportive local community for humanists and other nontheists, while promoting ethical and reasonable secular world views through education, community service, outreach, activism, and social events.
You can use Paypal or a credit card. Donations are tax deductible.
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You can always donate at one of our meetings or events or send your check or money order to:
Secular Humanists of Western Lake Erie
PO Box 6433
Toledo, OH 43612-0433
We are also connected with the Amazon Smile program. If you choose SHoWLE as your charity then a portion of sales you complete will be sent to us. Use this link to choose us:
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Our Mission:
The mission of the Secular Humanists of Western Lake Erie is to provide a supportive local community for humanists and other nontheists, while promoting an ethical, reasonable, and secular approach to life through education, community service, outreach, activism, and social events.
We envision a Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan where secular people are respected and integrated in broader society, live values of reason and compassion, and enjoy a friendly humanist community.
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