“What Would Kurt Lewin Do
& How Would He Do It?”

 

 

Hugh Taft-Morales joined the Baltimore Ethical Society as its professional leader in 2010, the same year he was certified by the American Ethical Union as an Ethical Culture Leader. He taught philosophy and history for twenty-five years in Washington, D.C., after earning a Masters in philosophy from University of Kent at Canterbury, England (1986) and graduating from Yale University (1979). In 2009 he completed a three-year leadership certification program with the Humanist Institute. His presence in Ethical Culture has been termed “invigorating.” He has been active in the Washington Ethical Society, serving as director of its Coming-of-Age program (2009-2011), a Board member (2002-2005), and Board president (2006). He has also been engaged in American Ethical Union work, serving on the AEU planning committee for two years, as co-coordinator for the Presidents Council AEU for a year, and as secretary of the AEU National Leaders Council at present. He also serves as Leader of the Ethical Humanist Society of Philadelphia. Taft-Morales lives in Takoma Park, Maryland, with his wife Maureen, a Latin American analyst with the Congressional Research Service, with whom he has three beloved children: Sean, Maya, and Justin. Singing and playing guitar, practicing yoga, and watching “way too much sports” are among his enjoyments.

 

Jan Seiden – much like Te Ata – is an artist and storyteller. “The pictures she paints in sound are worth many thousands of words,” said one reviewer. Her evocative music carries messages of global unity, peace, and personal empowerment to international humanitarian conferences and indigenous gatherings throughout the U.S. and Canada. She has appeared on CNN Headline News/Comcast and on Maryland Public TV for her healing work with the flute through venues such as Johns Hopkins Hospital and the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Honors for her works include a nomination for the Native American Music Award (NAMA, 2009), two nominations for Indian Summer Music Awards, an Individual Artist Award from the Maryland State Arts Council, and national first place in the Musical Echoes Native American flute competition (2002). Prior to pursuing a full-time career as a musician, Seiden earned an MS from The Johns Hopkins University and spent twenty-two years in biomedical research and administrative management in the integrative medicine field. For Te Ata, the Chickasaw Indian play, Seiden is the soundtrack’s composer, recording artist, engineer, and producer. Funding for this work was provided by the Ford Foundation’s Expressive Arts Program in partnership with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian and award-winning Chickasaw playwright JudyLee Oliva. The play’s 2012 season included performances at Oklahoma City University and at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C.

 

In 2010, the Obama Administration published its National Security Strategy. This document describes how the U.S. Government will employ means of national power to increase security and prosperity. Today’s platform address will explain a few things that humanists should know about the National Security Strategy. The strategy reflects philosophical approaches that include pragmatism, liberalism, and multilateralism. The strategy includes social and economic goals, most notably “freedom from want.” National security has been used in the past to justify improving social conditions. The Ethical Culture Movement can apply current national security strategy to support its vision for a more humane society and a better world.

 

Emil Volcheck works as an analyst in the Information Assurance Directorate of the National Security Agency. He holds a doctorate in mathematics from UCLA and is currently working towards an MS in Strategic Intelligence at the National Intelligence University. Volcheck, former chair of the BES public relations committee, now serves as its president. He also serves as coordinator of the Baltimore Coalition of Reason.

A sign of our vibrant, growing Sunday school population is that BES now has a room and workers dedicated solely to the care of toddlers. This is an important addition to our already successful program that among other methods uses music, art, and discussion to encourage personal expression, intellectual curiosity, and collaboration. Repurposing a room for younger children has been suggested often over the years, and in November Kathryn Sloboda and Rosemary Klein, co-chairs of the Religious Education Committee, decided the time had arrived. Linda Joy Burke, our lively, enthusiastic regular Sunday school teacher, selected furniture, toys, and books from those already at hand, and Rosemary scoured thrift shops for additional items. Chris and Christine Yonushonis, however, really made the new room a well thought-out reality, however. These relative newcomers to BES are parents of a girl and boy who are “regulars” in the colorfully decorated environment. Chris with Rosemary decluttered the area adjoining the regular Sunday school, moved furniture, washed the floor, and tested for sound. Later Chris, despite his parents visiting from out of town, returned to paint a blackboard on one wall, put down rugs and a play mat, glue felt to the doors and drawers of wooden furniture to lessen the noise that might result from banging, and set up a small storage unit, containing art supplies and healthy snacks. He put hooks above the door leading into the main platform space and hung a heavy blanket, hoping to minimize noise. Alas, however, the first day in the space, the children perceived the blanket to be a good hiding place and so the blanket disappeared. Em Sabatiuk, Karen Helm, Judy Katz, and the Yonushonises have volunteered to staff the toddler room during platform. Other volunteers would be most welcome; see either of the co-chairs – and come check out our happily refurbished Sunday school space.