Recent Events (2007)

Our current calendar of events is on our home page and in our newsletter.
When What
Tuesday, December 25th Annual brunch at Pacific Buffet & Grill, 20 Ives Road, Wallingford., Link to map of Pacific Buffet-Grill restaurant location.
Monday, December 17th
Annual Meeting and Pot-luck dinner

We rounded out the year with our pot-luck dinner, annual elections, and winter solstice party.
Monday, December 10th New Haven area social dinner at Pasta Fair 262 Boston Post Rd, Orange Link to map of Pasta Fair restaurant location.
Sunday, December 2nd November board and standing committee meetings. Postponed from Thanksgiving weekend due to the absence of two of the board members, this was to have been the last board meeting of the year, but it was cancelled due to forecasts of a winter storm and a stressful week of health problems for two of the other board members.
Saturday, December 1st

Humanist Conversations: we watched and discussed PBS's Frontline program Cheney's Law
Thursday, November 29th Hartford area social dinner at Lemongrass, 7 South Main Street, West Hartford, Link to map of Lemongrass restaurant location.
Sunday, November 18th
Monthly Meeting: Can Conservatives Find Happiness In The ACLU?

The new Executive Director of the ACLU of Connecticut, Andrew Schneider talked about recent ACLU activities in the state and nation, and about his plans for the coming year.

A poster for this meeting is available.
Monday, November 12th New Haven area social dinner at Pasta Fair 262 Boston Post Rd, Orange Link to map of Pasta Fair restaurant location.
Saturday, November 3rd

Humanist Conversations: we watched and discussed PBS's Frontline program Showdown with Iran
Saturday, October 27th
cover of 'The Fundamentals of Extremism: The Christian Right in America' by Kimberly Blaker (Editor) Book discussion on The Fundamentals of Extremism: The Christian Right in America, by Kimberly Blaker (Editor).
Thursday, October 25th Hartford area social dinner at Lemongrass, 7 South Main Street, West Hartford, Link to map of Lemongrass restaurant location.
Sunday, October 21st October board and standing committee meetings.
Monday, October 15th
Monthly Meeting: Remembering Rabbi Sherwin Wine (1928-2007)

After David Schafer was unable to attend, Carol Stone stepped in and presented a celebration of the life of the founder of the Society for Humanistic Judaism.

A poster for this meeting is available.
Monday, October 8th New Haven area social dinner at Pasta Fair 262 Boston Post Rd, Orange Link to map of Pasta Fair restaurant location.
Saturday, October 6th

Humanist Conversations: Cynthia Harvey gave a presentation and lead a difficultdiscussion on Loyal Rue’s book, Religion is Not About God.
Sunday, September 30th September board and standing committee meetings. This meeting was postponed from September 23rd.
Thursday, September 27th Hartford area social dinner at Puerto Vallarta, 826 Queen St., Southington, CT 06489. Link to map of Puerto Vallarta restaurant location.
Monday, September 17th
Monthly Meeting: Arts of Southeast Asia

An art historian formerly at Yale, Dolores (Dody) Gall was be our guide to some of the history, arts and architecture of Indochina.

A poster for this program is available.
Saturday, September 15th
Book discussion on Moral Minority: Our Skeptical Founding Fathers, by Brooke Allen.

cover of 'Moral minority: Our Skeptical Founding Fathers' by Brooke Allen
Monday, September 10th New Haven area social dinner at Pasta Fair 262 Boston Post Rd, Orange Link to map of Pasta Fair restaurant location.
Saturday, September 1st

Humanist Conversations: we watched and discussed the third and final episode of Jonathan Miller's A Brief History of Disbelief.
Thursday, August 30th Hartford area social dinner at Puerto Vallarta, 826 Queen St., Southington, CT 06489. Link to map of Puerto Vallarta restaurant location.
Sunday, August 26th August board and standing committee meetings.
Monday, August 20th
Monthly Meeting: Truth: The New Agenda for Peace and Security

We were delighted that Americans for Informed Democracy's Senior Political Analyst, Eugene Kogan recovered from the illness that prevented him from appearing at our July monthly meeting, and welcomed him back as our guest speaker for August.

A poster for this program is available.
Saturday, August 11th A potluck picnic at Bill & Kathy Lyons' home in Cornwall, Connecticut, which included:
cover of 'The Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View of the Search for God' by Carl Sagan & Ann Druyan Book discussion on Chapter 6 of The Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View of the Search for God, by Carl Sagan & Ann Druyan.
Monday, August 6th New Haven area social dinner at Pasta Fair 262 Boston Post Rd, Orange Link to map of Pasta Fair restaurant location.
Saturday, August 4th

Humanist Conversations: we viewed the second episode of Jonathan Miller's A Brief History of Disbelief.
Sunday, July 29th July board and standing committee meetings.
Thursday, July 26th Hartford area social dinner at Mediza Mediterranean Restaurant, 35B Lasalle Road, West Hartford Link to map of Mediza restaurant location.
Monday, July 16th
Monthly Meeting: Truth: The New Agenda for Peace and Security

We had intended to welcome back Americans for Informed Democracy's Senior Political Analyst, Eugene Kogan as our guest speaker, but Eugene was taken ill and unable to give his presentation. David Schafer offered attendees several options for a replacement program, and we wound up watching the first hour of Jonathan Miller's "A Brief History of Disbelief", a 3 episode series that is currently being show on PBS stations.
Monday, July 9th New Haven area social dinner at Pasta Fair 262 Boston Post Rd, Orange Link to map of Pasta Fair restaurant location. Call the restaurant at (203) 799-9601 if you need directions.
Saturday, July 7th

The Humanist Conversations meeting scheduled for this date was cancelled.
Saturday, June 30th
Book discussion on The Undercover Economist: Exposing Why the Rich Are Rich, the Poor Are Poor--and Why You Can Never Buy a Decent Used Car!, by Tim Harford. cover of 'The Undercover Economist: Exposing Why the Rich Are Rich, the Poor Are Poor--and Why You Can Never Buy a Decent Used Car!' by Tim Harford
Thursday, June 28th Hartford area social dinner at Mediza Mediterranean Restaurant, 35B Lasalle Road, West Hartford Link to map of Mediza restaurant location. (860) 233-3370
Monday, June 18th
Monthly Meeting: Is Islam Compatible with Western Democracy?

David Schafer and Michelle Koth presented information about the nature of Islam and how we ought to interact with Muslims in our midst and around the world.
Sunday, June 17th June board and standing committee meetings. This was held earlier than usual due to the UUA General Assembly the following week.
Monday, June 11th New Haven area social dinner at Pasta Fair 262 Boston Post Rd, Orange Link to map of Pasta Fair restaurant location.
Saturday, June 9th

Humanist Conversations: Religious? Humanism

Ever since Humanist Manifesto One, humanists have been arguing about the terms “religious humanism”, “religion”, and whether humanism is a religion, philosophy, or both. David Schafer provided some background material and led a discussion on this intractable problem.
Saturday, June 2nd

Picnic at the Raffords' home in Middlebury.
Thursday, May 31st Our Hartford area social dinner at Lemongrass, 7 South Main Street, West Hartford, Link to map of Lemongrass restaurant location, moved to a Thursday night.
Sunday, May 27th May board and standing committee meetings. All members are welcome to attend.
Sunday, May 20th
Anniversary Meeting: Ethical Culture, My Religion

Our guest speaker was Ellen McBride, past president of the American Ethical Union, who let us know something about the history and present state of Ethical Culture, another part of the humanist movement.
Monday, May 7th New Haven area social dinner at Pasta Fair 262 Boston Post Rd, Orange Link to map of Pasta Fair restaurant location.
Saturday, May 5th
2:30 PM

Humanist Conversations: Enron: the Smartest Guys in the Room

We watched this movie on the Enron melt-down. The movie ran almost two hours, so some people stayed after the end of the session to discuss it.
Sunday, April 29th April board and standing committee meetings.
Wednesday, April 25th Hartford area social dinner at Lemongrass, 7 South Main Street, West Hartford. Link to map of Lemongrass restaurant location
Monday, April 16th
Monthly Meeting: Why There Is Already More Peace Than You Think

Our guest speaker was Bruce Russett, Dean Acheson Professor of International Relations and Political Science at Yale.

A poster for this meeting can be downloaded from this site.
Saturday, April 14th
cover of 'Freakonomics' by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner Book discussion on Freakonomics, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner.
Saturday, April 7th

Humanist Conversations: Reconsidering the End of Faith

With Sam Harris back in the news following the release of his Letter to a Christian Nation, we discussed topics raised by Chapters 6 (A Science of Good and Evil) and 7 (Experiments in Consciousness) of The End of Faith.
Monday, April 2nd New Haven area social dinner at Pasta Fair 262 Boston Post Rd, Orange Link to map of Pasta Fair restaurant location.
Wednesday, March 28th Hartford area social dinner at at Mayor Mike's, 283 Asylum Street, Hartford. Link to map of Mayor Mike's restaurant location. 860.522.MIKE (6453)
Sunday, March 25th March board and standing committee meetings.
Monday, March 19th
Monthly Meeting: Life at the Lighthouse, Barkhamsted, Connecticut

Our guest speaker was Ken Feder, assessing the validity of a historical legend here in northwestern Connecticut. Intensively between 1986 and 1993, and intermittently every since, Ken directed a research project focusing on the Lighthouse community, combining documentary and archaeological analysis. The results of that research indicate how the Lighthouse evolved from a community of isolated outcasts, to one connected to a world economic system and how, ultimately, it became the stuff of legend.

Click here for a poster for this meeting.
Monday, March 12th New Haven area social dinner at Pasta Fair 262 Boston Post Rd, Orange Link to map of Pasta Fair restaurant location.
Sunday, March 4th

Special event: Protecting Our Freedoms: Taking the Message to Congress

Lori Lipman Brown, of the Secular Coalition for America, is the first Congressional lobbyist to explicitly represent the interests of nontheistic Americans. Brown is a former Nevada State Senator, a lawyer, and an educator.

Refreshments will be served.
Wednesday, February 28th Hartford area social dinner at at Mayor Mike's, 283 Asylum Street, Hartford. Link to map of Mayor Mike's restaurant location. 860.522.MIKE (6453)
Sunday, February 25th February board and standing committee meetings.
Monday, February 19th
Monthly Meeting

Our guest speaker will be Doug Peary, presenting the latest in his series of inspirational biographies of famous humanists: Julian Huxley, Humanist Hero.

The poster for this talk was available.
Monday, February 12th New Haven area Darwin Day social dinner at Pasta Fair 262 Boston Post Rd, Orange Link to map of Pasta Fair restaurant location.
Sunday, February 11th
cover of 'Galileo's Daughter' by Dava Sobel Book discussion on Galileo's Daughter, by Dava Sobel.
Monday, February 5th
We showed of the PBS 2 hour special based on Dava Sobel's Galileo's Daughter: Galileo's Battle for the Heavens to help attendees prepare for the upcoming book discussion. cover of 'Galileo's Battle for the Heavens', based on a book by Dava Sobel
Saturday, February 3rd

Humanist Conversations: The New Atheists

We showed the recent program in the PBS series Religion and Ethics NewsWeekly on the latest books by Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris.
Wednesday, January 31st Hartford area social dinner at at Black-Eyed Sally's, 350 Asylum St., Hartford. Link to map of Black-Eyed Sally's restaurant location.
Sunday, January 28th January board and standing committee meetings.
Sunday, January 21st
Monthly Meeting

Our guest speaker was be Jennifer Miller, author of Inheriting the Holy Land: An American's Search for Hope in the Middle East, a recent selection for our book discussions.

A poster for this meeting was available. The meeting was jointly sponsored by the USNH Adult Programs Committee.
Monday, January 8th New Haven area social dinner at Pasta Fair 262 Boston Post Rd, Orange Link to map of Pasta Fair restaurant location.
Saturday, January 6th

Humanist Conversations: Iraq for Sale

We showed the 20 minute version of Robert Greenwald's latest film Iraq for Sale and then discussed the Iraq problem, largely ignoring the subject of the movie, which was profiteering from the Iraq war.

Click here to see some other events we've enjoyed over the years.