Leah Mickens is a first-year doctoral student in the Graduate Division of Religious Studies’ Religion and Society track. Her research interests include the Roman Catholic Church’s evolving views on liberalism, liberal democracy and modernity, Catholic social teachings, and the rise of atheism as a popular movement.

This talk will provide an overview of the humanist movement in the twentieth century, especially as it pertains to three crucial social justice movements: the abortion law repeal/decriminalization movement, the voluntary euthanasia movement, and the early movement for African American civil rights. Although the numbers of self-proclaimed humanists has always been relatively small, this talk will show how they were able to change American society in profound ways.

BEC Vice President Michael Bleiweiss will lead a Colloquy.

Colloquy provides an opportunity for self-reflection and contemplation within a nurturing, group environment.  Participants use readings, music, and quiet sharing to reflect on a selected theme.

It was created at the Ethical Humanist Society of Long Island by Arthur Dobrin, Leader Emeritus.  Each Colloquy discussion centers on a particular theme selected from Arthur Dobrin’s book, Spelling God with Two O’s.  Groups consider such topics as awareness, serenity, character, transitions and friendship.

Noah Beit-Aharon is Assistant Director of Activities, Maristhill Nursing & Rehabilitation Center

Noah will be discussing the destructive social stigmas that often isolate residents of nursing homes, and how to rethink our biases in a way that will make us and our loved ones happier and more fulfilled. He also will talk about the important role activities play in nursing homes, assisted living, and other eldercare communities, from social and spiritual benefits to health benefits.

Filmmaker David Rothauser tells the stories of Japanese, Korean and American survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. The stories are told by the survivors themselves and interwoven with the reflections of two children; Yoko an 8 year old Japanese girl and Davey, a 12 year old American boy. Learn more .

BEC President Brian King will facilitate a discussion of an Ethical Dilemma presented in the book by Arthur Dobrin — a collection of real-life stories of ethical issues that needed to be addressed by people in their professional, personal, or civic lives. We will hear once such story and then discuss different views of how it was or might have been handled.

Heather Goldstone is the science editor at , the Cape and Islands NPR Station. She holds a Ph.D. in ocean science from M.I.T. and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and spent a decade as an active researcher before leaving the lab to become a writer.
In her nine years with the Cape and Islands NPR Station, Goldstone has reported on Woods Hole’s unique scientific community and key environmental issues on Cape Cod.

Her reporting has appeared in venues ranging from NPR and PBS News Hour to The Cape Cod Times and Commercial Fishery News. Most recently, Goldstone hosted the blog , an exploration of how climate change is impacting coastal life in the region.

Boston College Professor of History Marilynn S. Johnson examines the historical confluence of recent immigration and urban transformation in greater Bo

ston, a region that underwent dramatic decline after World War II. Since the 1980s, the Boston area has experienced an astounding renaissance—a development, she argues, to which immigrants have contributed in numerous ways.  Like the older Irish and other European immigrant groups whose labor once powered the region’s industrial economy, these newer migrants have been crucial in re-building the population, labor force, and metropolitan landscape of the New Boston.

Brian King is President of Boston Ethical Community.

Half-way through this experimental year, we would like to present to our members and visitors a summary of our December board retreat and workshop with AEU Executive Director Bart Worden, with a look to the changes ahead.

Michael Bleiweiss is Vice President of the Boston Ethical Community.

Colloquy provides an opportunity for self-reflection and contemplation within a nurturing, group environment.  Participants use readings, music, and quiet sharing to reflect on a selected theme.
Colloquy was created at the Ethical Humanist Society of Long Island by Arthur Dobrin, Leader Emeritus.  Each Colloquy discussion centers on a particular theme selected from Arthur Dobrin’s book, Spelling God with Two O’s.  Groups consider such topics as awareness, serenity, character, transitions and friendship.