The Transition Moment

In a Christian Science Monitor article on the ABC News website, author and educator Dale McGowan is quoted as follows:

"This is the transition moment right now. Some groups are really diving in [to foster a robust sense of community], and some of them are holding their noses and standing on the diving board. They're not quite sure what to do."

He is referring to the growth of self-organized groups of non-believers in the U.S. Increasingly, according to the article's author G. Jeffrey MacDonald, such groups are coming together to bond and create communities. Tom Hoeppner, Membership Chair of the Ethical Humanist Society of Chicago (sister of the Bergen Ethical Society) describes the benefits some non-theists find in ritual: "... you build up not just common intellectual values, but the emotional and personal connection with people."

McGowan will be offering a half-day workshop Parenting Beyond Belief at the Bergen Society on October 17, 2009. More information and access to tickets can be found in this brochure.