WES Blog — Revisiting Our Ends

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The Ends of the Washington Ethical Society were developed to express the organization’s purpose – to explain what difference we want to make in the world. By their very definition, Ends are not things that are likely to be achieved quickly.  They are our aspirations, our guiding principles, our dream for a different future. At the June 7, 2015, WES Membership meeting, these four Ends were imagined and affirmed by the membership:

  1. Inclusive – Diverse – Interconnected

WES is an inclusive and diverse center for Ethical Culture, humanism, and progressive religion that models the interconnected community we envision for the world.

  1. Mind – Body – Spirit – Relationship

WES nurtures children, youth, and adults as whole beings – mind, body, and spirit – who seek their best selves in relationship with others.

  1. Justice – Collective Power

WES works with others to build a community with justice, equity, and opportunity for all and uses collective power to eliminate oppression.

  1. Citizens of the World – Stewards of the Earth

WES children, youth, and adults act collectively as citizens of the world and stewards of the earth.

Five years have flown by since WES established these Ends and, as the WES Constitution directs, it is now time for us to revisit them. With an eye to keeping them relevant and dynamic, we need to ensure that they still reflect our core beliefs, motivate our work and can inform our Focus Goals (which are the hopefully achievable annual goals we set in furtherance of the larger guiding principles of the Ends) each year for the next five years. At the Fall Membership Meeting on November 11, we will begin the process by asking these questions:

  • Do the Ends still speak to us?
  • What new insights have we gained into them?
  • Are we achieving them? If so, how are we doing that?
  • Does our budget reflect them?

Please join with us in this inquiry. If you are not able to attend the Fall Membership meeting and want to share your thoughts on these questions about the Ends, please contact Board member Kate Lang at katel@ethicalsociety.org.