Founder’s Day
Remembering the pride and the puzzles from our past will help members decide what kind of community to be in the present and what to strive for in the future.
Speaker: Lyn Cox
A Mother’s Grief
The tradition of Mother’s Day was initiated by Julia Ward Howe as a protest against state violence. In those days, the violence was rooted in war, yet in our days as tanks and teargas enter the streets against our own citizens, there is a direct line of tradition that makes Mother’s Day a powerful day … Continue reading A Mother’s Grief
Bloom
Ideally, our communities lay the groundwork for us to become our best selves. With room enough to make mistakes and grow from them, some tolerance for the discomfort of growing pains, and feedback grounded in truth and love, our communities can help us to bloom. Watch the platform service at:
Spring Festival: Demeter and Persephone
The story of Demeter and Persephone reminds us that seasonal changes feel differently to different people, that there is a place for grief in the cycle of renewal, and that change is possible. At Spring Fest, we celebrate Baby Naming and dedicate ourselves to nurturing new life among us.
Becoming and Re-Becoming a Community
WES holds as one of its values an aspiration to be a welcoming and inclusive community. It’s helpful to remember that the ideas of how to be a welcoming and inclusive community have changed over time, from decade to decade and generation to generation. As membership grows and changes welcoming also means being willing to … Continue reading Becoming and Re-Becoming a Community
Promises
The core agreements of our lives, the ones we make in love and trust with our families and communities, guide our actions and help shape who we will become individually and together.
Cultivate a Brighter Future
What we pay attention to grows in our minds and hearts. Words and deeds add up to nourish commitments, from seed to harvest. This Platform is also the beginning of the pledge drive, when WES members are encouraged to renew their commitments.
Superhero Values
Superhero stories in popular culture are fictional, yet they contain themes that remind us about making ethical choices. Let’s explore how these stories help us to come to terms with the past, grapple with power and responsibility, and team up as a source of strength.
Pay Attention to Love
Love is more than sentimentality and greeting cards. Love, in the broader sense, offers lessons such as groundedness, embodiment, and interdependence. This is wisdom that helps us to live out our values. The essays and poetry of free thinking ancestors such as Egbert Ethelred Brown and Lewis Latimer show that intellect and love are partners … Continue reading Pay Attention to Love
Trees
We reflect on putting down roots and growing shelter for generations to come. We will draw inspiration for resilience from the Jewish holiday of Tu B’Shevat, the New Year of Trees, as we consider growth and fruitfulness on a long time scale.