Leader Bart Worden

This is a special week in my life. On Saturday our older son and his fiancé will be married near Kansas City, Kansas. This is the second wedding in our nuclear family in a year’s time (our younger son and his fiancé were married last September) and is a watershed moment for me and my wife, Ruthanne.

Our sons have been out of our house for quite some time so we are used to being “empty nesters.” It feels different, though, when our children are creating their own families – especially when those families are coming together at some distance from where we live. With the addition of in-laws our little family is becoming quite a bit larger – and that’s before any new arrivals appear.

What has been especially nice is the way the values of Ethical Culture – compassion, equity, respect, consideration – have become so much a part of our children’s characters. To see those values expressed in their relationships has been special and we do so appreciate the impact our extended Ethical Culture family has had upon all of us. 

It is also special for me because I have been asked to officiate! Some of the elements of the ceremony I did last September will be incorporated into this ceremony along with bits from earlier Ethical Culture ceremonies and some brand new elements – it’s a bit of a potpourri and another reflection of our extended Ethical family! 

We are now heading into Week 7 of the AEU Assembly and there are 4 events to join between today and Sunday! I’ve listed this week’s offerings below and if you missed any of last week’s events and would like to view them, Anna has made videos available for each session. 

Here’s the list of last week’s presentations:

Tuesday, July 13, 8:00pm – 9:30pm ET: Humanist Youth Leadership: A Survey and Skills Building Workshop with Evan Clark, Debbie Goddard, Javen Lev, Anya Overmann, and Jé Hooper, moderated by Julia Julstrom-Agoyo Watch on youtube here!

Thursday, July 15, 8:00pm – 9:30pm ET: Racism and Antiracism: Two American Traditions with Jone Johnson Lewis  – Watch on youtube here!

Saturday, July 17, 11:00am – 12:30pm ET: Pre-Business Meeting: Resolutions with the President of the AEU Board of Directors, Sonja Kueppers Watch on youtube here!

Saturday, July 17, 4:00pm – 5:30pm ET: Pre-Business Meeting: Bylaws Amendments and Policy Changes with AEU Secretary (and Chair of the Policy Committee), Casey Gardonio-Foat Watch on youtube here!

A reminder: if are you a Delegate to the Assembly this year you may want to check out this link to the Slideshow and the Partial Recording from the June 5th Delegate Training 

Back to this week’s events. Please remember that you can view all of these events on the aeu.org website’s 2021 Assembly Calendarand links to the events are on the AEU Connections calendar so you can grab the Zoom link you’ll need when you need it.

Tuesday, July 20, 8:00pm – 9:30pm ET: ETHICAL CULTURE: ITS PLACE IN CONTEMPORARY HUMANISM with Richard Koral — 

Whether Ethical Culture is viewed as a religion or a philosophical life stance, there remains the fundamental question:  What do we believe?  At a time when bad things happen to good people, when so many people fail to be their best selves, when good people lose faith in their leaders, what does Ethical Humanism have to offer the world?

Thursday, July 22, 8:00pm – 9:30pm ET: ADDRESSING THE WHOLE TRUTH ABOUT AMERICA’S MONETARY SYSTEM with Ellen H. Brown and Walt McRee — 

A deep dive into the mechanics and history of America’s financial system, where it came from, what it has become, and what is being done to make it more democratic and just. Ethical public policies depend on collaborative and supportive monetary systems. These systems have strayed far from the potential that was demonstrated early in America’s history — but can be recovered through enlightening the public.

Saturday, July 17, 11:00am – 12:30pm ET: Pre-Business Meeting: Bylaws Amendments and Policy Changes with AEU Secretary (and Chair of the Policy Committee), Casey Gardonio-Foat  –

Saturday, July 17, 4:00pm – 5:30pm ET: Budget and Finance with AEU Treasurer, Tom Castelnuovpo

Hope to see you sometime this week!

This post originally appeared at AEU.org.