In her book, OLD AGE IN A NEW AGE (Vanderbilt University Press, 2007), journalist Beth Baker tells the story of a new generation of visionary advocates and practitioners who are transforming both the culture of nursing homes and the way we view aging. She takes readers on a journey into some of the best places in America for elders to live. In these remarkable places, residents have a say in their everyday lives, enjoy an environment that looks and feels like an ordinary home, live with dignity and purpose, and find comfort in close relationships with caregivers.

She will share surprising lessons she learned from this emerging culture change movement -- and what this movement shares with Ethical Culture.

Monthly practice of connection-building communication. Held in Alexandria. Open to members of NoVES and others who've attended meetings at the Society. We're using the book Nonviolent Communication Workbook available on Sundays at the book table or at http://www.noves.org/nvc/

Please use the contact form to indicate interest if you'd like to join this group.

Regular board meeting of the Society. Members of the Society are welcome to attend or to make proposals. Please email the President to propose an item for the agenda or to indicate you'll attend (we would like to make sure there are enough seats for everyone).

In 1991, William Strauss and Neil Howe published their book, Generations, about cycles in American history and how these affect different age cohorts differently.  Baby boomers, Gen X, the Millennial Generation -- how are these groups different? The ideas have been used in politics, organizational understanding, and even such diverse fields as educational planning and advertising.

Jone Johnson Lewis, NoVES Leader, will outline the ideas of this cultural theory, and look at some ways it might shed some light on ethical issues of the day. She'll also ponder its insights into our own movement's history and on how we might build our own Ethical Societies to address the issues that are important to our current members and members of the future.

In last spring's service auction, a member of NoVES picked this topic for Jone to address sometime during this year -- knowing that Jone had also found read this book and found it interesting.

Robyn Muncy, U.S.

Twice monthly practice of connection-building communication. Held in Alexandria. Open to members of NoVES and others who've attended meetings at the Society. We're using the book Nonviolent Communication Workbook available on Sundays at the book table or at http://www.noves.org/nvc/

Please use the contact form to indicate interest if you'd like to join this group.

We all love to complain about stress, but it seems to have become a valued part of our lives.  If you’re not stressed then you must be out of the main flow of things, right?

In the wake of the election storm of 2008, democracy is challenged in many ways.  It must respond to international terrorism, disintegration of the wall separating religion from government, superficiality of sound-bite staged media coverage, the substitution of consumerist preference for wise leadership, and a selfish individualism corrosive of the common good.  On top of this, the election has stirred up a culture war wounding and disillusioning many.   

Monthly practice of connection-building communication. Held in Alexandria. Open to members of NoVES and others who've attended meetings at the Society. We're using the book Nonviolent Communication Workbook available on Sundays at the book table or at http://www.noves.org/nvc/

Please use the contact form to indicate interest if you'd like to join this group.

Regular board meeting of the Society. Members of the Society are welcome to attend or to make proposals. Please email the President to propose an item for the agenda or to indicate you'll attend (we would like to make sure there are enough seats for everyone).

Cultivating Inner and Outer Peace:  What's the relationship of inner and outer peace -- do we seek inner peace first in order to be more effective in working for outer peace, or do we need to work first for a more peaceful world in order to be able to find personal peace?  What are some ways that we can, as individuals and as a community, work towards a more peaceful world, while working as well to embody peace ourselves?  Jone Johnson Lewis will share some ideas and practices that may help work for both inner and outer peace more effectively.

The Northern Virginia Ethical Society (NoVES) celebrates the Thanksgiving season today with "Stone Salad," sharing food with members, guests, and the needy.  All are welcome!

The festival started over twenty years ago with the birth of NoVES, and is based upon an old tale.  No one in a village would offer hospitality to three hungry soldiers; the "stone soup" they prepared taught the villagers valuable lessons in sharing and cooperation. During Stone Salad, NoVES members contribute salad ingredients, breads, desserts, and other delicious items to create a feast they share with the congregation and visitors.

The festival encompasses the needy as well:  NoVES Sunday School children make meals for the homeless, and the congregation contributes nonperishable food and personal items to help the homeless.

Join us in our celebration of life and community!

The Northern Virginia Ethical Society wishes you a happy holiday season!

A couple of thoughts:

Thornton Wilder: "We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures."

P. J. O'Rourke: "Thanksgiving is so called because we are all so thankful that it only comes once a year."

When couples schedule weddings with our Society's officiants, they often describe what they want as "spiritual but not religious." NoVES Leader Jone Johnson Lewis will explore what they might be asking for, and what both "spiritual" and "religious" can mean to members of an Ethical Society.

Monthly practice of connection-building communication. Held in Alexandria. Open to members of NoVES and others who've attended meetings at the Society. We're using the book Nonviolent Communication Workbook available on Sundays at the book table or at http://www.noves.org/nvc/

Please use the contact form to indicate interest if you'd like to join this group.

Great moral leaders, such as Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., are often placed on a pedestal by human society, yet we are inevitably disappointed by their human limitations and frailties. Some people idealize such leaders because, in a world darkened by violence and greed, we seek moral heroes that can balance evil with their unblemished goodness. At the other extreme, some take a certain pleasure in tearing down these icons of moral purity, either to expose hypocrisy or to relieve themselves of the burden of living up to such a high standard.

Platform question: From and Ethical Culture perspective, how can we acknowledge the goodness expressed by our moral leaders, while admitting their limitations, in a way that brings out our best as moral leaders? Can we, for example, avoid setting up President Elect Obama as so much a hero that he will, in time, disappoint us?

Regular board meeting of the Society. Members of the Society are welcome to attend or to make proposals. Please email the President to propose an item for the agenda or to indicate you'll attend (we would like to make sure there are enough seats for everyone).

The Northern Virginia Ethical Society celebrates Winter Festival, borrowing from many traditions willingly and lovingly. As the cold weather drapes our shoulders, we nevertheless feel the warmth of the holiday season.

Ours is a festival of festivals -- a sharing of traditions and joy. All are welcome!

The Northern Virginia Ethical Society wishes you a happy holiday season!

Empathy is a critical attitude and skill for developing more ethical relationships in personal life, in politics, at work, in every venue of life – how do we learn empathy as a skill and nurture empathy as an attitude?

In 1922, Langston Hughes wrote that, “Tomorrow, I'll be at the table, when company comes nobody'll dare say to me, ‘Eat in the kitchen,’ then. Besides, they'll see how beautiful I am and be ashamed.”

Eighty-five years later, while diversity in the White House holds promise for America, there are still few African Americans at the table. Corporate leadership is still predominantly white, a disproportionately high rate of black men are in prison, and people of color suffer disproportionately from poverty and unemployment.  As an inheritor of invisible racial privilege and liberal guilt, Hugh Taft-Morales will share his insights about moving towards an empowering multicultural perspective.

Monthly practice of connection-building communication. Held in Alexandria. Open to members of NoVES and others who've attended meetings at the Society. We're using the book Nonviolent Communication Workbook available on Sundays at the book table or at http://www.noves.org/nvc/

Please use the contact form to indicate interest if you'd like to join this group.

Regular board meeting of the Society. Members of the Society are welcome to attend or to make proposals. Please email the President to propose an item for the agenda or to indicate you'll attend (we would like to make sure there are enough seats for everyone).

Religion in American is a sensitive topic.  Some people demand that it be part of the public square and even preferred by the government over secular or rational views. In such a culture, practically any declaration by Humanists can be construed as offensive by someone.   But if we believe our philosophy benefits humanity, isn't it important for others to hear our views? Roy Speckhardt, Executive Director of the American Humanist Association, will discuss how to grow Humanism in our faith-based society. 

The previous Administration descended to torturing and brutalizing prisoners and terror suspects.  The American Ethical Union and other religious and secular groups condemned torture and so-called "enhanced interrogation techniques" as immoral, debasing, and ineffective for gathering intelligence.  During his campaign, the current President condemned torture as a betrayal of American values.

Monthly practice of connection-building communication. Held in Alexandria. Open to members of NoVES and others who've attended meetings at the Society. We're using the book Nonviolent Communication Workbook available on Sundays at the book table or at http://www.noves.org/nvc/

Please use the contact form to indicate interest if you'd like to join this group.

A recent study showed that teens pledging to remain virgins were as likely to have sexual encounters as those who made no pledge.  Children pledging to remain celibate not only were as likely to have sex as other children, they were less likely to take the necessary precautions to prevent pregnancy and sexually-transmitted diseases.  Despite these sobering facts, some parents continue to oppose comprehensive sex education, and instead insist on "abstinence only" sex education.