Events in extremis, a destructive hurricane, say, a surprising election result or unexpected violence, tend to throw into higher relief developments, attitudes and tensions which we may have barely noticed or which have been resting below our level of consciousness or attention. Such events, beyond their obvious effects of destruction or dismay, offer us the opportunity to Read more
If there is any room for irony following the distressing and discouraging violence at the Boston Marathon last week, it is that I was safe and out of harm’s way in Israel. Despite the concern expressed by any number of my friends, I felt as secure there as anywhere I have been. But, my personal Read more
I have found myself adrift the last few weeks as a substantial portion of the world’s attention has been been on the February resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, the gathering of the Cardinals into the papal conclave to pick the next Pope, and then the subsequent elevation of the Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, now Read more
In an article published at the end of December, New York Times On Religion columnist Samuel G. Freedman makes the observation that in a crisis, such as the aftermath of the Newtown massacre, humanists seem to be absent. Freedman uses the absence of a Humanist participants in Newtown memorial services to observe, generally speaking, that humanist make Read more
I’ve been thinking for some time now that in the business of drone strikes, we as a country may have wandered into ethically suspect territory. When I read this morning that former Vice President Dick Cheney has voiced his approval for President Obama’s use of drone strikes, I decided that we definitely have gotten lost. Suffice Read more
As I write, today’s New York Times carries an article on the continuing unfolding of the evolutionary story: to wit: studies of the DNA of pigeons at the University of Utah. Pigeons, it turns out, have a domestic history rivaling that of dogs. It seems that by the eighth century B.C., Greeks were using pigeons to Read more
I have just seen the gripping and disturbing film, Zero Dark Thirty (oh dark thirty is military slang for the middle of the night) Named best picture of 2012 by the New York film Critics Circle, nominated for five Academy Awards and directed by Kathryn Bigalow, the first woman to to win an Academy Award Read more
Today marks the 40th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the United States. It is important to pause and celebrate this significant milestone, to remember the successes of the reproductive rights movement, to think of the brave people who fought for those successes. The discussion of Roe v. Read more
I cried as I read the reports yesterday of yet another senseless public massacre: a principal, a counselor, teachers, twenty children dead. Twenty seven families devastated. A community in shock. A country left shaken, yet again. How can this happen? What is our world like, really, when this kind of violence can take place? Well, Read more
On November 6th Maine may become the seventh state to allow same-sex marriages, and maybe the first to do so by popular vote. Maryland and Washington will also put the question before voters on election day. I have hopes for passage for each of these locals, but my particular history with Maine makes it more Read more
Saturday Morning: 8:00 am
Saturday Vigil: 4:30 pm
Sunday: 7:30 am, 9:00 am, 10:45 am,
12:30 pm, 5:30 pm
Saturday Vigil: 6:15pm
Sunday: 9:00am, 7:15pm
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday: 8:30 am
The Ethical Humanist Society of Long Island