Our December meeting, at 7pm on 8th December in the Notley Room at the White Rock Hotel will be open for anyone present to give a five-minute talk or presentation on anything they think may be of interest to us. It doesn't have to be a rant or specifically about Humanism. The timing will be flexible.
We will also vote on the decision that was held over from our AGM, whether to change our relationship with the BHA from Affiliation to Partnership. We will also review other activities such as attendance of members at meetings of BHA Group and SACRE Representatives and at the NSS AGM, and the successful launch of our Twitter account @HastingsHumanists).
Tuesday, 29 November 2011
Friday, 11 November 2011
Decisions at our AGM
The following are the decisions made at our Annual General Meeting. Since the minutes I took are rather illegible, and my memory is known to be fallible, please notify me if you spot any errors or omissions. There were 16 members in attendance and one apology for absence.
The annual membership fee remains at £5, and the cost of attending a meeting will be £2 (this is to cover the cost of the room which is currently £30 for two hours but may go up next year). The start-time of meetings will be 7 pm instead of 6:30 pm in future.
The Chair, Stephen Milton, and Secretary, George Jelliss, were reelected. Lesley Arnold-Hopkins stood down as Treasurer but becomes Deputy Chair. Duncan Cleverly becomes Treasurer as well as Social Secretary. Helene White remains formally Assistant Treasurer.
Lesley and Duncan will open a twitter account (@HastingsHumanists). Helen Mitcham will act as a Group Representative at GRAM. The decision whether the group should be an Affiliate or Partner of the BHA was postponed, and Felicity Harvest agreed to examine the BHA proposals in more detail and report back to the committee. We will continus to send Humanist Observers to the East Sussex SACRE, and lobby for more formal recognition.
So far only two meetings are definite for next year: January will feature a formal Debate between Joe Fearn and Stephen Milton on "Is a Disembodied Mind Possible?". June will be a talk from Barbara Burfoot about the Sea of Faith organisation. Enquiries for other outside speakers are in progress. Offers of talks from members (Joe Fearn on the Anthropic Principle, George Jelliss on Rewriting of History, and on Scepticism) are so far available to fit in the programme as needed.
The annual membership fee remains at £5, and the cost of attending a meeting will be £2 (this is to cover the cost of the room which is currently £30 for two hours but may go up next year). The start-time of meetings will be 7 pm instead of 6:30 pm in future.
The Chair, Stephen Milton, and Secretary, George Jelliss, were reelected. Lesley Arnold-Hopkins stood down as Treasurer but becomes Deputy Chair. Duncan Cleverly becomes Treasurer as well as Social Secretary. Helene White remains formally Assistant Treasurer.
Lesley and Duncan will open a twitter account (@HastingsHumanists). Helen Mitcham will act as a Group Representative at GRAM. The decision whether the group should be an Affiliate or Partner of the BHA was postponed, and Felicity Harvest agreed to examine the BHA proposals in more detail and report back to the committee. We will continus to send Humanist Observers to the East Sussex SACRE, and lobby for more formal recognition.
So far only two meetings are definite for next year: January will feature a formal Debate between Joe Fearn and Stephen Milton on "Is a Disembodied Mind Possible?". June will be a talk from Barbara Burfoot about the Sea of Faith organisation. Enquiries for other outside speakers are in progress. Offers of talks from members (Joe Fearn on the Anthropic Principle, George Jelliss on Rewriting of History, and on Scepticism) are so far available to fit in the programme as needed.
Thursday, 27 October 2011
Summary of Our 2011 Meetings
I've made a new page in the Hastings Humanists section of my website, which summarises all our meetings during 2011. This includes links to the video and other sites mentioned in Stephen Milton's talk on Science and Society. I intend to add further links for the other meetings in due course.
A Rainbow at London Bridge
On Wednesday afternoon I went to London for the Conway memorial lecture, which was about Jeremy Bentham and his extensive unpublished works. It proved to be mainly about his views on sexual relationships rather than secularism. The poddelusion people were there, so it can be heard on their recording. It seems Bentham's views anticipated those of the Australian philosopher Peter Singer, such as those on infanticide, which have been in the secular news (e.g. see New Humanist) thanks to Nadine Dorries accusing all humanists of favouring the killing of children on the least excuse!
I bought a ticket to Charings Cross as usual, but my train was "terminated" at London Bridge. We were advised that our tickets could be used on the Underground, but mine wouldn't even let me out of the station! It was raining and I decided to make use of my free bus pass, and catch a bus direct to Holborn. While I was waiting at the bus stop at one end of the Bridge a beautiful full half-circle rainbow appeared, like another Bridge in the sky, framing the scene that included Tower Bridge, the Tower of London, the 'Gherkin' and other buildings. For a while there was even a partial secondary rainbow above the main one. I do love rainbows! I think I may take the London Bridge route in future.
OOPS! I intended to post this on my Jeepyjay Diary pages, but seem to have pressed the wrong buttons. Anyway it's not entirely irrelevant to Hastings Humanists, so I will let it stand.
I bought a ticket to Charings Cross as usual, but my train was "terminated" at London Bridge. We were advised that our tickets could be used on the Underground, but mine wouldn't even let me out of the station! It was raining and I decided to make use of my free bus pass, and catch a bus direct to Holborn. While I was waiting at the bus stop at one end of the Bridge a beautiful full half-circle rainbow appeared, like another Bridge in the sky, framing the scene that included Tower Bridge, the Tower of London, the 'Gherkin' and other buildings. For a while there was even a partial secondary rainbow above the main one. I do love rainbows! I think I may take the London Bridge route in future.
OOPS! I intended to post this on my Jeepyjay Diary pages, but seem to have pressed the wrong buttons. Anyway it's not entirely irrelevant to Hastings Humanists, so I will let it stand.
Monday, 24 October 2011
Agenda for Our 2011 AGM
Hastings Humanists, Annual General Meeting
6:30 pm, Thursday 10 November, Notley Room, White Rock Hotel
1. Reports by the Society's Officers, including Secretary and Treasurer, on
the year's events and progress.
2. Discussion on the present organisation of the group (e.g. do we need to
appoint more people to specific tasks). Election of Officers. The current
Treasurer has expressed the intention to stand down. (To vote you must have
paid the £5 annual membership fee.) The fee structure is also up for
discussion. Should we make meetings free, with just optional donations?
Should we keep the £5 annual membership structure?
3. Debate on our relationship with the BHA (and NSS): Affiliation,
Partnership or Independence? This is in response to the BHA's proposals for
new terms and fees. The issue of donations to support the BHA and the
encouragement of BHA direct membership has also been proposed for
discussion.
4. Involvement with East Sussex SACRE: should we continue to have an
observer, and lobby to have a member on one of the subcomittees?
5. Expansion of activities. Suggestions have been made that we open a
Hastings Humanists twitter account, and support Non-Prophet Week. Are there
local issues we should be campaigning about? e.g. Council prayers. Assisting
formation of a Local AHS student group.
6. Programme for next year. Any ideas for subjects we should deal with, or
speakers we might attract, or days out?
Sorry if this Agenda is a bit sketchy. We are a rather informal group. There
will be opportunities for other issues to be raised if there is time.
6:30 pm, Thursday 10 November, Notley Room, White Rock Hotel
1. Reports by the Society's Officers, including Secretary and Treasurer, on
the year's events and progress.
2. Discussion on the present organisation of the group (e.g. do we need to
appoint more people to specific tasks). Election of Officers. The current
Treasurer has expressed the intention to stand down. (To vote you must have
paid the £5 annual membership fee.) The fee structure is also up for
discussion. Should we make meetings free, with just optional donations?
Should we keep the £5 annual membership structure?
3. Debate on our relationship with the BHA (and NSS): Affiliation,
Partnership or Independence? This is in response to the BHA's proposals for
new terms and fees. The issue of donations to support the BHA and the
encouragement of BHA direct membership has also been proposed for
discussion.
4. Involvement with East Sussex SACRE: should we continue to have an
observer, and lobby to have a member on one of the subcomittees?
5. Expansion of activities. Suggestions have been made that we open a
Hastings Humanists twitter account, and support Non-Prophet Week. Are there
local issues we should be campaigning about? e.g. Council prayers. Assisting
formation of a Local AHS student group.
6. Programme for next year. Any ideas for subjects we should deal with, or
speakers we might attract, or days out?
Sorry if this Agenda is a bit sketchy. We are a rather informal group. There
will be opportunities for other issues to be raised if there is time.
Saturday, 17 September 2011
Science and Society
Our next meeting is on Thursday 13 October in the Notley room at the White Rock Hotel, starting 6:30 pm.
The speaker is our Chairman, Stephen Milton. He has provided the following summary of what he wants to talk about.
***
The question that I would invite you to debate with us is
“Scientific discoveries will continue to transform society. But with every nook and cranny of the scientific world taking a lifetime to master, how can any member of society contribute to institutions that maintain a balanced view?”.
Is there now a risk that the ‘bunch of nutters’ (Vince Cable 2011) in the American Tea Party are just a harbinger of something much worse – a full blown anti-science movement where dogma transcends evidence. Are we seeing a reaction to the ‘Future Shock’ created by the continuous changes in everyday life forced on us by the exponential growth of scientific discovery? It would not be the first time that successful societies have foundered in this way China, the Ottoman empire, Europe’s own dark ages.
Despite the enormous benefits that we have derived from science there is an increasing gulf of understanding between its practitioners and the majority of the population.
Come to join in the debate.
***
The speaker is our Chairman, Stephen Milton. He has provided the following summary of what he wants to talk about.
***
The question that I would invite you to debate with us is
“Scientific discoveries will continue to transform society. But with every nook and cranny of the scientific world taking a lifetime to master, how can any member of society contribute to institutions that maintain a balanced view?”.
Is there now a risk that the ‘bunch of nutters’ (Vince Cable 2011) in the American Tea Party are just a harbinger of something much worse – a full blown anti-science movement where dogma transcends evidence. Are we seeing a reaction to the ‘Future Shock’ created by the continuous changes in everyday life forced on us by the exponential growth of scientific discovery? It would not be the first time that successful societies have foundered in this way China, the Ottoman empire, Europe’s own dark ages.
Despite the enormous benefits that we have derived from science there is an increasing gulf of understanding between its practitioners and the majority of the population.
Come to join in the debate.
***
Wednesday, 24 August 2011
Another Social Meeting in September
Since only a few people bought tickets for the evening out in London to celebrate the life of Marlene Dietrich on 7 September, I thought members might like another Social meeting locally. So as an experimant I have arranged for a meeting at the Persia Restaurant on Thursday 15 September at the usual time 6:30 pm. Tea, Coffee and Biscuits will be available.
The Persia Restaurant is on the seafront between the White Rock and the Pig in Paradise. Anyone wanting alcoholic drinks can go to one of these other venues after our meeting to continue socialising, if so desired.
Our usual programme will resume in October with the postponed talk by Stephen Milton.
The Persia Restaurant is on the seafront between the White Rock and the Pig in Paradise. Anyone wanting alcoholic drinks can go to one of these other venues after our meeting to continue socialising, if so desired.
Our usual programme will resume in October with the postponed talk by Stephen Milton.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)