TLDR;
Our goal is to examine, build on, expand, and promote humanist principles. We will frame events and current goings-on in the context of compassion, reason, art, and shared humanity. We will read philosophy and discuss ideas interesting to us.
We intend to create humanist rituals to mark important milestones and rites-of-passage. We intend to exercise poetry, song, and movement to go beyond words and ideas. We will burn incense and chant. We will share bread, play with children, and explore the environment around us.
A church for the non-religious
In essence, that’s what we’re trying to create, although I want to be careful and make sure everyone understands that I’m not trying to create a Religion - when I wrote ‘church’ in the header, I meant a physical and an online space, combined with a continuum of time, where people can meet, learn about a philosophy of life and a system of ethics and morality, and join a community of like-minded individuals who want to build a better life for themselves and for the world, without resorting to the supernatural or the religiously divine.
I would also like to point out that I personally do not find anything conceptually objectionable (even though there are plenty of evidentiary objections) about the supernatural or the religiously divine - both have a place in human history and the world, and it’s up to each individual to determine where they place religion in their personal development and approach to life.
Religion, however, beyond its’ role as an aspect of human development and a philosophy, is not for me - and it’s not for a lot of people, and I find that this group of people - we - do not have the same outlets for community as those who, for example, choose to go to Church on Sunday.
We do not have Pastors or Priests educated in proselytizing, providing guidance, teaching, or conducting rites-of-passage rituals. We do not have dedicated spaces for communion. We do not have songs, or schools, or a Source of Wisdom. We do not have a sign that unites us, nor we do not have a “John 3:16” to refer to when talking to a neighbor, and we do not stand in front of grocery stores with a bell, collecting spare change for a cause.
I think we’re missing out.
I think we don’t have to.
The Journey
I found Humanism, for myself, a few years ago - it seemed exactly what I was looking for, and as I started to read more about it, my findings confirmed that it was the right direction.
We will be incorporating Humanist principles and The Ten Commitments in our Sunday meetings, and I highly recommend that everyone signs up for Humanist.com newsletters, looks at materials on AmericanHumanist.org, and becomes a member of the AHA.
I also realized that as a movement or an organization, Humanists lack critical aspects of what makes religion successful. I already mentioned some of those aspects earlier, and the most important one is that we (I’ve come to begin considering myself a Humanist) do not have a Sunday Club.
Without belonging to this Club, we don’t have a center around which to convalesce. There’s no point in space or in time where we can go, reliably, to see familiar faces or even to escape our houses without expectation of chores or productivity. Without this Club, there’s fewer opportunities for non-work-related networking, for making new friends, and expanding our interests. Meet-ups are great, but that’s not the same.
Last year we finished renovating a barn on our property and turned it into an art gallery and a space for meetings. We’ve had a few events here, including a few baby showers, a wedding, and a holiday marketplace, and a recent health emergency for one of my close friends finally made me ask myself: What are you waiting for?
The answer was that life is too short to wait around, and Humanist Sanctuary got actually started.
You are here now
So now, every Sunday, if you are interested in joining a community built around humans and humanist principles, please come to our art gallery or join us online at 10am EST.
