By Eric Sandhusen
Exciting times!
It’s been quite a ride since returning for the opening of the new program year! There are so many challenges and opportunities to get hold of, my head sometimes spins. It seems like we just finished our kickoff Social Action Fair, and we’re already building on last year’s fantastic Fall Festival with a fabulous, Not Too Spooky Haunted House.
I definitely recommend that you attend our Family & Friends Program if you want to start your Sunday off in a good mood–the energy of the young people is invigorating (shoutout to the kids!). Eight of our teens will participate in the Coming of Age program this year, bonding with each other and with their mentors. The next few months will see major upgrades to our playground, a reconfiguration of the upstairs spaces so they are more usable, and new flooring and ventilation in the basement, thanks to a $200,000 grant from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority.
‘Seven-day Society’
Our Sunday Gathering continues to grow in attendance, variety, and an overall improved experience with a new sound system (thank you, Orion!), interesting programs and activities, and high-quality musical offerings (thanks to Ron Schwartz’s outreach). While our Sunday morning convocations (the Gathering and Family & Friends Cicle) are the heart of our congregational life and community, new programs are also producing the kind of “seven-day Society” that reflects our vibrancy.
Of course, none of this happens without people organizing these things. A defining attribute of our community is how willing people are to step up and take on major tasks. While we operate through a committee structure, the greater part of the life of our Society happens organically. I’ve said before that Ethical Culture is not just a thing we do, it’s a way we live, and that is evident from all the folks who make time in their lives to join others in co-creating the special home that is our meetinghouse (with special kudos to Javier, our dedicated Building Committee chair, for keeping it in good shape!).
Let’s also take a moment to acknowledge the elegant design and consistent top quality of our Focus newsletter. Week in and week out, it beautifully reflects the very life of our “small but mighty Society,” as Editor Theresa Forsman calls us, and amplifies our message. (Give it up for her and the Communications team–Terri and Ken Karp, Susan Lesh, David Bland, and Orion Hopper.)
People can sometimes be hard!
Choosing to live in community rather than solitude means taking a risk–because let’s face it, people can sometimes be hard! Hard to get along with, hard to care for, hard to understand, or maybe just hardened by pain, rejection, or loneliness. So it’s no wonder that people stay in their shells. Robert Putnam may have identified the symptoms and manifestations of this in his film “Join or Die.” (This documentary will be shown at the meetinghouse on Nov. 14 as part of the Teaneck International Film Festival). What makes our Society a special place is that we have found the cure: joining in community, in all its differences, diversity of thought, and personal challenges. We seek ways to elevate ourselves and others in the process, rather than avoid the challenges. I am so glad that you are a part of it!
Eric Sandhusen is president of the Ethical Culture Society of Bergen County.