• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Skip to footer navigation

  • Calendar of events
  • 687 Larch Av, Teaneck NJ
  • 201-836-5187
  • Contact Us
  • DONATE
Ethical Culture Society of Bergen County NJ

Ethical Culture Society of Bergen County NJ

  • Home
  • About
    • Platform
    • From our Society’s President, Susan Lesh
    • FAQ
      • How does Ethical Culture make a difference in society?
      • What social life is there in Ethical Culture?
      • How is Ethical Culture religious?
    • Ethical Brew
    • Ceremonies
    • Philosophy
    • Constitution & Bylaws
    • Our Building Calendar
    • Contact Us
  • Ethical Kids
    • Sunday School
      • Primary Class
      • Elementary Class
      • Junior Class
      • Senior Class
      • Sunday school FAQ
    • Youth Group
  • Leader
    • Wedding Officiant
    • Speaking of Ethics: Living a Humanist Life
    • Leader’s Talks
  • Social Action
    • All Social Action Articles
    • Battling Racism
    • Environmental Action
    • Healthcare
  • Adult Ed
    • Job Club
    • Socrates Cafe
    • Do Tell!
    • Ethical Culture Review of Books
  • News
    • President Column
    • UN Report
    • Platform Addresses
  • Events

Our Building, Oh Long May it Stand

September 24, 2017

By Susan Lesh

I’ve recently been thinking about the importance of having a home. My dad and brother just lived through Hurricane Irma; there was a definite chance that their mobile home would not make it through. Luckily, they lost only a drain pipe; unfortunately, the home next to them lost a roof. They waited out the storm in a shelter, a neighboring town’s high school gym, developing a new sense of community with many unfamiliar people. They were safe, relatively comfortable, and well looked after (although my dad says he ate enough “Cinna-Mini’s” to last a lifetime), but they wanted to go home.

Our Society building is our home. We are not homeless. There is a measure of comfort and security I have when entering our building. It was not always so. I spoke with Joe about the beginnings of our building. In the 1950s, New Jersey saw an influx of New York City people wanting to live in the suburbs. Some were members of the New York Society for Ethical Culture. They had children; they wanted a Sunday School closer to where they lived. So, the Ethical Culture Society of Bergen County was founded in 1953, without a permanent home.

At first, no permanent home

They met in Hackensack; that first meeting was at the Hackensack Middle School. They met in Fair Lawn, and in a rented room above a firehouse in Teaneck. In 1956-1957, when Howard Radest was leader, we acquired our present meetinghouse, although it didn’t look the same as it does now. A reform congregation, the current Temple Emeth on Windsor Road, was selling it. The original entrance to the building was through the current playground, where there were two glass doors. The kitchen was eight feet into the main room, making the room long and narrow. The leader’s office was on the first floor, near where the current men’s room is located; the stairs went over that office. In 1979, the decision was made to enlarge the building, primarily to increase the size of the main meeting room. Under the direction of then-president Ted Patsuris, the east side of the building was pushed out eight feet, allowing the leader’s office to go up to the second floor, the kitchen to be moved into the playground, the bathrooms to be made accessible for all, and ultimately to enlarge the main meeting space. Throughout these times, members ran capital campaigns to raise funds; Steve Gopoian ran two successful campaigns, raising $35,000 and $15,000, and in 2011, a taskforce committee raised $50,000. When Ron Schwartz was president, he was able to have members be the mortgage holders, so payments could be made to members and not a bank.

But if you own a house, you know that you cannot rest on your laurels. Something is always breaking, something always needs attention. There are long lists of devoted members who contribute to the upkeep of our building. Prior Board of Trustees minutes show that the Building Committee generally has a couple of pages of  “to-dos,” and many references to the “ongoing water problems.” Our building is on the downhill slant, so some previous water problems were from that direction. They are fixed, but there are decades-long water problems in our basement.

Many hard workers, past and present

Our Building Committee chairs, Bruno Danese, Bill Wilkinson, Ted Greenblatt, Perry Stein, Bob Gordon and now Jim Norman, to name a few, may feel like Sisyphus, trying to keep our building standing. The outside grounds continue to attempt to return to chaos, but with the efforts of Azar Gordon and Ed Lipiner, plantings surround our building with loveliness. The upkeep of the inside of our home is also a relentless task, and Alice Wilkinson, Beth Greenblatt and Azar Gordon, to name some, work or worked to style and maintain it. We are lucky to have talented artists among our members, and their artwork graces our walls. Our beautiful piano was a bequest of member Ruth Haynes.

We are so lucky to have our home. From it we can work together to change the world. Programs like B-Ray and Amnesty International were housed here. At one point, a local ACLU staff person, a NOW office, and a food co-op distribution point were in the building. Our home was, and continues to be, a rallying place for peace proliferation, especially the anti-nuclear and anti-war protests. We are a place for doing good. And our devoted efforts to have our home remain standing to do that good are indeed worth the effort.

Susan Lesh is president of the Ethical Culture Society of Bergen County

 

Primary Sidebar

Sign up for our newsletter.

Upcoming Events

Sun 17

Platform: Techniques to Achieve Equity in the Classroom

January 17 @ 11:00 am - 12:30 pm
Sun 17

Job Club Workshop

January 17 @ 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Mon 18

Conversemos (Let’s Talk)

January 18 @ 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Fri 22

Mindfulness at Midday: Meditation, Movement, and Discussion Group

January 22 @ 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
Sun 24

Platform: Video Games and Ethics

January 24 @ 11:00 am - 12:30 pm

View More…

Being White

Society asks Teaneck to Make BLM Mural Permanent

About Us

Ethical Culture was founded to focus on community and good works, rather than personal salvation. Read more…

We believe in ethics. We believe in people.

Please believe in us.

Ethical Brew

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Vimeo
  • YouTube

Archives

Footer

Connect with Us

Address: 687 Larch Ave, Teaneck, NJ 07666
Phone: 201-836-5187
Email: admin@ethicalfocus.org

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Vimeo
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

  • Society asks Teaneck to Make BLM Mural Permanent January 16, 2021
  • Committee Nearly Ready to Recommend Interim Leader Candidates December 25, 2020
  • Visualizing 2021 December 20, 2020
  • Members Pass Budget and Constitutional Changes November 28, 2020
  • Remembering Bruno Danese November 28, 2020

We believe in ethics. We believe in people.

Please believe in us.

Topics

atheism atheist church book review children civil rights climate change community compassion death democracy Doris Friedensohn Elizabeth Warren environment Ethical Brew Ethical Culture ethical dilemmas ethical education ethics everyday ethics Felix Adler global warming happiness healthcare humanism humanist humanists human rights Israel Joseph Chuman meetinghouse Middle East politics racism religion Robert Gulack Secular Humanism social action Socrates Cafe Sunday School Susan Golden technology Trump unemployment winter solstice world health

What We Do For Fun….

There's always time for play: celebrations, discussions (some in Spanish -- find Conversemos on our calendar on the fourth Tuesday of the month), hikes, picnics, cultural outings, and affinity groups like our monthly Men's Dinners and Women's Dinners.
Kids get into the act
Diane running the show

Important Links

  • Member of the American Ethical Union
  • Ethical Brew
  • Sanctuary Committee
  • BC Gun Violence Prevention
  • NJ Website Designer

NJ Web Designer

© The Ethical Culture Society of Bergen County NJ

  • Calendar of events
  • 687 Larch Av, Teaneck NJ
  • 201-836-5187
  • Contact Us
  • DONATE