Dear Humanist Hub Members, Supports and Friends:
This past fall,
our community talked
in various ways about going through a time of transition, including uncertainty about whether we would renew our lease. It is now time to inform our broader community that a decision has been reached: we will be leaving 30 JFK Street this summer.
When we were preparing to move in to this space in 2013, we created the motto “Connect. Act.
Evolve.”
We have made so many extraordinary connections here these past five years. We’ve taken action together, though there is always more to do. Now, it is time for our organization to evolve.
We recently made an exciting announcement: in addition to our 40+ years of serving as a humanist chaplaincy for the Harvard University community,
we now serve MIT
in a similar, even expanded role. As the Humanist Chaplain at Harvard and MIT and a new “Convener” at MIT, I and we will have wonderful opportunities in the coming years to convene conversations on
how humanism can help shape young leaders
in
ethics and technology
. As a non-profit organization, we plan to take advantage of this critical moment by expanding our role at both Harvard and MIT starting this fall (despite the fact that neither university pays us any money:
only individual supporters like you can do so
!).
As part of these plans to expand our work on campus(es), however, we will be restructuring our public offerings for non-students, taking an extended summer break and then re-launching with some significant new ways of engaging the general public, starting this fall. Non-students who have been attending on a weekly basis or more will see a drop in the overall number of Humanist Hub programs (and opportunities for volunteer leadership); those who follow our work from afar or enjoy attending occasionally, however, can expect a significant upgrade next year in the ways in which we are able to interact with, and hopefully educate and inspire you! There will be a number of announcements in the coming weeks and months: watch this space.
Meanwhile, it is my honor to invite you to join us this Sunday, May 20 for our final official Humanist Hub Sunday Program at 30 JFK Street. As our final formal speaker at this location (and until September), I’ve chosen the topic, "
On Loving a Complicated Family.
"
(1:30-3:00pm, 30 JFK Street)
. In the midst of change, which can be exciting but also confusing and frightening, I’ve been reflecting on the ways in which humanism is about family. Humanists and allies believe, in light of evolution, that all of humanity and indeed all life on this planet is one interconnected family. Of course this macro-level family, like many of our micro-level families, is often far from what we wish it could be. And even more so when it comes to building communities to bridge the gap between family and the wider world.
How can we love and appreciate what it means to be human beings, connected to other human beings in such complicated ways, all across this enormous yet tiny planet? I can’t promise all the answers in one Sunday talk, but I am eager to celebrate with you by recalling many of the greatest insights explored during our five years and 1000+ programs here in these 3200 square feet of leased commercial real estate in Harvard Square.
We’d love to see you at this special celebration also featuring the Humanist Hub staff, lots of music from our wonderful Music Director Antje Duvekot, food from Mike’s Pastry, Otto, and more.
Evolution is always the end of what has come before; it is also the beginning of new opportunities and possibilities. With some sadness for the amazing memories we leave behind us in this space, we look forward with enormous gratitude to continuing to evolve together.
P.S. With the Humanist Hub making some big changes over the summer, the newly formed Transition Team plans to keep the community informed of the progress of those changes through the Hub's newsletter. The Transition Team can be contacted at
[email protected]
.
