"Ethical Hero: Frederick Douglass" - Jone Johnson Lewis, NoVES Leader
Jone will introduce us to the life and activism of Frederick Douglass, born a slave in Maryland, and a lifelong advocate for racial justice, women's rights, education, and religious freedom -- someone who's life embodies many of the principles of Ethical Culture.
Founder's Day is usually celebrated near May 15, the anniversary of the first meeting of the first Ethical Society in 1876 in New York.
This is a call to the living,
To those who refuse to make peace with evil,
With the suffering and the waste of the world.
This is a call to the human, not the perfect,
To those who know their own prejudices,
Who have no intention of becoming prisoners of their own limitations.
This is a call to those who remember the dreams of their youth,
Who know what it means to share food and shelter,
The care of children and those who are troubled,
To reach beyond barriers of the past
Bringing people to communion.
This is a call to the never ending spirit
Of the common people, their essential decency and integrity,
Their unending capacity to suffer and endure,
To face death and destruction and to rise again
And build from the ruins of life.
This is the greatest call of all
The call to a faith in people.
Ethical Societies near the Northern Virginia Ethical Society:
Baltimore Ethical Society
Washington Ethical Society
