Want to Get Involved?

We have ongoing needs for volunteers to help with a range of long- and short-term tasks that help our community function:

• We are looking for someone who is willing to fill the position of Food Manager. Susan Grunbaum will be stepping out of this position after July.
• We have several fund-raising events per year, and community members usually help out with these in a big way. However, we could use a single point of contact to coordinate and support these events. Please consider contributing your time and leadership to this important task. If interested, please contact Vici Duarte by email: viciduarte@cox.net
• We could also use a Volunteer Coordinator. We could be more efficient if someone will step forward to match community members with tasks they would be willing to take on.

To step up as a volunteer, speak with any board member, or send an email about a contribution you'd like to offer to humanist@hsgp.org.

Bonus Sessions this Summer

When triple digits become the daily norm, things tend to slow down, including attendance at our Sunday events, so last year's board decided to hold just one meeting per month during June, July, and August. Despite the impending heat, we've heard from a number of HSGP folks that they still want to get together. Therefore, a small group has planned the following Bonus Summer Sessions.

June 17:
Brunch Potluck and "Open" Mike
Members who have something to share will sign up for a five-minute time slot to present a topic of their choosing.
To sign up for a time slot during the program, fill out this form.
To see what others propose to share, click here.

July 22:
Snack Potluck and Women's and Men's Discussions
Separate conversation groups for Women and Men.

August 12:
Potluck (theme to be decided) and Small group discussions
Suggested conversation topics with optional rotation to new tables.

Sessions will begin at 10 am rather than 8:30, and each event will feature a Potluck with a specific theme. We'll also incorporate cleanup into each event, giving everyone an opportunity to contribute, and making this necessary activity part of our community building time.

If you'll be in town during these sessions, consider coming down for something new, and then let us know what you think.

Do You Have Something to Tell the World about Humanism?

Most of the folks you meet at the Humanist Community Center have a story behind their attendance or membership in a humanist organization. Are you willing to share yours? Perhaps you have other thoughts about Humanism that you'd like to share with the world?

We are willing to work with you to have your story published on the HSGP Weblog, Humanism Rising http://www.hsgp.blogspot.com/. Visit the blog to check out the entries we've already received. You can model after existing posts, or propose something totally different.

To get your story published on the HSGP blog, check out our editorial guidelines. Once you've prepared a draft of your message, send your proposed text to Tony Barnhart (Anthony.Barnhart@asu.edu).

Please Consider Donating

To support the regular and special activities of this community, HSGP needs a steady source of operating expenses. Please consider making a regular contribution to HSGP to help buffer the organization against issues that can result from uneven cash flow.

Are you willing to consider donating to HSGP via planned giving or in your will? If you are interested in leaving a legacy for this community, please contact a board member. We would like to gauge member interest in attending an informational session and dinner to address this matter.

inertia:
inertness, especially with regard to effort, motion, action, and the like; inactivity; sluggishness.

Through the end of 2011, I distributed 140 Bashas' Community Support Cards. I tried diligently to give Bashas' cards only to people who at least occasionally buy something at Bashas', AJ's Fine Foods, or Food City.

Recently, I completed a review of the monthly Recharge Reports that Bashas' provides to HSGP. During the eight months from July 2011 through February 2012, only 29 Bashas' cards, or just over 1 of 5, have ever been recharged with any amount of money. To date, HSGP has received just under $400 through recharges on Bashas' Community Support Cards.

There are a few families that make large recharges on their Bashas' cards on a monthly basis, and it is gratfying to see these recharges. But it is also extremely gratifying to see recurring recharges of even $20 a month or so on a lot of cards, because these folks are making that little extra effort that helps HSGP. HSGP can enjoy a significant gain in the benefits of this program by a higher utilization of the Bashas' cards that have already been distributed. My hope is that I can convince more people who don't spend a lot at Bashas' to use their Bashas' cards anyway.

For most people, the hardest part of the Bashas' Community Support Card program is getting started, but it's not so hard as it might seem. Going to buy something at Bashas'? Have the cashier put $20 or so on your card before beginning to ring up the transaction. You can recharge your card the same way that you would have paid for your purchase, then use the card to pay for your purchase. HSGP will get some money, and you'll feel good about having helped HSGP.

If you do not have a Bashas' card and would like one, please email me at bruce.m.stiles@gmail.com, and I will mail a card to you.

All HSGP events are posted on our website. However, if you want to receive email notices of upcoming meetings and events, join our MeetUp group!

To join, click on the MeetUp nametag logo on our home page or go to HSGP's Meetup Registration page

We have a very active MeetUp group; several emails per week will keep you up-to-date on events and opportunities across the non-theistic communities in the Phoenix area. Thanks to Anne Mardick for her savvy in starting this group and serving as our site Organizer; and to Jennifer White, our Co-Organizer and moderator, who keeps the information up-to-date and accurate.

"Isn't it a noble, an enlightened way of spending our brief time in the sun, to work at understanding the universe and how we have come to wake up in it? This is how I answer when I am asked — as I am surprisingly often — why I bother to get up in the mornings. To put it the other way round, isn't it sad to go to your grave without wondering why you were born? Who, with such a thought, would not spring from bed eager to resume discovering the world and rejoicing to be a part of it?"

– Richard Dawkins, Unweaving the Rainbow, 1998

Dr. C. David Fischer, Jr. offers classes in Quang Ping style Tai Chi movement at the Humanist Community Center in Mesa. Classes include an extensive series of warm-up exercises and instruction in the 64 moves of the Quang Ping form. The cost of a six-week session is $60 for non-HSGP members and $30 for HSGP members. Fees are payable in advance with registration.

David brings 25 years of Modern Dance and Ballet to his Tai Chi practice. He studied Modern Dance with Ann Cowlin and Elaine Newman, and Ballet with Florence Davitch and Kelley Brown. He performed with the Image Guild, the Florence Davitch Ballet Company and the Elaine Newman Dance Company, performing in works presented at the Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts, the Kerr Cultural Center, ASU Music Theater, the Phoenix Symphony Hall and other venues in Arizona.

David began his study of Tai Chi with Laura McCormick, and has studied Tai Chi with Elizabeth Keith for the past four years. Ms. Keith will occasionally appear as a guest instructor at the Humanist Community Center.

Note: HSGP neither sponsors nor endorses these classes.