By Mick Anderson
People are often drawn to humanism because they have a passion about something that really matters in their lives. During the last six months I have met a lot of wonderful humanists who fit in that category. Let me tell you about one of my passions (besides my children, grandchildren, and music): helping others who have mental illnesses like depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or anxiety disorders.
By Paul Heffron
Matt Stark died on April 10 at age 88. You may have seen tributes in newspapers and freethought publications describing what a major force he was for civil rights in his positions with the American Civil Liberties Union in Minnesota. In his later years he and his wife, Terri, wintered in Florida, and he was less active when they were home in Minneapolis.
By Harlan Garbell
If you are a movie buff, you may be familiar with David Mamet’s great screenplay for “Glengarry Glen Ross.” “Coffee is for closers” is the iconic tagline for that movie, one that has also seeped into the popular culture. Now that I have your attention: If you like coffee, but are not a “closer,” yet interested in politics and current events, come join other like-minded people for lively conversation on the second Friday of every month
By Sarah Kruger Hilger
Sarah Kruger Hilger interviewed Humanists of Minnesota members for a graduate-school study she is conducting on non-religious leaders. She is exploring how such individuals establish credibility when many Americans equate morality with religion.
By Paul Heffron
The Robert G. Ingersoll Birthplace Museum will celebrate its Silver Anniversary in August, prompting Paul Heffron, our chapter historian, to offer these reflections: Although I completed a PhD program in American studies at the University of Minnesota, I don’t recall being made aware of Robert Ingersoll, one of the most prominent political, legal, and cultural figures of 19th-century America.
By Paul Heffron
In the spring of 1986, American Humanist Association (AHA) members in the Twin Cities area were called to a meeting at the First Unitarian Society in Minneapolis. About 20 of us showed up. Jean Goins, a local resident who was an AHA board member, asked us to consider starting a local AHA chapter. I was surprised to discover that another chapter already existed, founded and incorporated by someone named Leonard Richards.
By Seth Engman
No god, now what? That’s a question many of us humanists have to face whether we are leaving behind individual beliefs or diverging from our communities of family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues. This is especially true for Bart Campolo, host of the “Humanize Me” podcast, and Ryan Bell, host of the “Life After God” podcast.
By George Francis Kane
Toastmasters clubs, which are devoted to public speaking and leadership, can be found all around the globe. But the Twin Cities hosts a club with an unusual mission–to offer humanists, secularists, atheists, or other freethinkers a supportive environment to discourse on subjects that interest them.
By Mary McLeod and George Francis Kane
D-Cubed engages humanists in Discussions, occasional Debate (mild disagreement), and Dinner at a local, hand-picked watering hole. Thus the title, D-Cubed. The discussions, held every second Saturday and Sunday in area library meeting rooms, touch on a wide range of political, social, and philosophical issues.
By Bobbi Jacobsen
When you receive a diagnosis of ALS, your world closes in on you so quickly, you feel like you might suffocate right there in the doctor’s office. For me, it was late on a cold December afternoon, and I couldn’t get out of the Mayo Clinic fast enough.
By Mary McLeod
What’s the difference between humanism and Unitarian Universalism? This is a genuine question for me, even though I once chaired a UU board and have been a Humanists of Minnesota member for several years now.
By David Perry
David Perry is a former Humanists of Minnesota board member and HofMN member since 1997. He’s been a teacher for over 25 years, most recently working as a bilingual math and science teacher for the Minneapolis Public Schools.His quest to get a principal or assistant principal job led him to an unexpected place this school year.
By Barb Lutz
I was a Casualty Assistance Officer for the U.S. Army back in the early 1980s as a lieutenant assigned to Fort Benjamin Harrison, Ind. I received no training. When notified I was on the duty roster, I was told, “Don’t worry about it. We never get any casualties from Indiana. If we do, you’ll get training when you’re assigned a case.”
By Molly Wilbur-Cohen
The East Side of St. Paul is host to a unique community gathering place. Four years ago, the Arlington Library—one of the historic Carnegie library buildings in the Payne-Phalen neighborhood—closed.
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