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Closing SHoWLE’s Meetup Group

A decision was made to close our Meetup.com account. It will be closed by June 24th. There are no plans to schedule any additional events on Meetup before June 24th.

We thank all who followed our page and we thank the few who actually attended our events from the blurbs on Meetup.

If you would like to continue to follow our schedule events, you can do one or more of the following:

  1. Become a member of SHoWLE. Individual memberships are $10 and Households are $20 and you will be kept up to date on our events.

  2. Sign-up for our email newsletter. It is usually sent once a month with updated news and a listing of our upcoming events.
  1. Follow us on social media – we post about upcoming meetings and events

https://www.facebook.com/humanistswle

https://twitter.com/HumanistsWLE

https://www.instagram.com/sechumwesternlakeerie/

  1. Visit our Events page on our website
  1. Follow our page on Eventbrite

As a side note we also have a podcast – the Glass City Humanist – check it out on the website or your favorite podcast app.

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SHoWLE Suspends In-Person Meetings and Events Until September 2020

There has been talk about a slow reopening of the state starting around May 1st. The Secular Humanists of Western Lake Erie believe that without mass on demand testing, reopening too much too soon will be the wrong move.

If and when some businesses and other public places reopen there will be social distancing restrictions and other regulations that will make us having in-person meetings problematic.

Consulting with our Board of Directors, I have decided to suspend in-person meetings and events until such time that civil authorities allow group gatherings more than 10 people and the social distancing rules aren’t a problem for us.

I really don’t see that happening before the fall.

Many summer events have been canceled or moved to other dates and SHoWLE normally doesn’t meet in July and August.

I, along with the Board, will reevaluate the situation most likely in September.

In the meantime, we will have more virtual meetings and try to plan some activities we can do solo from our homes.

If you have or think you have a membership coming due in the next three months feel free to renew, if you are able, through our website.

I had planned to do a fundraiser for the money needed to have booths at a couple of summer events this year. If you are able, please donate so we can hit the ground running once we can safely have in-person meetings and events.

Stay home (if you can) and stay safe

Douglas Berger – SHoWLE President

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SHoWLE Group Update

As we enter our third week of a statewide shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I wanted to give you all a brief update from the Secular Humanists of Western Lake Erie.

All in-person meetings and events hosted by SHoWLE are postponed until the state health emergency orders are lifted. According to some estimates this may not happen until the end of April or beginning of May.

I plan to have another virtual meeting most likely on our usual meeting date of April 11th. The one we had on March 21st was well received and at least raised my mood. More details coming soon.

If need more information about what the state is doing, visit:

Ohio Department of Health COVID-19 Page

We have an outreach page that has that link and others you can use if you need assistance:

Community Outreach Resources and Education

If you need assistance in navigating the state public assistance system (Unemployment, food stamps, etc…) you can reach out to Doug and/or Shawn and we can use our personal experience to help you. Send me a private note or call or text us at 419-309-8601

I know this is an extremely stressful time and the known and unknown information about the pandemic can cause extreme stress or trigger anxiety or other mental health issues. I would advise if you are struggling, please seek out some professional help.

If you have an immediate need please call:

National Suicide Prevention LifeLine

1-800-273-TALK (8255)

Crisis Text Line – 4hope to 741-741

Or if you don’t have an immediate need but would like to talk to a professional, please visit:

https://www.seculartherapy.org/

Again, this is a once in a lifetime event (hopefully once in a lifetime) and here at SHoWLE, we want us all to get through it together, rationally and based on the science.

Take Care!

An image of the letter with the contents in the post above
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We will have a virtual meeting

As the state of Ohio battens down the hatches to battle the COVID-19 outbreak, many of our friends and family are being affected by the increasing need to “flatten the curve”.

The Secular Humanists of Western Lake Erie (SHoWLE) cares not only about our members, friends, and family, we also care about our community during this difficult time.

We will share accurate information as often as we can on social media channels and if members and friends need assistance (like you’ve lost a job or have to deal with family members being ill) check out our Community Outreach Resources and Education page.

https://is.gd/showlehelp

Also we plan to have some virtual meetings online during the emergency restrictions. Check out our event page for more info.

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New Podcast Reaches Out To Toledo Secular Community

Toledo, February 5, 2020 – The Secular Humanists of Western Lake Erie (SHoWLE) announces the debut of a new outreach project for secular people and friends in Northwest Ohio. “Glass City Humanist” is a podcast hosted by SHoWLE President Douglas Berger.

“The podcast is where we will talk about being a Humanist from a Northwest Ohio perspective,” Douglas Berger said. “Humanists have a particular worldview and values and this show will educate the public about all of it.”

Episodes will also include local news and information of interest to Humanists and other freethinkers. Such as the issue surrounding the Ohio EdChoice voucher scheme and efforts by the Ohio legislature to close down all the abortion clinics.

There is also a plan to interview, from time to time, other Humanists and secular people in Northwest Ohio and elsewhere about how they live a secular Humanist life.

Social justice will also be a focus.

“One of the pillars of Humanist values is all people deserve basic worth and dignity,” Berger said. “In order to achieve a just, peaceful society, we all must take claims of injustice seriously and ensure that those who are impacted most by rights-violations determine the best course forward. Toledo and Northwest Ohio is no different.”

The podcast won’t be a source of revenue at least at the start.

“If people are interested in what our group has to say and want to donate for the show we won’t turn it down. For the foreseable future the podcast will be free and commercial free. The important thing is to promote SHoWLE and Humanism.”

The podcast will publish fresh episodes on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays for the time being. The process has started to place the show on different podcast platforms like Apple Music and Spotify.

The first episode is an interview with Matt McMahon, one of the organizers of Toledo Skeptics. It can be heard by following the link on the website: glasscityhumanist.show

A direct link to the episode is here: Episode 001 – Matt McMahon from Toledo Skeptics

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Having A Blast At Skepticon

This weekend I am attending Skepticon 11 in St. Louis, MO with Shawn and Peggy. Skepticon is a free convention for seculars and skeptics.

Shawn and I are having a good time, meeting new people, getting new ideas, and communing with people who have similar world views as we do.

I’ve learned how to make an awesome podcast and how to persuade people on issues I think are important. I also learned about the religious right’s effort to have special laws passed in state legislatures through their Project Blitz initiative. Did you know Ohio has a chapter of the Prayer Caucus? It lobbies state legislators in Columbus.

Shawn and I are bringing back meeting and event ideas for the coming year.

The only misstep to this year’s conference is it being scheduled during the 5th Anniversary of the death of Michael Brown. He was shot and killed by a white police officer just 10 miles away in Ferguson. Until one of the talks this evening, Skepticon made no effort to acknowledge the event. I hope they do better next time in making sure there are no conflicts like that or at least dedicate some time to marking those kinds of tragedies.

Shawn walked around the area where our hotel is located and mentioned to me she saw a lot of homeless people. It made me consider that a convention like Skepticon should include a community service project so participants experience life outside the hotel.

I do want to attend another Skepticon in the future. This type of convention is needed by people in our community.

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Berger Spoke At Lights4Liberty Vigil

On Friday evening, July 12th, at Levis Square in downtown Toledo, the Secular Humanists of Western Lake Erie (SHoWLE) co-sponsored the Lights For Liberty vigil to End Human Concentration Camps.

Lights for Liberty partnered with international, national, regional and local communities and organizations who believe that human rights are fundamental rights, are not negotiable, and are willing to protect them.

President Douglas Berger was one of several speakers, at the event in Levis square, who highlighted the human rights issue with the immigration detention camps setup around the country.

Continue reading “Berger Spoke At Lights4Liberty Vigil”
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Our Pride Booth Introduced The Group To Many New People

Our booth at Toledo Pride festival

SHoWLE had our first informational booth at the Toledo Pride Festival on August 18th. Doug, Shawn, Margarette, and Larry had over 50 people show interest in the group.

It was a beautiful day with a large crowd visiting all the booths in Promenade Park in Downtown Toledo.

“Having a booth takes a lot of time and effort to pull off,” SHoWLE President Doug Berger explained. “For our first time, we did a great job. I have a lot ideas on how to improve our booth for the future.”

If you be interested in helping staff our booth at other events let Doug or Shawn know.