August 10 @ 9:00 am — 5:00 pm
We will have our booth at the Maumee Summer Fair all day. Stop by and say hello or spin our revised prize wheel.
![](https://i0.wp.com/humanistswle.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Maumee-Summer-Fair_2024_smaller.png?resize=525%2C275&ssl=1)
If you would like to help with the booth, sign-up at this link bit.ly/3W3QX4i
Secular Humanists of Western Lake Erie
Building community through compassion and reason for a better tomorrow.
We will have our booth at the Maumee Summer Fair all day. Stop by and say hello or spin our revised prize wheel.
If you would like to help with the booth, sign-up at this link bit.ly/3W3QX4i
One of the big events I’ve wanted to have for the members and friends of SHoWLE was a winter solstice gathering. Many Humanist groups around the country have one and my former group in Columbus had a catered banquet each year in December. I would like to announce we will be having a Winter Solstice Potluck on Saturday December 21, 2024.
I initially had plans for a Winter Solstice Potluck to happen in 2020 and we know why we didn’t have one. Then after the pandemic subsided SHoWLE did struggle to get its feet back under it. I am confident that in 2024 we are at least at the place we were at the start of 2020.
The catered banquet was used as a fundraiser for my Columbus group but through the years the costs of the banquet wiped out any “profit” from selling tickets to the event and people had a certain expectation when the event is catered. You buy a ticket to a dinner and you expect table service and beverages etc….
I like a potluck setup better especially for a Humanist group who gather as a community to observe the solstice.
We also don’t have to sell you tickets to attend and that way we can have something else to fundraise off of like door prizes or a raffle. And I can assure you there will be plenty of opportunities.
A potluck also keeps the event open and inclusive to the community at large. That way you don’t need to spend $30 a plate for dinner. It also helps us “cater” to people with special diets either they have a medical issue or they choose to be vegan for example, a potluck is a better way to have food for every type of diet.
The Winter Solstice Potluck is tentatively scheduled for December 21 at the Yager Center at Swan Creek Metropark. In the fall we will have more details and dish sign-up list to try to avoid too much duplication. Other details will follow soon after.
I am excited to have this event even I was sweat in the heat and humidity of June.
Mark this on your calendar. You can keep up on details as we add them on the event page on our website
Humanist and feminist Gloria Steinem will be our keynote speaker. She will appear via Zoom to say a few words. SHoWLE is thrilled she agreed to speak
We are accepting donations to pay Ms. Steinem’s speaking fee. If you would like to help check out the donation page.
Join us for our annual picnic. A social time for SHoWLE members and friends to share some good food. Rain or shine.
We will have hot dogs and hamburgers and providing drinks like soda pop and water. Board Member Ed S. will be handling the grill and will bring some of his well known side dishes. This will be the last Picnic for Ed as he is set to retire and move back home to New York state.
Feel free to bring some snacks or deserts to share. You are also welcome to bring your own entrée and use the grill if you wish.
We welcome any games or sports equipment you have handy and want to share and there is a playground close by for kids to enjoy. Feel free to bring your dog as there is plenty of room for them to play.
This event is FREE and Open to the Public
We have the Whitetail Shelter reserved. The shelter is off parking lot #2 on the main park road.
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.