Secular Humanists of Western Lake Erie
Building community through compassion and reason for a better tomorrow.
On September 13, 2026, we had a visit by Fish Stark, the Executive Director of the American Humanist Association, our parent organization. He talked to us about the scourge of White Christian Nationalism and what Humanists can do and what is being done to fight back and resist them. We had a great crowd at the Yager Center at Swan Creek Metropark. The afternoon also included refreshments. Here are a few pictures from the event:
Here is the video of he remarks
July 11 @ 1:00 pm — 3:00 pm
On May 2nd about a dozen of us met at Sanger Library and put together 50 meal kits to donate to a local food bank. Our original goal was to make 100 kits but due to logistical contraints we were able to do 50 kits.
On Saturday July 11 we will gather at Bev’s House to complete the other 50 kits.
If you helped on May 2nd and wish to help again feel free to show up and if you had wanted to help then but weren’t able then please come by July 11th.
We’re excited to announce that we participated in the American Empathy Project on May 2nd! Led by the American Humanist Association, the American Empathy Project has funded 101 service projects nationwide that will empower community members to combat our country’s crisis of cruelty. One day of action — one unified push to fight for empathy!
The food and supplies for the kits were paid for by a grant from the American Humanist Association.
We will be creating at 50 additional shelf-stable meal kits to donate to a food pantry in the Greater Toledo Area.
This event is open to the public so if you would like to volunteer reach out to us or use the RSVP on our event page. You don’t need to be a member to help out.
567–302-0209
September 13 @ 2:00 pm — 4:00 pm
Come out Sunday afternoon and meet Fish Stark, the Executive Director of the American Humanist Association. He will talk to us about the problem of Christian Nationalism and what we can do to address it in our community. He will also mention some the plans for the organization and projects they are working on. This will be followed by some questions and answers. We will have light refreshments.
Fish Stark is an organizer, educator, social entrepreneur, and lifelong humanist. Fish has spent his career turning big ideas into bold action in service of belonging, flourishing, and social justice for all people.
Prior to joining the AHA as Executive Director, Fish was the Head of Program + Curriculum at Legends, an educational technology startup, where he led research and implementation teams to create products that helped children build self-confidence, positive mental health, and critical thinking skills.
Previously, Fish served as the Director of Programs at Peace First, a global nonprofit that provides training and funding to youth social justice activists, where he led a global team of organizers who empowered thousands of youth grantees in 140+ countries to make lasting change in their communities, and worked with organizations such as the Red Cross and Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation to develop youth leadership programs.
Fish’s other professional experiences include managing progressive political campaigns, leading a mentorship program in the West Virginia coalfields with the American Friends Service Committee, building a nationally recognized peer-to-peer bullying prevention program, and teaching students from pre-school to high school.
A self-proclaimed developmental psychology nerd who is passionate about giving everyone the tools to live lives of meaning, service, and self-determination, Fish holds a Master’s in Education with a concentration in child development and psychology from Harvard University, and a Bachelor’s from Yale University with a certificate in Education Studies. While at Yale, Fish served as a student board member of the Yale Humanist Community and received a Dean’s Prize for his work to build a stronger relationship between Yale and New Haven.
Fish lives in Annapolis, Maryland, where he is President of the Speaker Mike Busch District 30 Democratic Club, is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Annapolis, and serves on several nonprofit boards. He moonlights as an award-winning stand-up comedian and has performed in 13 states.
This event is FREE and open to the public. We will pass a hat for donations to support SHoWLE and you will have to opportunity to join our group.
Our President, Douglas Berger, will be hosting a workshop about speaking up for Humanism in public — from print to invocations. There will be three connected sessions starting on January 16, 2025 via Zoom.
The workshop is being put on by the American Humanists Association’s Center for Education
Seats are limited. To register and for more information visit
https://bit.ly/SpeakUpHumanists
This is not an official SHoWLE program.
When we do presentations to other groups about SHoWLE, we talk about three well known Toledo natives who are or were humanists. Until today we didn’t promote them on our website. That oversight is fixed.
Starting today you can find short bios about the three humanists from the Toledo area we talk about: Gloria Steinem, Edward Lamb, and Madalyn Murray O’Hair.
Each page gives a short biography, their connection to Humanism and we tried to add a quote that fits the Humanist philosophy.
We hope this is just a start of a bigger project so if you know of Toledo humanists who should be added, let us know through our contact form.
Click on the image to go to the page:
SHoWLE President Douglas Berger had a letter to the editor published in the Toledo Blade on April 20, 2023, responding to a previous editorial that seemed sympathetic to a woman who gave a speech against Trans women at the University of Toledo. The editorial downplayed the bigoted framing and rehash of anti-Trans tropes relating to Trans women participating in women’s sports. The editorial complained about Trans rights supporters protesting Riley Gaines’ speech but didn’t point out the false narrative that Gaines used in her speech and the fact that it was sponsored by the right-wing Christian Nationalist group Turning Point USA.
Douglas was also disappointed that even though his letter was published, the heart of it was cut out by the Blade and made it seem, again, that the issue was one of difference of opinion and not one of a battle to protect the rights of a marginalized group. SHoWLE doesn’t believe that human rights should be put up for a popular vote or be debated like what ice cream flavor you like.
Below is the full text of the letter Douglas submitted followed by images of the Blade editorial in question and the printed letter.
I sat down to read the Blade and saw yet another editorial (“Editorial: Let Riley tell her story” published 4/22) claiming that someone with bigoted ideas is being hurt because other people have called them out on their bigotry. Make no mistake, Riley Gaines told her story framed in bigotry against Trans women all because a Trans woman won ONE event at the NCAA tournament.
Gaines should know that more goes into performing sports than just body parts and what sex one is but we live in a society that seems to accept the status quo for longer than we need. Take basketball. When women were first allowed to play basketball, they were only allowed to play half court because men assumed that women didn’t have the stamina to run up and down a full court. They also had to play in skirts because it was un-ladylike to wear shorts in public.
Does Gaines feel the four other women that beat her in the 200 freestyle were actually “intact males” and why didn’t Lia Thomas win that race if she won the 500 freestyle? I thought Trans women had an unfair advantage?
The science on the issue isn’t clear yet but unlike Gaines’ anecdotal “evidence”, the NCAA has had specific rules to include Trans athletes for at least 10 years now. One would think the flood gates would be open and there would be only Trans women winning everything — obviously that didn’t happen. A person’s genetic make-up and internal and external reproductive anatomy are not useful indicators of athletic performance.
It is also telling that Gaines’ talk was sponsored by the Christian Nationalist group Turning Point USA, whose founder and President Charlie Kirk, on a podcast in 2022, said that the Transgender community was a “social contagion” and that this “public mania” would, in 20 years, be likened to “the modern-day equivalent of lobotomies in the 1920s and 1930s”.
Riley Gaines (like Charlie Kirk) used bigotry to tell her story, the content of which was underplayed in the editorial. As we move forward and the people who support all humans as having basic dignity and worth become the majority only then will we be actually united as people.
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.
Continue reading “New Podcast Reaches Out To Toledo Secular Community”
We get asked how can someone support Humanism in Toledo and Northwest Ohio? The Secular Humanists of Western Lake Erie programming and operation is funded by membership fees, donations, and grants. There are many ways you can support our work.
Continue reading “How Can You Support Humanism In Toledo?”
The Secular Humanists of Western Lake Erie had a nice write up in the religion section of the Toledo Blade. The print version took up nearly half a page and was above the fold. We could never afford advertising that good.
To question whether morals and values can exist apart from theology cuts to the heart of secular humanism. While atheism simply denotes that an individual does not believe in God, secular humanism “kind of takes that a step further,” Ms. Meagley said; it answers the “now what” question that, for some, follows when a person comes to terms with a disbelief in God.
Secular humanism’s affirmation of an ethical life suggests parallels between the ways that a conscientious religious adherent and a conscientious humanist would live. But a humanist, significantly, would do so without tying these views and values to theism or the supernatural.
A new day is dawning over Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan. From Monroe to Findlay and from Sandusky to Defiance, a new group is forming to give a safe space and community to people who are secular humanists.
Secular Humanists of Western Lake Erie (SHoWLE) values people, emphasizes reason, and focuses on this world. Our purpose is educating the public about Humanism and building a Humanist community in Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan. Membership is open to all Humanists in substantial agreement with our principles and values. Our regular meetings and scheduled events will be free and open to the public.
SHoWLE will be having an organizational meeting on May 5th, 2018 at 1 PM in the meeting room at the Washington Branch of the Toledo Public Library 5560 Harvest Lane Toledo OH 43623. The plan is to hold regular monthly meetings and become a chapter of the American Humanist Association.
Humanism is a democratic and ethical lifestance which affirms that human beings have the right and responsibility to give meaning and shape to their own lives. It stands for the building of a more humane society through an ethics based on human and other natural values in a spirit of reason and free inquiry through human capabilities. It is not theistic, and it does not accept supernatural views of reality.
For most, humanism is an alternative to religion. In many cases and situations there is a humanist alternative to problems we see in the world. We feel that in the Toledo area, that alternative isn’t being heard. or at least being addressed.
We are looking to build a strong core of individuals who share Humanist values and who want to build a vibrant community for Humanists
If you have any questions, or for media inquiries, feel free to use our contact form.