Brighton Secular Humanists

 Upcoming events:-

All at the King & Queen, Marlborough Place.

Bill McIlroy 1928 - 2013

The Argus byline "He helped to make Brighton godless"is probably an epitaph Bill would appreciate. Two of his activities in Brighton not mentioned by the Argus tribute are his membership of the Brighton & Hove Debating Society and his service on the Council's Commemorative (Blue) Plaque Panel.

The tribute of the National Secular Society can be read here.

Bill at the "Protest the Pope " march in 2010

He will be much missed . . .

Brighton & Hove Humanists

MEETING TONIGHT:-

"Religious Rites and Animal Suffering"

by 

Trish Penney

7.30 pm for 8 at Lord Nelson, Trafalgar Street.

Local Humanism - name change

At a well-attended EGM yesterday evening the Brighton & Hove Humanist Society voted in a new constitution and to change the name of the Society to:-

 BRIGHTON & DISTRICT HUMANIST SOCIETY 

This name change was in recognition of the geographically diverse membership of the Society which draws many people from outside the City boundaries.

The EGM was followed by a well-received presentation, "Towards a Secular State" by Gerard Phillips Vice-President of the National Secular Society. This was followed by questions and discussion.

Atheist Street Preacher

Another Brighton first?
http://www.simonclare.co.uk/site/

Has Jesus passed his sell-by date?

Wednesday 5th September 2012.
The Lord Nelson Inn
Trafalgar Street, Brighton.

The Brighton & Hove Humanist Society presents a talk by Ken Humphreys:-

"Has Jesus passed his sell-by date?"

730pm for 8pm start

B & H Humanists present . . .

. . . a special summer event:-

Council prayers in Brighton and Hove

National Secular Society - Council prayers – the ripples are still spreading: Brighton and Hove

"The new mayor of Brighton and Hove, Bill Randall, has announced that he intends to significantly increase the amount of religious participation before council meetings. As well as Christian Ministers, rabbis, Buddhists and Muslim imams will be invited to lead prayers in the council chamber.
Mr Randall says that this is all part of his 'multi-faith' year initiative forBrightonand Hove City Council.
Cllr Randall said the new multi-faith services would be legal because councillors would not be "formally summoned to attend" although they would take place in the council chamber. He said: "This is to better reflect the many faiths in our city and about promoting love and peace. During the year we will have one faith for every council meeting and the reaction to the idea has been terrific."
But one man who wasn't pleased about this was Bill McIlroy, former secretary of the NSS and editor of the Freethinker, from the Brighton and Hove Humanist Society, who said the decision to introduce multi-faith prayers into council meetings was "completely out of order".
He told the Brighton Argus: "Councils are elected to do civic business, not for part-time worshippers to turn public buildings into religious buildings. It's no good saying these prayers are fine because they are not on the agenda. They are just looking for loopholes because they know people will object. It's a total waste of time. Brighton is one of the most secular cities in the UK so I think they've got a nerve."

"Protest the Pope" march

The "Protest the Pope" march in London this afternoon (saturday) was supported by a contingent from the Brighton & Hove Humanist Society. 

The event was extremely well-attended by representatives of all generations and walks of life and stretched from Hyde Park Corner to Piccadilly Circus, a distance of nearly a mile. The weather was fine and, in spite of long delays in starting, the humour was good. There was much applause from bystanders and at one point a figure emerged on a balcony, wearing a white robe and vaguely episcopal headgear, and to great applause and laughter, bestowed a blessing on the procession below.

"Why I am not a Christian"

Brighton & Hove Humanists first meeting after the summer break is on Wednesday, 1st  Sept. at 8pm at the Lord Nelson, Trafalgar St.

Speaker: Denis Cobell (Former president, National Secular Society) on 

"Why I Am Not a Christian. "

Caroline Lucas & collective worship in schools

The Early Day Motion 395 proposed by the MP for Cambridge, Julian Huppert has now been signed by 11 MP's including Brighton Pavilion's Caroline Lucas. In the interest of encouraging inclusiveness & integration within our schools  the Bill calls on the Government to repeal the requirement for compulsory worship in schools and to encourage schools to hold educational assemblies that will include all children.

Caroline says:-
Thank you for your email and for telling me about EDM 395. I support scrapping the requirement for a compulsory daily act of worship and also want those schools which continue to hold acts of worship to provide an alternative activity for learners who choose not to take part. Whilst I think it is important to uphold children and young people's right to practise their faith in schools, I think this is best met by for example providing prayer space rather than the current enforcement of daily worship. I also think religious education should be distinct from religious instruction and, like you, I would like assemblies to be inclusive and encourage a sense of community and cohesion. I will, therefore, be adding my name to this Early Day Motion and please do not hesitate to contact me again in future if I can help with anything else.

God & the Green Party

In a video released earlier this week, the Prime Minister declared; “I don’t subscribe to the view that religion should somehow be tolerated but not encouraged in public life, that you can somehow ask people to leave their faith at the door when they enter a town hall or a Commons chamber.” In an interview to Premier Christian Radio he made similar points.

As this is exactly the view I DO subscribe to, I wrote to each of my local Parliamentary candidates to ask what they thought of it. I also took the opportunity of expressing my concern at John Denham's appointment of 13 "faith advisors" and the continuing presence of unelected bishops in the Lords.

The Green Party candidate for my constituency replied as follows:-
"It's really refreshing to read your e-mail: I subscribe to your views exactly.
For instance, I think a lot of people would be shocked if they knew that even the local B&H Council have Christian prayers before each Full Council meeting."
Caroline Lucas, Leader, the Green Party, Parliamentary Candidate - Brighton Pavilion

City Singers sing for the Samaritans

Please support the local branch of the Samaritans whenever possible.

We live in an area that is particularly vulnerable to suicide, and the vibrancy of the City seems to increase for some their feelings of isolation and loneliness. In fact the number of people in distress who contact Brighton Sams increases yearly. They are well supported by the 150 volunteers who freely give of their time but the need for funds to cover the running costs of the Branch is never-ending.

Assisted dying - what is legal & what is not?

This was the title of an excellent talk given by Dr Michael Irwin at the Brighton & Hove Humanist Society on Wednesday evening. Dr. Irwin provided an interesting review of the history and the current situation as it exists internationally and in the UK. Other countries, e.g. Netherlands, and Switzerland, have tackled the ethical problems, and the legal frameworks they have established appear to be working satisfactorily.

Dr Irwin is currently under arrest (but bailed until Sept.30th.) for assisting in a suicide at the Dignitas Clinic in Switzerland. The total cost of a suicide at Dignitas is estimated to be £4500. Dr Irwin donated £1500 towards this sum and accompanied the terminally-ill patient and his partner to Switzerland. On their return the partner was arrested but Dr Irwin had to challenge the police to arrest him which they eventually did.

The recent legal victory by Debbie Purdy (the MS sufferer) in the House of Lords means that the DPP now has to issue a policy on prosecuting these cases. Whether this policy survives the public consultation period in any helpful form remains to be seen. It is estimated that as many as 34 UK patients are currently waiting to travel to Dignitas. Certainly as long as the present British fudge exists it is only the wealthier Britons that will have any choice in the matter of their ending.

Brighton & Hove Humanist Society

The B&HHS is 50 years old this year. It meets on the first Wednesday of every month at The Lord Nelson in Trafalgar St.  Tomorrow's talk is entitled the "Future of Belief".  

I've never managed to get to it before either due to forgetfulness, indolence or prior engagement but this time a friend is picking me up so I've absolutely no excuse.  I'm looking forward to it.