10:00 am on the first and second Sundays every month at the Cedar Hill Recreation Centre
FALL SEASON
September 8th: SAVING THE SALMON TO SAVE THE ORCAS. Co-founder and Director Gregg McElroy of the CANADIAN ORCA RESCUE SOCIETY will relate how CORS is working ‘to bring salmon back to every river and creek in BC’ to feed the southern orcas, and what else is being done in this vital international effort to save the whales. Check out WWW.ORCARESCUE.COM
September 22nd : THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN: RATIONALITY OVER RASHNESS. Our VSHA President Robert Light will reveal it was really Churchill’s Navy that defeated Hitler’s Luftwaffe. The RAF put up a heroic defence but for Hitler it was always the Royal Navy that disturbed and finally deterred him. Wisdom over wickedness. Find out how a mind was turned and a world was saved.
October 6th: ECO-HUMANISM IN A FRAMEWORK OF INTERNATIONAL INSTRUMENTS. Our own Dr. Joan Russow will lead us on a talk dealing with principles from local to global regarding human rights, the environment, religion, alliances, treaties, ethical investments, world wide trade, the United Nations, peace, militarism, and international law.
October 20th: CANADA VOTES! The day before the national election. What better time to have a panel discussion on the priorities and positions of the parties, personalities and people of Canada! What humanist values do we see in the debates and deliberations? An all-humanist panel will discuss
what they see and think as Canada prepares to go to the polls.
November 3: MAGNA CARTA. John McGregor will speak on The Charter signed into being by King John eight centuries years ago. The very first seed of our democracy. ‘Law of the land!’ ‘Due process!’ ‘Trial by peers!’ It broke the back of Norman domination and set England on the path to nationhood. We will examine Magna Carta’s remarkable conception, enduring influence and glorious future.
November 17th: HERMENUETICS. Dr. Ronald Bontekoe will lead us into this powerful aspect of interpretive theory. It is based on his insightful paper “Reconciling Romantic and Phenomenological Hermenuetics.” He will give us a clear introduction into this mainstay of knowledge and guide us into its many applications from ancient textual analysis to contemporary eloquence.
December 1st: SKEPVIC SPEAKER TBA. We will invite a speaker or speakers from the newly formed SkepVic Club at the University of Victoria to speak on a topic that would interest them and us together. One innovative suggestion is for the talk to follow a convivial potluck brunch in the lecture room at the Cedar Hill Rec. Centre. A great way to launch a beautiful friendship.
December 15: DEFINING HUMANISM. Our President, Robert Light, will give a brief address on defining humanism for the VSHA. How many times have you been asked, “Humanism, so what’s that?” Good question! We can describe it. Can we or should we define it? The meeting will then shift to discussion tables to conjure up some definitions and maybe even a few motto suggestions. We will reconvene with reports and general discussion. We will end with a fun quiz and prizes, prizes, prizes!