Humanism at Dartington

News from The Dartington Messenger, December 2005:

Members of Devon Humanists have begun meeting in Dartington each month to discuss their belief in a way of life which supports and encourages those who seek to live moral lives without recourse to religion or superstition. Humanism is an approroach to life based on reason and our shared humanity, recognising that moral values are properly founded on human nature and experience as well as thought and hopes. We share with religious people a concern for "our neighbour" and involve ourselves in civic and charitable activities in the same way that they do.

The number of local members is growing and we have begun to meet about once a month in Dartington to talk about our views and common interests. At present we are going through "A Short Course on Humanism" which discusses such topics as "A good life without religion" and "Where do moral values come from?".

Meetings are held at the home of a Dartington member at 11 a.m. on Sunday mornings once a month and if you are interested in coming to a meeting or finding out more about Humanism please contact Hazel Fuller on 01803 864156

Social activities, such as theatre trips and visits to places of interest, also take place from time to time and we are happy to follow up suggestions from people as to how we can do more things together. Some members also go to activities organised in the Exeter and Torbay area. There is a monthly lunch on the third Thursday at 12.30 at the Phoenix Centre, Exeter, and also walks and cinema outings.

One of the Devon members has taken on responsibility for filling and sending off Aqua Boxes to disaster areas and many of us are involved in collecting items and raising money for this charity. So far around 50 boxes have been sent. As well as being filled with essential items such as tools, toilet requisites, cooking pans and buckets, the Boxes convert into water purifying containers, so necessary when water is dangerous to drink in many parts of the world.

Many people with non religious views value sharing special occasions so Humanist celebrants are trained to conduct naming, marriage and funeral ceremonies. These are designed around the wishes of the people concerned and can therefore be completely personal. A naming ceremony for example was recently held on Dartmoor (and hosted on the BBC by poet Ian McMillan) with poetry written by family members, and balloons (biodegradable) with good wishes tied to them, set free to float away and carry their messages to wherever they landed.

We now have our own funeral celebrant living in Totnes and he will be talking, at a meeting in Spring, about what he does to help non-religious people celebrate the lives of loved ones. Jonathan Taylor can be contacted on 865380.