Table of Contents
Letter from Executive Director, Bart Worden

There is a deep yearning among Ethical Culturists, I am finding, for the American Ethical Union (AEU) to reach a broader audience. Articulating what we stand for and what we have to offer to a world full of people who know little about Ethical Humanism and even less about Ethical Culture is a high priority for the national office. A number of projects are underway to fortify the effort.

The first part of the project is to build up the capacity within the AEU to disseminate the content that we wish to communicate. We have many talented thinkers and writers among us who have written extensively about Ethical Culture history and philosophy, and Ethical Society newsletters provide plenty of accounts of social justice and social caring endeavors from across the Movement. Getting this information to the public is the greater challenge. We have a website, a periodical, a database for press releases and a Facebook page – as does just about every organization in existence. Making the best use of all of these avenues is a good start, but we need to go further if we truly expect to reach a wider audience.

Increasing our visibility will require concerted and persistent effort by many people. How do we get our communications to stand out? How do we increase the stream of content flowing in to our communication vehicles online? More articles, photos, and videos are needed on a regular basis to ensure that our website and Facebook page are up to date and constantly refreshed. We need users to share links to items on the AEU website and "Like" and/or "Comment" on AEU Facebook content so that our connections become more apparent and we can leverage our individual social networks.

Another way to increase visibility is to literally increase visibility by showing up at public events and spreading the word about what we are doing. Is your Society joining a march for social justice? Write it up and send it to us with photographs and video clips! The more we find ways to be in the street the more the public will expect to see us there.

When I wonder to myself why it's important to reach out to others about Ethical Culture I recall my own relief, when first encountering an Ethical Society, that at last I had found a home for the aspirations that had gone long unfulfilled. I at last had found a community of support for those aspirations – one that I could join while maintaining intellectual and emotional integrity – something I had not found elsewhere in my search for a religious home. There are many, many people out there who will feel that kind of excitement and relief when they learn about Ethical Humanism so let's do what we can to spread the word.