FREE for 20 Members: Virtual Pass to AHA Conference, June 27-29
Want to expand your knowledge of humanism and feel more connected to the movement? The Humanist Society of New Mexico will pay the virtual pass registration fee of $25 for the first 20 HSNM members who sign up for the conference and request reimbursement.
The virtual pass includes a live stream of plenary sessions and awards ceremonies. Check out the conference schedule. Plenary topics include artificial intelligence, mating and marriage, reimagining democracy, and much more.
To take advantage of this special offer, sign up for the virtual conference at the AHA website. Then email Treasurer Richard Grady at richard@hs-nm.org. Put “AHA conference” in the subject line of your email. Tell Richard who you are and provide your mailing address. Richard will hand you a check at an upcoming meeting or mail you a check if that’s your preference. Just let him know.
This offer is available to paid-up members only and is made possible by the donation of an HSNM member.
The HSNM Board of Directors has also authorized up to $2,000 to pay the in-person conference registration (not hotel and transportation) fees for individual members. In-person registration fees range from $50 to $350, depending on the registration package chosen.
Discuss ‘Life-Changing Books’ at Special June 28 Meeting
To encourage HSNM members to tune in to the American Humanist Association conference, we’ll forego our traditional fourth-Saturday speaker meeting at the Albuquerque Museum. However, we know some members prefer an in-person gathering. We’ve got you covered.
On Saturday, June 28, 10:30 am-12:30 pm, in the Community Room of the International District Library, HSNM Board member Terry Sloan will lead a discussion on “Books that Changed My Life.” Terry also leads the HSNM book discussion special interest group. HSNM President Pete Dickinson and Vice President Paul Babb will be attending the AHA conference in Chicago that weekend.
“Pete and I reluctantly leave Terry in charge of running this meeting,” quipped Paul Babb. “Without adult supervision, he’s likely to tell jokes. We’re counting on members to keep Dr. Sloan in check and report back any major infractions.”
Speaker meetings will resume in July at the Albuquerque Museum.
Discusssion Meetings in June
Saturday, June 14
“What’s On Your Mind?” -- A free-wheeling, open and respectful discussion. It's a great way to meet fellow humanists and discuss issues of the day.
Saturday, June 21
Topic: “Joy" -- Join us to discuss a topic chosen the month prior. You don't have to research the topic ahead of time, but some members like to stretch their awareness ahead of time. And feel free to suggest a topic for the following month.
Saturday, June 28
Topic: "BooksThat Changed My Life" --Terry Sloan will lead this special discussion meeting.
Discussion meetings are free and open to the public. No RSVP is required. They run 10:30 am -12:30 pm and will be held at the International District Library, 7601 Central Ave NE.
Membership
Benefits of Membership
The opportunity to meet and socialize with other freethinking individuals.
Attendance at group meetings with the opportunity to hear challenging and informative speakers discuss a broad range of timely issues.
Be part of a progressive secular network taking action on important issues of the day.
Access to a wide selection of Humanist literature and publications.
Becoming a Member
Membership dues are $25 per year ($40 for couples), $5.00 per year for student memberships (18 and under).
Humanism is a nontheistic worldview with ethical values informed by scientific knowledge and driven by a desire to meet the needs of people in the here and now. At the foundation of those values is an affirmation of the dignity of every human being.
JUNE 2025: PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
by Peter Dickinson
Hello Humanists!
I was glad to see so many of you last Saturday at our speakers meeting to hear from Fish Stark, the Executive Director of the American Humanist Association. In his first nine months, Fish has made a huge impact at the AHA. He and the rest of the AHA staff are revitalizing the organization, and reaching out to the many Americans who don’t know that they are already humanists.
If you missed the meeting, or want to hear Fish’s comments again, you can see it on our YouTube channel. (Yes, we have a YouTube channel!)
I wanted to emphasize one small remark Fish made during his talk, regarding HSNM, and what we are doing here in Albuquerque to build the kind of supportive community that makes humanism attractive to the 45 million people who don’t yet know they are humanists. Fish mentioned our Special Interest Groups - or SIGs, which help make us more than lecture-and-discussion group (though those are also great things). I want to both promote our existing SIGs, and encourage you to consider starting new ones.
We currently have seven SIGs - One book group, two groups reading and discussing the Great Decisions foreign policy book, a gaming group that meets weekly online to play Codenames, a hiking group, a bowling group, and a “night out” group that attends local cultural events once a month. You can find upcoming events, and information on the SIG groups in this newsletter and at our website (HumanistsNM.org).
If you have an idea for an activity that you’d like to invite other humanists to join in, or if you’d like to do what one of the existing groups is doing, but at a different time or place, or with a different emphasis, please consider starting a SIG. Or maybe you’re already doing something with one or two others, and would like to invite some new folks to join in. Contact me or any other board member, and we’ll help you publicize your group, and get other humanists involved.
In the short time I’ve lived in Albuquerque (it’ll be two years come August), this group has become an important extended family for me. I agree with Fish that this kind of community is humanism in action. It’s what we all need to get us through these current times, and to build the kind of world we want for everyone.
“I, too, have my religion. It is this: Happiness is the only good. The time to be happy is now; the place to be happy is here; and the way to be happy is to make others happy. This is the religion of usefulness; this is the religion of reason.” -- Robert G. Ingersoll, 1899
March has been a busy month for me, which means this month’s message will be (blessedly?) brief. Picking up from our topical discussion meeting, and considering Mr. Ingersoll’s advice on the way to be happy, I’d like to direct your attention to some resources that may provide you opportunities to help make someone else’s life a little happier.
HSNM now has a new website (humanistsnm.org) which includes a page of “Humanist Allies”—groups and organizations that directly or indirectly support the basic principles of humanism and promote the dignity and happiness of all human beings.
April 5, 2025, the “Hands Off!” protests are happening in cities across the country to “to stop the most brazen power grab in modern history.” People will be gathering at the Civic Plaza in Albuquerque, 2:00 – 4:00 pm, to make their voices heard. More information is available at handsoff2025.com and at Indivisible: mobilize.us/indivisible/event/767065/.
I will be attending the annual American Humanist Association conference June 27–29 in Chicago. The title of the conference is “Humanists Move America”—a sentiment that is more than aspirational, given the growing resistance to the anti-human agenda of the current regime.
I’m looking forward to meeting humanists from around the US, and bringing back ideas we can use to build our communities here. If you’d like to join me, you can register here: www.conference.americanhumanist.org. I’m looking forward to hearing from AHA Executive Director Fish Stark at this month’s speaker meeting (May 24th at the Albuquerque Museum).
Fish and the rest of the AHA staff and board: (americanhumanist.org/about/staff) (americanhumanist.org/about/board-ofdirectors) are bringing some new energy to the fight to keep our government secular.
It’s nice to be reminded that we are part of a much bigger movement working to protect everyone’s freedom to believe or not. As an aside, I was very encouraged to see the diversity of the AHA staff and board members. To me it makes it clear that humanism is speaking to more people than ever.
At our topical discussion meeting on Resilience, I mentioned Timothy Snyder’s new book On Freedom. Between moving and getting settled into my new home—and keeping up with the book group and Great Decisions, I’m slowly working my way through it. I expect I’ll have more to say in a future message—and I’d be happy to discuss the book with anyone who’s interested. For now, I’ll leave you with a thought on Snyder’s discussion of the first type of freedom—sovereignty. He points out that in order to be free to be ourselves, we have to know, as much as we can, who we are, and that to do that, we need to see how other people see us. There’s a lot to this thought, but I leave it here as a reminder that we all need each other to be free.
As always, feel free to contact me at pete@HumanistsNM.org. And don’t forget to visit our new website: HumanistsNM.org.
Fish Stark: Today Is a Golden Opportunity for Humanists
On Saturday, May 24, American Humanist Association (AHA) Executive Director Fish Stark told a gathering at the Albuquerque Museum that humanism offers hope for a divided country. His talk attracted HSNM members and guests who wanted to learn more about humanism and its role in American society.
“Humanists have a golden opportunity right now, in an age of loneliness and dispossession, to reach out to people and say this: You are not alone. There are so many people who think the way you do,” Fish said.”
His definition of a humanist? “You’re a humanist if you believe in the Golden Rule, but not in God,” Fish explained. “It is my deep belief that there are 45 million humanists in America who don’t know it yet. The number of people who are broadly secular and broadly progressive is far greater than those who are involved in our community today.
“We must embrace, repeat, and popularize a simple truth—that humanism has been the driving force of American social innovation, not by mere accident but by design—because humanist beliefs shaped the revolutionaries, the innovators, the healers, and the artists who define the American spirit,” he continued.
In a Q&A session, Stark encouraged humanists to support their local chapters through membership, political action and donations. He also highlighted the impact of giving to the AHA and its advocacy and political arm, the Center for Freethought Equality and its political action committee, the Freethought Equality Fund.
Humanist Society of New Mexico, A Nonprofit Corporation * P.O. Box 27293, Albuquerque, NM 87125-7293 * Contact@HumanistsNM.org
FREE for 20 Members: Virtual Pass to AHA Conference, June 27-29
