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While we will continue to host our recurring programs as usual, the beginning April is all about Humanism at Yale Week -- a full week of open to the public events in April showcasing many of our programs and services. (But read on and you'll see that there's a lot of other things going on at YHC this month, too!)
The week will begin April 5 and go until April 12. Every day will feature at least one special event, including:
- A celebrant training for people who want to learn how to officiate Humanist weddings, funerals, baby-naming ceremonies, and more, with the Connecticut Coalition of Reason and the Humanist Institute;
- A talk on Humanism and hip hop by Dr. Monica Miller;
- An interfaith service project with Saint Thomas More, which will be the fifth event in our ongoing partnership with the Catholic community at Yale to address hunger and inequality in New Haven;
- A panel on what atheists do believe with Yale's Laurie Santos, StarTalk with Neil deGrasse Tyson co-host Leighann Lord, and former pastor Ryan Bell, who made international headlines last year after announcing his plan to live for a "Year Without God";
- A talk at Yale Divinity School on "burying the dead in a secular age" by Martin Hägglund;
- A board game night with prizes;
- A Humanist Haven gathering to end the week, which will focus on the stories of nonreligious people and feature author and professor Melanie Brewster and Chris Johnson, creator of one of highest-grossing publishing projects in the history of Kickstarter;
- Discussion groups, dinners, and more!
Want to learn more? Visit yalehumanists.com/week2015 for details! We hope to see you at any -- or all! -- of these events.
Best,
Chris Stedman
Executive Director
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Announcing YHC's new STEM initiative!
Are you passionate about STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education? We're incredibly excited to announce that we will be launching a pilot after- school STEM program in Fall 2015! This program will be an opportunity for our graduate, undergraduate, and faculty community members to get off campus, make connections across the Greater New Haven community, and put our values into action.
What will it entail? Once a month we'll take students and other community members and volunteers to mentor and work with at-risk students in the New Haven area to demonstrate the wonder and possibilities that the STEM fields contain.
We'll be announcing more details soon, so stay tuned! For now, if you want to help ensure this pilot program turns into a permanent one, please consider giving during The Great Give on May 5th.
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Your chance to help YHC win $5,000!
The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven
is offering a $5,000 prize to non-profit organizations that reach certain goals during it's annual 36 hour The Great Give campaign starting, May 5 at 8:00 AM until May 6 at 5:00 PM.
If YHC has the highest number of donors in the first hour it could win $1,000. If it has the most new donors, or the highest number of donors, or the highest amount of donations over the 36 hours it could win $5,000, for a total of $6,000 in addition to the generosity of supporters like you who participate during this 36 hour marathon.
Please watch for more information in our May newsletter, or to find out more right now you can visit www.givegreater.org.
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Workshop: Do you have hidden identities?
Your friends may know you're Muslim, atheist, queer, or ________. How  about your classmates? Professors? Future Colleagues and Employers? Come to a collaborative workshop on navigating being open about our "hidden identities" at graduate school and the workplace, co-sponsored by YHC. We'll discuss questions such as "Should you feel obligated to share your religious/non-religious or gender/sexual identity with those around you?", "What are the risks and benefits of doing so?", or "Should you let others assume you're something you're not in order to avoid awkwardness or unpleasantness?" Come share personal narratives and best practices within a discussion guided by an associate university chaplain and a LGBTQ programs coordinator. Light Dinner will be served. Cosponsoring organizations are YHC, McDougal Center for Graduate Student Life, Yale Chaplain's Office, and Yale Office of LGBTQ Resources.
What: "Hidden Identities: Navigating ethical, sexual or other hidden identities at school and the workplace"
When: Wednesday, April 29, 5:30 PM
Where: Hall of Graduate Studies 119 (320 York Street)
Who: Graduate and professional students
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Who -- if anyone -- do you follow? Come discuss!
Who (if anyone) do you "follow"? Come discuss at WTF, a new discussion group led by by author and former Humanist Haven speaker Tom Krattenmaker!
WTF is it? This monthly meeting is a space to explore who we as secular or nonreligious people "follow" -- the scientists, poets, thinkers, and even religious figures that some of us look to for inspiration, guidance, or example. If you're interested, join us on on Tuesday, April 28 at 7 PM at The Grove!
What: WTF Discussion Group
When: Tuesday, April 28, 7 PM
Where: The Grove (760 Chapel Street)
Who: Open to the public
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Can a secular person follow Jesus? A dialogue
Can a nonreligious person follow Jesus? In the same vein as YHC's WTF discussion group, this moderated dialogue between two friends -- secular author and USA Today columnist Tom Krattenmaker and Christian author and speaker Tony Kriz -- aims to break down divisions that make Jesus the exclusive property of religious folks and open up space for an "interfaith" conversation about what it might look like to cultivate a flourishing life shaped by Jesus. Moderated by: Matt Croasmun, Director of Research & Publication, Yale Center for Faith & Culture; Staff Pastor, Elm City Vineyard Church. Hosted by: Yale Center for Faith & Culture, Yale Humanist Community, Elm City Vineyard Church, City Church, Yale Christian Fellowship, Yale Graduate Student Christian Fellowship, Yale Faith & Action.
What: "Following Jesus as a Secular Progressive?"
When: Monday, April 27th, 7:30 PM
Where: Linsly-Chittendon 102 (63 High Street)
Who: Open to the public (Reserve free tickets online)
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Join Humanists in walking & running for mental health
Join YHC and other Humanists from the New Haven and Hartford areas in supporting  the Community Health Center Race for Mental Health on Saturday, May 2, at 8:30 AM. We are working out the logistics of whether they need us to volunteer and/or walk but we encourage everyone to register for the walk. Registration is $30 (feel free to ask a few friends to help with the registration) and can be done here. The walk is in Hubbard Park in Meriden just minutes from I-691. Watch for a Meetup posting coming soon.
This event is a part of the Week of Action, an initiative started by Humanist Rabbi Adam Chalom in response to National Day of Prayer and National Day of Reason. It takes place the week before National Day of Prayer and Reason, and is a way to come together regardless of beliefs to benefit our communities. Please contact Rebecca at Development@CtHumanist.org with any questions.
What: Community Health Center Race for Mental Health
When: Saturday, May 2, 8:30 AM
Where: Hubbard Park in Meriden, CT
Who: Open to the public
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YHC needs laptops -- please consider donating
YHC has made tremendous progress in its first full-time year at Yale  and in the greater New Haven Community, and the number of people working in our office continues to grow. Earlier this year we worked with the Office of International Students and Scholars to welcome a full-time student intern from the University for Humanistics in the Netherlands; most recently, our organization was approved by the Office of Supervised Ministries at Yale Divinity School to serve as a site for its student internship program.
With YHC's growing intern capacity, as well as our increased programs, community presence, and volunteers, we are greatly in need of technology equipment. Please consider donating your recently replaced laptop-notebook.
Our technology requirements do need to meet minimum capacities and power in order to be effective tools. These are:
PC Systems Minimal Capacities
Windows 7
Dual Core
2.2 GHZ
160 GB HDD
4 GB RAM
MacBook Minimal Capacities
2011 Release or newer
Dual Core
2.0 GHZ
160 GB HDD
4 GB RAM
Donations of goods are fully tax deductible and YHC will give you a receipt for your declared value of the equipment donated. If you have any questions, please contact Nancy Kelly at nancykelly.yhc@gmail.com. Thank you for supporting YHC!
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Please support YHC and help us build community
We think that there's more to being nonreligious than what you don't believe, and that nonreligious people deserve to have access to the same kinds of support and resources as religious people.
If you share this conviction, or if you just enjoy our events and programs, please dig deep and donate to support us in sustaining and growing a diverse community for atheists, agnostics, and Humanists at Yale and beyond.
As a new, small, and rapidly growing organization, this is an important moment for YHC, and we need your support. And as a 501(c)(3), YHC relies completely on your donations -- with no financial support or benefits from Yale University. To donate, please click here.
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Stay Connected
 
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Weekly Schedule
You can get involved in YHC just about any day of the week! In addition to guest lecturers and various collaborative events with faith communities, we host regular weekly and monthly events. Below is a day by day break down. Click here to learn more about these ongoing events and programs, and click here to see our calendar.
First Sunday of each month Location: Email for details Who: Open to the public Mondays
Weekly Location: The Grove Who: Open to the public
Tuesdays
Weekly
Location: YHC Office at The Grove or Davenport College
Who: Open to the public
Weekly Who: Undergraduate and graduate students only
Fourth Tuesday of each month
Location: The Grove
Who: Open to the public
Wednesdays Weekly Location: Yale Divinity School
Who: YDS students
First Wednesday of each month
Location: The Grove
Who: Open to the public
8 meetings from January to May on Wednesday evenings Location: The Grove
Who: Open to the public
Thursdays
Weekly
Location: YHC Office at The Grove or Davenport College
Who: Open to the public
Weekly Location: Timothy Dwight Who: Undergrad students only 7 PM: Interfaith dialogue and community service event with Saint Thomas More and other faith communities Bi-monthly Location: Saint Thomas More
Who: Undergraduate and graduate students only
7 PM: Guest lecturers
Several times per semester (This month: 2/5)
Location: Yale
Who: Open to the public
Fridays
Third Friday of each month Who: Open to the public
To learn more, click here or check out our calendar!
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Weekly student meetings for undergrads and YDS students
Undergraduate students can join the Yale Atheists, Humanists,  and Agnostics for dinner every Thursday at 6 PM in Timothy Dwight College.
Graduate students: See below for details about our monthly events. And if you're at the Divinity School, don't miss the Open Party's weekly lunch meetings on Wednesdays at 12:30 PM! Email us for location details.
What: Student meals
When: Wednesdays and Thursdays
Where: Timothy Dwight/YDS
Who: Undergraduate and graduate students only
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Monthly young adult pub night and board game night
YHC's group for graduate students, professionals, and young adults now hosts two events every month! The first is a pub night, every third Friday of the month at 8 PM at Firehouse 12. The other is a board game night, every first Sunday of the month at 6 PM. The board game night is BYOB, and we will order food when people arrive -- plan on contributing $5 if you are eating. For details, email Wendy Webber at wwebber@gmail.com.
What: Young Adult, Graduate Student, and Professionals events
When: First Sunday and third Friday
Where: Firehouse 12 and East Rock
Who: Graduate students, young adults, and professionals
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How do you deal with the pressure to achieve?
Looking for a space to discuss how Humanists deal with tragedy and  celebrate joy? Join our Programs and Counseling Intern Olga Verbeek and Executive Director Chris Stedman for the Practical Humanism Discussion Group. This month, we will discuss pressure (April 8) and equality, injustice, and prejudices (April 22).
Meetings are free and open to the public, and include pizza and beverages. (Donations welcome.) Click here to get all of the details about each meeting -- and be sure to save the rest of the discussion meeting dates in your calendar!
What: Practical Humanism Discussion Group
When: Various Wednesdays, 7 PM
Where: The Grove (760 Chapel Street)
Who: Open to the public
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Get involved: Join YHC's Community Life Committee!
Want to help YHC plan  community service events, invite speakers, educate the broader community about Humanism, or organize Humanist Haven? Get involved in this committee, which meets just once a month, and work to shape the direction of YHC's programs!
The committee meets at The Grove (760 Chapel Street in New Haven) at 6 PM on the first Wednesday of every month. Click here to learn more and get involved.
What: Community Life Committee
When: Wednesday, April 1, 6 PM
Where: The Grove (760 Chapel Street)
Who: Open to the public
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Struggling with addiction?
Weekly YHC support group
Are you struggling with addictive behaviors? We host a weekly SMART Recovery support group meeting every Monday at 6:30 PM in at The Grove. The goal of SMART, which stands for Self-Management and Recovery Training, is to provide quality support and community for individuals struggling with addictive behaviors -- and a nontheistic alternative to twelve-step programs, which rely heavily on God and Christian theology. People of all faiths and beliefs are welcome to attend.
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From our partners
Applied Sentience: March posts from Yale writers
Check out March's posts written for Applied Sentience by Yale-affiliated writers!
By Aaron Gertler
In the second part of his series on the future of education, Aaron discusses the importance of perspective taking and a range of ideas for lesson plans that classrooms could develop.
By Heather Yaden Melanie Brewster, Prof. of Psychology at Columbia and speaker during our own Humanism at Yale Week, discusses her experiences coming out of the closet as a lesbian and an atheist. By Mesha Arant Mesha Arant interviews Prof. of Religion Anthony Pinn about his recent talk at YHC's Humanist Haven and the need for a place in the Humanist Community for African Americans transitioning away from religion.
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