Bedfordshire Humanists

Meetings schedule - Suspended

It will come as no surprise that our meetings are suspended until futher notice. At this point it is impossible to guess when we'll be in a position to continue. We'll post information here if things change, and it will be in our newsletter "The Bedfordshire Sceptic" (which contains lots of information to keep you occupied), which is still being pubished each week. To subscribe to the newsletter go to our Skeptics in the Pub site here.

Whilst, as a small association, we are probably 'out of scope' of the 2018 'General Data Protection Regulations' we still think it right to take the opportunity to put a policy in place.

Our full Data Protection policy document can be downloaded here.

We are delighted to report that at the SACRE meeting on 15th November 2016, Charles Baily was accepted as a co-opted member. This means that our views can now be formally expressed as part of the Committee's proceedings. However, due to the wording of the local constitution we cannot be enrolled on any of the four sub-committees which form the 'electoral college', so we have no vote.

For a Humanist perspective on the events of the day, I'd highly recommend this Blog, written by a local Humanist:

http://www.human-eyes.co.uk/

Another blog, Diary of Dogma, again written locally tilts at the excesses of religion:

https://diaryofdogma.wordpress.com/

Bedford 'Skeptics in the Pub' is going from strength to strength. Events are held monthly on the 3rd Thursday. Arrive at 7pm for 7.30pm start.

Please check for the latest information on the next meeting and to check the venue, see  bedford.skepticsinthepub.org

Bedfordshire Humanists joined family and friends on 17th November 2015 to say goodbye to Peggy Simmons (3 December 1923 - 8 November 2015).

Peggy was a founder member of Bedfordshire Humanists.

It was fitting that the celebrant was David Brittain, a fellow founding member who said of her "She was ... surprising, shocking, thoughtful, funny, compassionate, kind, creative, amazing and wonderful, and all those qualities that mark out a well rounded and complete Human being. There was also a warmth about her, a sense of concern about her world, about society, and about the people in it. She will be remembered for her infectious sense of boundless enthusiasm – of a lust for life that would rival a twenty year old, and which never really expired until her last days."

One of our members, and local Celebrant David Brittain forwarded this touching item which we're delighted to publish. Be sure to click on Read More to see the whole piece.

In tribute to the late Chris Black, who's Humanist funeral took place at Bedford Crematorium on the 13th August 2014, his grandson (and Young Humanist) Jacob Shale, of Plantsbrook School in Sutton Coldfield composed this wonderful poem in his memory:

The Splendour of the Naked Sky

Meddling hands,
Tending out the beauty of a towering rose
That yet cowers before the wild flower,
Growing prouder and taller,

Magnificent without the Gardener's touch
But both in time,
Blacken and perish and blow away,
And though the silent wind will carry both off,

The wild flower owned itself,

The census results, of course, are deeply interesting to Bedfordshire Humanists… Well no, that’s a lie. We are deeply interested in one question, the one about religious affiliation. This is the census figure that the government has used in the past to justify their faith based polices, the ones that we oppose on the grounds of social integration, fairness, equality, democracy and not to mention plain old common sense. And we’ll leave for now the issue of whether the results actually measure what they claim to measure.

Here I’m focusing on those faith categories with the lower numbers of adherents.

We non-believers have a reputation for being against things.

We’re against Bishops in the House of Lords. We’re against faith schools. We’re against this and we’re against that. Boy, are we against a lot.

It is easy to think that we are against everything and not for anything. The truth is, we are for things, too. In fact, we’re for lots and lots and lots. Let’s list some of the things we’re for…