The venue for our regular monthly meetings is usually The Vestry Hall, Paradise Road, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 1SA. There is a £2 charge for these meetings to help cover venue costs. Other events are detailed on Meetup and may have a separate charge and booking process. (other venues are sometimes used so please check the website for notices and Meetup for up to date information)
To get an idea of the topics we've been discussing since our launch in 2007, take a look at the list below.
Just turn up for coffee and a chat. Usually about a dozen people come along.
Coffee mornings are on the second Thursday of the month, 11am at the Rose Theatre Cafe, 24-26 High Street, Kingston Upon Thames KT1 1HL. (When the Rose Theatre Cafe has an academic function taking place in August, we'll arrange an alternative venue).
First Sunday of each month at The Fox, 39 Church Street, Twickenham TW1 3NR. This is a pleasant old pub with good food at reasonable prices. Come along for lunch at 12.00 or just for a drink and to meet like-minded people.
For those who find mobility a challenge in getting to the Kingston coffee mornings. Volunteer drivers collect/return members to their homes. The coffee mornings take place around every other month, Different members of the group - which is open to all who wish to join in - offer coffee and a simple biscuit in their homes, and we circulate the venues. They’re proving a great success.
A group of us have been volunteering to help provide Sunday lunches for homeless people in Richmond. This is run in collaboration with the local Unitarian Church.
Once a month we arrange a walk in and around South West London. The walks are usually easy to medium in difficulty and length, see Meetup for details of each walk or contact Veronica at veronica@swlhumanists.org.uk
We contribute to the Kingston and Richmond "Standing Advisory
Committee on Religious Education" (SACRE) and visit local schools. More information
Running stalls at local fairs, and raffles at Group events, to raise money for our selected charities.
We also contribute to the Richmond Inter Faith
Forum and the Kingston Inter Faith Forum.
We support Humanists UK campaigns to counter religious privilege in areas such as education (for example, opposition to faith-based admissions to state-funded schools), bishops in the House of Lords and resistance to the introduction of Creationism and Intelligent Design into science lessons.
Discussions
Should humanists eat meat?
Pros & Cons of the Arms Trade
Tax
Havens
Sikhism
London's Housing Crisis
Experiences of Humanist Pastoral Support in Prisons & Hospitals
Climate Change
Intelligent Machines & Ethical Humans
'Death Matters'- what does death mean to Humanists?
Faith to Faithless - supporting people who have left a faith
Early
humans
"I don't know much about art, but…."- sharing of favourite books, film clips, paintings, photographs...
Humanism, Parliament & Government
The Big Change in Religion & Belief in Britain – a Humanist Response
The Black Atheist experience
"Effective Altruism"
Where do Morals come from?
What is lost without religion? Can Humanism fill the gap?
The God Delusion - is it a help or a hindrance to Humanism?
Climate Change – An Inconvenient Truth” including extracts from Al Gore’s film
Humanism: what’s it all about?
Humanism and Religion: hostility in principle, or understanding and cooperation where values are shared?
Can Humanists be Spiritual?
Africa - Is it just a basket case?
What is our moral responsibility to future generations? What does that imply for sustainable living in practice?
The Ethics of Eating
What is our moral responsibility to future generations? What does that imply for sustainable living in practice?
Under what circumstances, if any, should religious clothing or symbols be banned?
Health Rationing: What are the ethical and other implications of the growing tension between the limited funds available for health care and the growing demands of medical advances and an ageing population?
The afterlife, what's the point?
What’s happening in our schools?
The Death Taboo
Should drugs be legalised?
How can humanists help the environment? And why should they?
What is Humanism for?
I don’t know much about art but….
The Spirit Level
Should Humanists be Pacifists?
Ethical consumerism
The decline in violence – based on Stephen
Pinker book 'The Better Angels of our Nature"
What are the limits to freedom of expression?
The Refugee Crisis: why not open the country's doors to anyone who wants to come in?
We don't have a speaker at every meeting, but also use video and other means to inform discussions. Speakers have included:
Dr.Helena Cronin
Tom Copley
Charanjit & Ajit Singh
Amy Walden
George Zarkadakis
Aliyah Saleem, Imtiaz Shams
Prof Chris Stringer
Clive Aruede, Lola Timbu
Jim Herrick - "The history and origins of Humanism"
Frances Brodrick - "The Poppy Project"
Angela Phipps - "The Experiences of a Humanist Celebrant"
Marilyn Mason (former BHA Educaiton Officer) - "Humanism & Education"
Hamish MacPherson - "Approaches to Interfaith Dialogue"
Davina Hehir - “Dignity in Dying”
Fr David Standley (Roman Catholic) - “Is the Good Life Possible without God?”
Dr Audrey Cantlie (SOAS) - “Ritual: Are the Non-Religious Missing Out?”
Sarah Edwards - “Practical Action” (supported charity)
Celebrants Jim Trimmer and Rosemary Taylorson - “A Humanist Approach to Ceremony”
Dr Rachel Perkins (Director of Quality Assurance and User Experience at the SW London & St George's Mental Health Trust)and Dr Chris Gilleard (Director of Psychology and Psychotherapy) - "Happiness is Overrated"
Professor John Clarke (Emeritus Professor of the History of Ideas at Kingston University) - "Ancient Chinese philosophy: a humanism for our time?"
Bob Churchill (British Humanist Association) - "Local humanist groups & related developments"
Maryam Namazie (One Law for All campaign) - “Sharia versus Human Rights”
Steve Hurd - "Secular schools in Uganda"
Prof Richard Norman - “Humanism and the Arts”
Rabbi Danny Rich (Chief Executive of Liberal Judaism in the UK)
Andrew Copson (Chief Executive of the British Humanist Association)
Ben Siegle (Head of Ceremonies at the British Humanist Association)
David Brazier (Head of the Amida Trust) - “What can Humanism learn from Buddhism?”
Keith Porteous-Wood (Executive Director National Secular Society)
Prof Richard Norman - "How can humanists help make the world fairer? And why should they?"
Dr Matthew Engelke - "An anthropologist’s look at Humanism" (including SWLH)
Bob Churchill - International Humanist & Ethical Union
David Pollock (former President EHF) - “Against the Odds - Battling for Humanism in Europe”
Bryan Tully - “What is neuro-philosophy and does it have anything to teach us?”
Naseer Dean, Shakeel Ahmad - Ahmadiyya Islam
Thomas Dixon - "Evolution versus Creationism: A Very American Conflict?”
The venue for our regular monthly meetings is usually The Vestry Hall, Paradise Road, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 1SA. There is a £2 charge for these meetings to help cover venue costs. Other events are detailed on Meetup and may have a separate charge and booking process.
