@ethicalfocus
A dynamic community in Teaneck NJ providing weekly ethical enrichment and discussions, friendship and socializing, ethical education for children, and a thriving social action calendar.
Much of life unfolds in ways we never planned or cannot control. Wisdom traditions urge us to learn the difference between what we can change and what we must accept.
Leader Curt Collier explores that tension: Where are the real limits of our control—and where do we have more agency than we think?
Why is housing so hard to build in Northern New Jersey?
Zoning, density, and development policy play a big role.
Housing expert Esther Sandrof explores how the YIMBY movement argues that smart, inclusive development can expand housing and strengthen communities.
Sun Mar 8 • 11 am
Teaneck NJ & Zoom
Maybe another Sunday!
Stay after the Gathering for philosophy and soup.
Dr. Dennis Klein explores what Viktor Frankl can teach us about meaning in an age of distraction and a crisis of mattering.
First Sundays through June 7.
Soup and roll (veg available) $6.
In person in Teaneck NJ.
Step inside the hidden worlds revealed by modern biology.
Hear what’s happening in real labs and how emerging scientists make sense of the living systems around us. Curiosity in action. Big questions.
In person in Teaneck NJ and Zoom.
Email admin@ethicalfocus.org for the Zoom link.
This is our new bulletin board tracking 250 Acts of Democracy, Compassion, and Kindness over the next year.
Already, it’s filling up with letters from nonprofits who received our care packages.
We’ll update the board each month as the acts add up. 💛
Stay tuned.
Pi Day Party!
March 14 (3.14) • 6–8:30 pm
Parabolic art, build-your-own pizza pi, sweet dessert pi sampling, pi-throwing, and a fast-paced Triominos tournament (7+).
Hands-on math, art & family fun supporting science literacy and community connection.
$10 • Teaneck, NJ
Come ready to play!
Dead plants. Why do they matter? 🌿
Megan R. King of the Rutgers Chrysler Herbarium talks herbaria. Centuries-old plant specimens now support research on climate change, biodiversity, evolution, and conservation.
Feb 22 • 11 am
Teaneck NJ & Zoom
admin@ethicalfocus.org for the Zoom link.
Members of the Ethical Culture Society of Bergen County join the Visibility Brigade, spelling out RESIST.
In moments of national crisis, people need “social proof” to break through normalcy and act.
Today’s speaker, Dana Glazer, a leader in the Visibility Brigade (370 chapters nationwide), explains how.
In person & on Zoom.
Email admin@ethicalfocus.org
by noon Friday for the link. #joinordie
Here's a video of the event www.youtube.com/watch?v=83mU...
Gödel’s incompleteness theorems showed that no powerful formal system can be both complete and consistent. Some took this as support for mystical or theological claims beyond proof.
We'll explore what incompleteness really means.
Teaneck NJ and Zoom
Email admin@ethicalfocus.org for Zoom link
It was great! Thanks for sharing!
What turns an ordinary life into one of activism?
What keeps you going?
Panel conversation of 2 extraordinary activists:
> Loretta Weinberg, former NJ State Senate Majority Leader
> Paula Rogovin, educator and advocate
Teaneck NJ & Zoom
#joinordie #Activism
Help raise science literacy in our community.
Hands-on science literacy this winter & spring. Support curiosity, critical thinking, and confidence w/science.
>> Fridays, 2–5 pm
>> Jan 23–May 29
>> Teaneck, NJ
ethicalfocus.org/science-lite...
#ScienceLiteracy #LifelongLearning #joinordie
Erich Fromm's “Escape from Freedom“: we retreat b/c of isolation. Let's analyze w/neuroscience; how can we have his "positive freedom" today.
Please register to receive the Zoom link:
us02web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
"Keeping Activism Alive," will now be Feb. 1 on Zoom & Teaneck NJ
#joinordie
A monthly serving of philosophy & soup.
12:45 pm in Teaneck NJ and Zoom.
Feb. 1: “Feeling Incomplete”
March 1: Special guest Dr. Dennis Klein: “Advice from Viktor Frankl"
April 5: “Ho-Hum about Hegel?”
May 3: “High on Haidt’s Moral Foundations”
June 7: “The Joys of Bureaucracy”
#joinordie
Longtime activists Loretta Weinberg and Paula Rogovin @paularogovin.bsky.social come together for a candid conversation about what drives a life of action.
Moderated by our Social Action Committee Chair, Lisa Schwartz.
Teaneck NJ and Zoom. Email admin@ethicalfocus.org for the Zoom link.
Join us to take action for global human rights defenders. All letter writing supplies will be provided.
SUNDAY, JANUARY 25, 2026 at 1:00pm
Following the weekly 11am Sunday Gathering
For more information contact northjerseyaiusa@gmail.com @amnestynorthjersey write.amnestyusa.org
Support Librarians!
Tomorrow, Sun Jan. 18, volunteer to help organize materials, sort supplies, etc to write letters of support for libraries facing pressure to ban books.
We have a clear checklist if you want to help.
Contact info@ethicalfocus.org
Dr. King warned that education must teach critical thinking and character. Today, the free flow of information is under threat.
Join us to assemble support packages for librarians, environmental groups, and science educators facing censorship. All ages welcome.
In person only.
Curt’s excellent discussion on tribalism is now live on YouTube at: youtu.be/XzMv0ni8FVw
YIMBY (Yes, In My Backyard) advocates for smart, inclusive development.
Esther Sandrof will explore how pro-development policies can enhance the character of our towns while making them resilient, equitable, and environmentally sustainable.
Teaneck NJ & Zoom.
Leader Curt Collier will ask: What drives our tribal instincts? How do they influence our behavior in social environments? And most importantly, how can we harness these tendencies not only to support our own groups, but to extend genuine care and solidarity to others?
Teaneck NJ & Zoom.
What’s on your night table or e-reader?
What have you just finished reading?
On Sunday, name your recent favorites, perhaps read a paragraph that moves you, or come to get ideas for your next book to read.
Teaneck NJ & Zoom. ethicalfocus.org/events for more info.
As winter begins, we pause for quiet reflection.
The shortest day of the year invites us to look back. And ahead.
What hopes are you carrying into the coming year?
In person in Teaneck NJ and Zoom. Email admin@ethicalfocus.org for the Zoom link.
Euclides Dos Santos Bento shares memories of his UN peacekeeping in Haiti.
As a Brazilian Military Police corporal, he led efforts to maintain order and provide food. Haitians still greet Brazilians as bon bagay (“good friend”).
Sun Dec 14, 11 am
Teaneck NJ or Zoom; admin@ethicalfocus.org for link
The story of our universe, from the birth of stars to the evolution of life, is often told as a sequence of dry facts.
We'll explore the origins of life on Earth celebrating the beauty to be alive on this rare, living planet.
Teaneck NJ & Zoom. Email admin@ethicalfocus.org for the Zoom link.
Join a night of merriment, music & fun. Wear your fav ugly sweater to win a prize.
3-7pm. 687 Larch Av, Teaneck NJ
$10.00 per person. Apps and dessert served. Bring a fav app or Xmas cookies.
BYOB. (No hard alcohol.)
RSVP by Dec 8 to LavenderTreks@gmail.com
That was a fun trip to the Planetarium.