Humanism in Action

Humanism in Action - panel Q&A Personal stories from panel members Nick Schweitzer, Barb Park and Bob Park Sept. 19, 2026
01 Author of plays reflecting humanist values 02 Is a social activist through music 03 Was an assistant professor of mathematics at a predominantly Black college in the deep south, Tougaloo College 04 Host for two years of an atheist/agnostic/humanist/skeptic/freethinker table at the Madison Farmers Market 05 Joined the last day of Martin Luther King's March on Montgomery 06 Was arrested with hundreds of other Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party volunteers for parading without a permit 07 Had a medical career that included biking between buildings through underground tunnels 08 Chose a public sector career as an environmental engineer 09 In the 1960s attended an integrated Unitarian church in the deep south and had dinner with the minister weeks before he was shot and wounded 10 Taught in a Freedom School in Jackson Mississippi in 1965 11 Host for three years of a science and reason booth at the Dane County Fair 12 Mentored an unmarried relative a when she was a first time mother, through IVF 13 Arranged for author of UUA pamphlet "The Faith of a Humanist" to speak at Prairie (on "Spirituality Without God" e.g.) 14 Gave presention on "IHEU, Voice for Humanist Values at the UN and Around the World for 50 Years" to a group in Sauk City (IHEU now named Humanists International) 15 Entered a humanist essay contest run by the United Coalition of Reason preceding publication of the book Good Without God: What a Billion Nonreligious People Do Believe by Greg Epstein 16 Helped lead a discussion on "Good without God: Greg Epstein and the new humanism" after hearing Harvard Humanist Chaplain Epstein speak at the 2010 General Assembly in Minneapolis 17 Instigated Building a Peaceful Tomorrow - An Interfaith Conference sponsored by Prairie, the Madison Friends Meeting, and 10 other faith groups 18 Posts protest march videos on YouTube 19 Installer of five different science exhibits along bike paths in Madison including: a set of signs depicting the solar system running 26 miles from Monona Terrace to Mt. Horeb, and a quarter-mile set of signs representing geological time. 20 Organized a Nonbelievers of Greater Madison Spring Family Picnic 21 Attended the American Humanist Association 70th Anniversary Conference April 7-10, 2011, in Cambridge MA 22 Served for years on the National Ski Patrol 23 Brought Humanism Today to the airwaves 24 Created a website for Freethought Festival 2012 on the UW campus 25 Created and maintains a website for the Raging Grannies of Madison 26 Compiler of The Freethought Bible (ask for a copy) 27 Installed a solar clothes dryer 28 Installed several rain barrels to reduce need for city water in gardens 29 Helped to organize Sunday Assembly Madison 30 Was a speaker for Sunday Assembly Madison on "Your Place in the Cosmos" 31 Promotes a sense of awe about our universe through astrophotography 32 Visited college campuses around Wisconsin promoting Ralph Nader's student funded public interest research idea 33 Became a trained volunteer for a telephone help service, the Madison Rap Center, founded by FUS member Dick Goldberg 34 Negotiated the return to the U.S. of a friend who had fled to Canada after taking records from a local draft board during the VietNam war 35 Served as program organizer for HUM for 15 years 36 Received a request from a UU minister for advice on how to start a humanist group 37 Volunteer organizer of a library of books for children that connect them with nature 38 Gets around town by bicycle, weather permitting 39 Bought a plug-in Prius to reduce impact on the global climate crisis 40 Lived in a rural commune 41 Made multiple trips to another state to assist ailing parents 42 Got Fred Edwords to present a Prairie Sunday service in 2011: "A Humanist Look at Myth, Symbol, and Art" mp3 43 Got Howard Katz to present a Prairie Sunday service in 2012: "Inside Humanism Today" mp3 44 Got Mary Beth O'Halloran to present a Prairie Sunday service in 2017: "Humanism 101" 45 Hosted an informal panel of humanists for a Q&A session with Eugenie Scott, Executive Director of the National Center for Science Education, in his/her home 46 Spoke to humanists about Rabbi Michael Lerner's Keynote Address in Madison on Taking Our Country Back From the Religious Right 47 Spoke to humanists about The End of Faith by Sam Harris 48 Spoke about a presentation to the American Humanist Association's annual conference titled Humanism and UUism: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly 49 Spoke to humanists about Out of the Flames by Lawrence & Nancy Goldstone, a book about the life of Michael Servetus 50 Gave a report to humanists on the 2017 Women's March in Madison 51 Provided website support in 2001 to DOERS (Doers Offering Emergency Relief Support), a Madison group providing aid to refugees in Afghanistan through the Mennonite Central Committee 52 Created a website for the Humanist Union of Madison showing the meetings it has held from 2004 to the present 53 Created a website for the Prairie Social Action Committee 54 Created the Solar Owner News website to provide info about local solar energy installations 55 Set up website for the Madison Area Coalition of Reason 56 Uses locally grown vegetables through CSA membership 57 Serves on a local community garden board 58 Cans tomato sauce made from locally grown tomatoes for use year round 59 Joined the Wind Energy Society of America to promote the use of renewable energy sources 60 Joined Wind Watts, an effort to promote home wind-powered generators 61 Past president and current board member of the Free Congregation of Sauk County 62 Board member of the American Humanist Society's Center for Freethought Equality 63 Member of the International Association for Religious Freedom (IARF) 64 Member for years of the American Humanist Association, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the Unitarian Universalist Association, the National Center for Science Education, the Freethought Society, the Freedom from Religion Foundation, American Atheists, and the Secular Coalition for America 65 Leader of SCWFFRF (the South-Central Wisconsin chapter of FFRF) 66 Member of American Humanist Association, Doctors Without Borders, No More Deaths, The Nature Conservancy 67 Member of the American Humanist Association, A.J. Muste Foundation, American Civil Liberties Union, American Friends Service Committee, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Amnesty International, Brady Campaign, Brennan Center for Justice, Center for Victims of Torture, Doctors Without Borders, Family Diversity Projects, Fellowship of Reconciliation, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Government Accountability Project, Human Rights Campaign, Human Rights Watch, Interfaith Alliance, International Campaign for Tibet, Lambda Legal, Natural Resources Defense Council, No More Deaths, Oxfam, People for the American Way, PFLAG, Public Citizen, Rosenberg Fund for Children, Secular Coalition for America, Southern Poverty Law Center, The Trevor Project, Union of Concerned Scientists, USA for UNHCR

Humanism in Action - panel Q&A
Personal stories from panel members Nick Schweitzer, Barb Park and Bob Park
Sept. 19, 2026

01 Author of plays reflecting humanist values
02 Is a social activist through music
03 Was an assistant professor of mathematics at a predominantly Black college in the deep south, Tougaloo College
04 Host for two years of an atheist/agnostic/humanist/skeptic/freethinker table at the Madison Farmers Market
05 Joined the last day of Martin Luther King's March on Montgomery
06 Was arrested with hundreds of other Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party volunteers for parading without a permit
07 Had a medical career that included biking between buildings through underground tunnels
08 Chose a public sector career as an environmental engineer
09 In the 1960s attended an integrated Unitarian church in the deep south and had dinner with the minister weeks before he was shot and wounded
10 Taught in a Freedom School in Jackson Mississippi in 1965
11 Host for three years of a science and reason booth at the Dane County Fair
12 Mentored an unmarried relative a when she was a first time mother, through IVF
13 Arranged for author of UUA pamphlet "The Faith of a Humanist" to speak at Prairie (on "Spirituality Without God" e.g.)
14 Gave presention on "IHEU, Voice for Humanist Values at the UN and Around the World for 50 Years" to a group in Sauk City (IHEU now named Humanists International)
15 Entered a humanist essay contest run by the United Coalition of Reason preceding publication of the book Good Without God: What a Billion Nonreligious People Do Believe by Greg Epstein
16 Helped lead a discussion on "Good without God: Greg Epstein and the new humanism" after hearing Harvard Humanist Chaplain Epstein speak at the 2010 General Assembly in Minneapolis
17 Instigated Building a Peaceful Tomorrow - An Interfaith Conference sponsored by Prairie, the Madison Friends Meeting, and 10 other faith groups
18 Posts protest march videos on YouTube
19 Installer of five different science exhibits along bike paths in Madison including: a set of signs depicting the solar system running 26 miles from Monona Terrace to Mt. Horeb, and a quarter-mile set of signs representing geological time.
20 Organized a Nonbelievers of Greater Madison Spring Family Picnic
21 Attended the American Humanist Association 70th Anniversary Conference April 7-10, 2011, in Cambridge MA
22 Served for years on the National Ski Patrol
23 Brought Humanism Today to the airwaves
24 Created a website for Freethought Festival 2012 on the UW campus
25 Created and maintains a website for the Raging Grannies of Madison
26 Compiler of The Freethought Bible (ask for a copy)
27 Installed a solar clothes dryer
28 Installed several rain barrels to reduce need for city water in gardens
29 Helped to organize Sunday Assembly Madison
30 Was a speaker for Sunday Assembly Madison on "Your Place in the Cosmos"
31 Promotes a sense of awe about our universe through astrophotography
32 Visited college campuses around Wisconsin promoting Ralph Nader's student funded public interest research idea
33 Became a trained volunteer for a telephone help service, the Madison Rap Center, founded by FUS member Dick Goldberg
34 Negotiated the return to the U.S. of a friend who had fled to Canada after taking records from a local draft board during the VietNam war
35 Served as program organizer for HUM for 15 years
36 Received a request from a UU minister for advice on how to start a humanist group
37 Volunteer organizer of a library of books for children that connect them with nature
38 Gets around town by bicycle, weather permitting
39 Bought a plug-in Prius to reduce impact on the global climate crisis
40 Lived in a rural commune
41 Made multiple trips to another state to assist ailing parents
42 Got Fred Edwords to present a Prairie Sunday service in 2011: "A Humanist Look at Myth, Symbol, and Art" mp3
43 Got Howard Katz to present a Prairie Sunday service in 2012: "Inside Humanism Today" mp3
44 Got Mary Beth O'Halloran to present a Prairie Sunday service in 2017: "Humanism 101"
45 Hosted an informal panel of humanists for a Q&A session with Eugenie Scott, Executive Director of the National Center for Science Education, in his/her home
46 Spoke to humanists about Rabbi Michael Lerner's Keynote Address in Madison on Taking Our Country Back From the Religious Right
47 Spoke to humanists about The End of Faith by Sam Harris
48 Spoke about a presentation to the American Humanist Association's annual conference titled Humanism and UUism: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
49 Spoke to humanists about Out of the Flames by Lawrence & Nancy Goldstone, a book about the life of Michael Servetus
50 Gave a report to humanists on the 2017 Women's March in Madison
51 Provided website support in 2001 to DOERS (Doers Offering Emergency Relief Support), a Madison group providing aid to refugees in Afghanistan through the Mennonite Central Committee
52 Created a website for the Humanist Union of Madison showing the meetings it has held from 2004 to the present
53 Created a website for the Prairie Social Action Committee
54 Created the Solar Owner News website to provide info about local solar energy installations
55 Set up website for the Madison Area Coalition of Reason
56 Uses locally grown vegetables through CSA membership
57 Serves on a local community garden board
58 Cans tomato sauce made from locally grown tomatoes for use year round
59 Joined the Wind Energy Society of America to promote the use of renewable energy sources
60 Joined Wind Watts, an effort to promote home wind-powered generators
61 Past president and current board member of the Free Congregation of Sauk County
62 Board member of the American Humanist Society's Center for Freethought Equality
63 Member of the International Association for Religious Freedom (IARF)
64 Member for years of the American Humanist Association, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the Unitarian Universalist Association, the National Center for Science Education, the Freethought Society, the Freedom from Religion Foundation, American Atheists, and the Secular Coalition for America
65 Leader of SCWFFRF (the South-Central Wisconsin chapter of FFRF)
66 Member of American Humanist Association, Doctors Without Borders, No More Deaths, The Nature Conservancy
67 Member of the American Humanist Association, A.J. Muste Foundation, American Civil Liberties Union, American Friends Service Committee, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Amnesty International, Brady Campaign, Brennan Center for Justice, Center for Victims of Torture, Doctors Without Borders, Family Diversity Projects, Fellowship of Reconciliation, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Government Accountability Project, Human Rights Campaign, Human Rights Watch, Interfaith Alliance, International Campaign for Tibet, Lambda Legal, Natural Resources Defense Council, No More Deaths, Oxfam, People for the American Way, PFLAG, Public Citizen, Rosenberg Fund for Children, Secular Coalition for America, Southern Poverty Law Center, The Trevor Project, Union of Concerned Scientists, USA for UNHCR