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June 1, 2026
Humanist Happenings: News, Views & Events
☀️ Dear fellow Humanists,
As summer is knocking on our door, we're pleased to offer you a wide range of options to spend this June in full energy. From several events, such as our monthly webinar, virtual hangouts and celebration of the solstice to a new episode of our Choice Chat podcast, a Blog Post by the ED and a new poem by our member and sibling Craig Barlow, we wish you a happy summer and a happy Pride Month. 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
The Humanist Canada Team
Inspiring progress. Advancing Humanism.
Actualités humanistes: Actualités, opinions et événements
☀️ Chères et chers humanistes,
Alors que l'été approche petit-à-petit, nous sommes ravi.e.s de vous proposer un large éventail d'activités pour passer un mois de juin en pleine forme. Qu'il s'agisse de nos nombreux événements, tels que notre webinaire mensuel, nos rencontres virtuelles et célébration du solstice, ou encore d'un nouvel épisode de notre podcast « Choice Chat », d'un « Blog Post » rédigé par notre Directrice exécutive et d'un nouveau poème de notre membre et frère Craig Barlow, nous vous souhaitons un bel été et un joyeux Mois des fiertés. 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
L’équipe d’Humaniste Canada
Inspirer le progrès. Faire avancer l’humanisme.
Message from the Executive Director:
Living Your Values Intentionally
By Janalee Morris
The other day, one of our dedicated members, Craig Barlow, reached out to share a deeply moving reflection with me. He had been reading an article titled How to Lead a More Intentional Life in 2026, which prompted him to look back on the final days of his late wife, Rhoda.
With his permission, I want to share a piece of what Craig wrote, because it strikes at the very heart of what it means to live a meaningful, humanist life:
“In the last month of my wife's life, I and her son noticed that her personality shone bright. I think it was so because Rhoda to the very end was living intentionally her values and she was becoming a better person as she was dying. I think this is what she was advising me to do when she said 'Live Fully.' To live fully is to live your values intentionally so they become lived virtues that shine. One of my values is to convert Net Worth into Social Worth. I know when I do this I feel good, I shine within when I intentionally do the right thing.”
Rhoda’s final advice—to live fully—is a beautiful distillation of intentional living. As author Audrey Stanton wrote earlier this year, “Intentional living means understanding your fundamental beliefs and values and then actively living your life in line with those values” (2026).
But how do we do that in a world that rarely asks us to pause and reflect?
Every like, share, comment, repost, and bookmark helps expand our reach and increases the chances that our content is seen by people beyond our existing audience. That means more people discovering humanism, learning about our organization, and exploring a meaningful alternative to religious belief systems!
If our work resonates with you, please consider engaging with our content and amplifying humanism across Canada.
Check our social media pages below:
Humanist Canada Events
June Webinar: Living Humanist Values: A conversation with Johanna Schwartz and Nick Papai
📅 Wednesday, June 10th | 🕖 7:00 PM EDT |📍Zoom
Johanna and Nick embody humanist values in their work and lives. Their coffee shop, Congress Coffee, is a community hub and live music venue that uses coffee as the support structure for a creative space. It exists to say ‘yes’ to a wide array of communities, welcoming neighbours, artists and activists, and invites everyone to imprint their purpose into Congress’ identity. Through this structure, Congress has become an irreverent, quirky, friendly “third space.”
Join Janalee Morris, Executive Director of Humanist Canada, every third Monday of the month for an informal chat on Zoom.
Summer Solstice and Celebration of Ritual Without Religion: A Humanist Guide to Creating Secular Ceremonies by Megan Sheldon
📅 Tuesday, June 16th | 🕖 4 PM PST / 7 PM EST |📍Zoom
Humanist Canada invites you to a virtual celebration of Ritual Without Religion: A Humanist Guide to Creating Secular Ceremonies by Megan Sheldon.
Megan is a cultural mythologist, humanist celebrant, end-of-life doula, and co-founder of Be Ceremonial — the world's first guided ritual and ceremony platform. With hundreds of ceremonies crafted for life's major passages and the "seemingly invisible moments of change," Megan has dedicated her work to reclaiming our human birthright of creating universal ritual that is accessible and meaningful.
Join us for an evening that includes a reading and conversation with Megan about the book and what it offers, community sharing and connection with fellow humanists, and a virtual ritual to welcome this book into the world.
Whether you're a celebrant, a humanist, or simply someone who believes that life's moments deserve to be marked with intention — this evening is for you.
My name is Jameson, and I'm reaching out to gauge interest in forming a Humanist Chapter here in Nova Scotia. Whether we meet in person, virtually, or some combination of both, I believe there's real value in having a local home for humanist conversation and community.
I’m personally to drawn Humanism for its emphasis on reason, compassion, and living a meaningful life grounded in humanity and dignity rather than dogma. For a long time I've wished there was a local community to connect with, share ideas, and support one another. That’s why I’ve expressed interest with Humanist Canada in starting a provincial chapter. I also have a physical space we can use called The Wellington Gathering Grove. It’s a small former United Church that my spouse and I are transforming into a non-religious community hall - situated about 35 minutes from Halifax and 10 minutes from the airport.
Before any formal steps or commitment, our Humanist Canada Executive Director, Janalee Morris, recommends we first bring together anyone who's interested in an initial conversation to talk about interest, what a local chapter might look like, and whether establishing one officially makes sense for us.
If you are interested in connecting, please send an email to NSChapter@humanistcanada.ca.
We look forward to hearing from you. There's something quietly exciting about the possibility of building something meaningful together, and I hope you feel it too.
With warmth,
Jameson Happ
Podcasts
Choice Chat: Episode 9: In Our Own Words - An Abortion Story
The newest episode of Choice Chat is a special personal story featuring Patrick and Michaela, a young couple who reached out after finding the podcast and chose to share their abortion experience together. Their story offers something rarely heard: both partners reflecting openly on the same abortion, while recognizing that they experienced it in different but deeply connected ways.
In “In Our Own Words”, Patrick and Michaela speak with honesty and tenderness about love, timing, uncertainty, grief, support, and the quiet complexity of making the right choice even when that choice still carries emotion. Their experience is not presented as a debate or argument. It is a lived story: one shaped by care, trust, health care access, family and friendship support, and the realities of two people still building their lives together.
What makes this episode especially moving is that Patrick, a singer-songwriter, wrote an original song from their experience. He performs the song as part of the podcast, offering listeners another way to understand what words alone may not fully capture: the love, the loss, the relief, the questions, and the future Patrick and Michaela continue to imagine together.
Their story is one we do not often hear, but it needs to be shared. By speaking in their own words, Patrick and Michaela help make space for the complexity of abortion experiences and for the people who carry them. Their courage reminds us that when personal stories are shared with honesty and care, they can offer comfort, recognition, and connection to others who may have felt alone.
Listen to “In Our Own Words” on Choice Chat, and please consider sharing this episode with someone who values reproductive freedom, compassionate health care, and the importance of hearing real stories from the people who lived them.
To listen to the song Patrick wrote, you can find it on Pat Rees Music
To share your own story, contact: choicechat@humanistcanada.ca.
Are you looking for a secular community in Toronto on Sunday mornings?
West Hill is a vibrant, values-based community where how you choose to live matters more than what you believe. Grounded in life, guided by love, and growing in wisdom, West Hill offers a welcoming space for people seeking connection, inspiration, meaningful conversation, and a sense of belonging.
Some gather in person at 62 Orchard Park Drive in Scarborough, while others join online from across Canada and beyond. Together, they form a diverse and caring community united by shared values of reason, compassion, curiosity, and respect. These values shape how members relate to one another, engage with society, and respond to the challenges and opportunities of our world.
West Hill is perhaps best known as the community formerly served by Gretta Vosper, whose work helped spark national conversations about belief, belonging, and progressive spirituality. Today, the community continues to flourish under the leadership of staff and volunteers, with Humanist Canada President Martin Frith serving as Community Support Coordinator.
Whether you identify as Humanist, secular, spiritual, questioning, or simply value thoughtful reflection and community, West Hill welcomes all who wish to explore life through reason, compassion, and shared experience.
Religion on census needs a rework, group says: Humanist organization argues question’s framing leads to overestimation of number of religious Canadians
In this article in the Winnipeg Free Press, CFIC's Secular Chair, Leslie Rosenblood, makes the case for a change in the question on religion.
“If the number of religious people is exaggerated because of the language used in this question, decisions will continue to be made that favour religiosity,” Rosenblood said, noting the government and businesses use the census data to create policy, plan programs and make business decisions.
At the same time, accurately reflecting the extent of non-belief in Canada “will give atheist, agnostic, non-believing, freethinking and spiritual-but-not-religious Canadians the representation they deserve to influence public policy and decision making in the coming decade,” he added.
Humanist Canada is among the secular organizations advocating for this change in the Census. Read more.
World Humanist Day is a Humanist holiday celebrated annually around the world on the June solstice, which usually falls on June 21.
Get your e-Book Copy of Humanism: Canadian Perspectives
Our book Humanism: Canadian Perspectives is now available as an ebook for only $9.99!
Your membership, volunteer efforts, and financial support help us advance reason, compassion, and secular values across Canada. Every contribution strengthens our work in advocacy, education, and community building.
Keep track of all our upcoming events and meeting times in one convenient place. There’s always something exciting happening—be sure to stay in the loop!
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