Humanists of Minnesota

by Norma Adam

(Norma Adams is a member of Humanists of Minnesota.)

Becoming a Guardian ad Litem for Juvenile Court in Hennepin County was one of the best decisions I made after retiring. I thought this type of volunteering was a way to do something productive with my time. However, it has turned out to be so much more.

Here is the official explanation for what a Guardian ad Litem (GAL) is: A GAL is a trained volunteer that advocates for abused and neglected children to ensure that their needs do not go unheard. Different from a legal guardian, Guardians ad Litem have no control over the person or property of the child and do not provide a home for the child. The Guardian ad Litem does not function as the child’s attorney and does not provide direct services to the child.

The term “ad litem” means “for the suit” or “for the court case”. It is an old concept –in the Anglo Saxon times, at common law, the king appointed a guardian ad litem to speak on behalf of the child or incompetent person. Today judges appoint community volunteers who have been trained as a GAL to advocate for abused and neglected children so that they can thrive in a safe, permanent home. continue reading…

by Dale Handeen

One of our humanist movement’s quite prolific contemporary writers, Ed Doerr, has been articulate and passionate about his view that as freethinkers working to improve society we might best regard those of liberal faith traditions to be potentially excellent allies in working toward specific shared social change goals. He challenged liberal thinkers of every stripe to spend less of our energies squabbling amongst ourselves over philosophical differences, and to invest more of our energies in building practical working relationships with people “of faith,” so that, together, we can achieve more of the important social changes we do envision.

Roy Speckhardt, Executive Director of the American Humanist Association, has shared with all of us in print that he makes an effort to be present at interfaith gatherings in the Washington, D.C. area, expressing humanist values, and exploring common ground. Furthermore, I was pleased with Doug Haddon’s suggestion that Humanists of Minnesota begin our program year examining white privilege. continue reading…