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Anger, Fear, Disgust, Sadness, Joy - these emotions fill our daily lives, and it's quite easy to imagine why each contributes significantly to our survival. What about the uniquely ephemeral emotion of "awe"? When and why do we experience it, why might evolution have selected for it, and how might we evoke it to tell better stories, or to be better listeners? Michael Frederickson, Pixar technical director, is our guest speaker.

What Atheists, Agnostics, Humanists, and Other Nones are Teaching Us about Religion Today.

Are nones are "reinventing religion" as a natural rather than (necessarily) supernatural phenomenon? Join author and SCU Professor Elizabeth Drescher to talk about setting aside arguments and doctrinal beliefs as measures of religion. Learn about more meaningful indicators of what religion is and does.

2017 at last! Join us at 11:00am on Sunday, January 8 for live music from our band, inspiring contributions from your community, and a thought-provoking talk by Danny Harris, program director from the Knight Foundation.

What will Silicon Valley leave behind? Many of us feel powerless and worried about the world we are helping to shape and the impact it will have on the next generation. Come learn about philanthropy and our community's role in leaving a legacy of empathy and beauty.

We'll sing pop songs, share news from our community, and celebrate being alive!

Let's explore the issue of homelessness here in Silicon Valley together and see how we can help. Our guest is Jim Gardner from Good Karma Bikes. Learn about how their Transportation for Transformation program is helping homeless and very low income workers to be mobile again, a basic liberty that each of us takes for granted.

Doors open at 10:30am for coffee and snacks, and at 11:00am on the dot we will have great talks, live music and secular celebration. Stick around afterward for food.

We will be collecting coats. Please bring any new or gently-used warm jackets or coats.

From a brand-new Noah's Ark theme park in Kentucky, to state legislatures and public school classrooms, evolution is under attack across the country. Yet the science of evolution is stronger than ever, central to science education, guiding innovations in medicine and throughout the economy, and offers ever-clearer answers to central questions about who we are as a society and a species. What can we do to move society past the 90-year-old battle between evolution and creationism and learn to celebrate this grand idea?

If there is life on other planets, Dr Seth Shostak will be one of the first to know. He believes we will find ET in the next two decades, and as director and senior astronomer at SETI, he has aimed 42 antennae into space to pick up alien communication. Come hear why earth-like, habitable planets might not be so rare – there could be billions.

As well as this fascinating talk, we will hear real life stories from the community, sing some awesome songs with our live band, and share great coffee and cookies. Babysitters provide supervised activities for the kids.

Making art isn’t just about color theory and drawing skills. How do artists develop their ideas and a personal point of view? Guest speaker Ruby Ming will help you discover how artist habits of mind can help us tap into our creativity and benefit our everyday life.

Join us January 10 to celebrate life together. As ever, we've got foot-stomping pop songs played by a live band, great speakers, and a delicious potluck lunch. Childcare is provided.

Our guest is TED Talk veteran Robert Wright, the best-selling author of "Nonzero," "The Moral Animal" and "The Evolution of God."

A Secular Celebration

PURCHASE TICKETS HERE

Planet Earth is tilting and winter solstice is here! Join us to bid farewell to the longest night of the year and welcome back the sun at an enchanting solstice celebration in Silicon Valley.

As candles are lit and extinguished, the revels will follow the rhythm of moving from darkness to light.

The evening Includes a no-host bar and reception, buffet dinner, secular ceremony filled with plenty of storytelling, singing, a raffle and dancing to close out the evening. The band, Robonzo's Bolero, will perform. We'll sing familiar favorites like "Here Comes the Sun" and "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" and new solstice songs written just for the occasion.

Our guest this month is cellist Freya Seeburger. Since moving to California in 2010, cellist Freya Seeburger has been an active performer in both classical ensembles and rock bands. She has recorded and performed with independent rock, hip hop, and classical groups including Van Dyke Parks, the Awesöme Orchestra Collective, Grammy nominated artist Tanya Donelly, and The Coup (as a member of Classical Revolution).