One of our sister Ethical Societies in New York has hired three new Leaders–one of them specifically to develop an “alternative” service that might attract more new people, including a younger and more ethnically diverse population. Ethical Culture/Ethical Humanism has been around as an organized religion for well over a hundred years, but our basic meeting has changed little in that time–almost all Ethical Societies have their main meetings, called “platforms,” on Sunday, and the platforms (except for seasonal celebrations) consist of an essay-like “platform address” of about 30 minutes, plus a few musical selections (most often classical, jazz, or folk) and of course a collection and Ethical Action-related announcements. Most platforms also include readings, poems, singing, brief meditation, and/or participatory periods (”Joys and Concerns,” “Resonances/Q and A”).

While there’s a fair amount of variety, our meetings overall have changed much less over the years than those of many other religions, which have experienced upheavals in language, music, ritual, etc. I’ve heard some people talk about “contemporary” services as the salvation of their organization, while others clearly feel that such services merely pander to the shallow youth of today.

I hope that some of you with strong opinions about this will share your experiences and thoughts. Has your religious organization made significant changes to its practices to try to appeal to a new or wider “audience”? What have they tried, and how do you feel about it?