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The Ethical Society of St. Louis inspires ethical living and provides a welcoming home for Humanists in the St. Louis area. We meet every Sunday at 11am for music, community, and ethical inspiration.
Let’s imagine and create a new world together. ❤️ #EmpoweredTogether #EthicalSTL
The Dignity and Belonging Team exists to promote an inclusive, welcoming, and equitable environment for all members and visitors at the Ethical Society of St. Louis. In this interactive presentation, you will hear from Louise Jett, Jim Jordan, and Ari Wynn about the team’s goals for the upcoming year and suggestions for improving member and visitor engagement within ESSL. Bring your smart phones so you can participate. Topics will include coordination with other ESSL teams and the importance of small groups that allow visitors and members to connect more deeply with one another. Throughout the Platform, you will have the chance to provide live feedback about the presented ideas and suggest additional priorities you would like to see the Dignity and Belonging Team focus on. Stay tuned also for a survey allowing more detailed feedback, as well as a follow-up Forum with the D&B Team in May. We are excited to learn from each of you about how our team can better support this community! Louise Jett (she/her) is an Ethical Humanist Leader, educator, and creative strategist committed to building communities rooted in dignity, belonging, and ethical action. She advances Humanist values through leadership development, community programming, and storytelling. Jim Jordan has been a member of the Ethical Society of St. Louis for 17 years. He chaired the Accessibility Committee and has led sessions focusing on people of all abilities and people-first language. Jim is a retired environmental and STEM educator and his graduate research focused on responsible environmental behaviors and issues. Jim joined the D&B Team to bring a voice for people of different abilities. Ari Wynn (they/she) is a newer member of the Ethical Society and is active on the Dignity and Belonging Team as well as the Visitor Connect Team. Most recently, they became the leader of Being Queer Together, a new LGBTQIA+ affinity group at ESSL. Professionally, they teach statistics and research methods courses online through Missouri State University and Harrisburg University of Science and Technology. Violinist Hannah Frey is a freelance musician and educator in St. Louis. She is first violinist of the Perseid Quartet, and plays regularly with various shows at the Fox Theater, The Metropolitan Orchestra of Saint Louis and The St. Louis Chamber Soloists. She was concertmaster of Winter Opera St Louis for over a decade and has performed with many other area groups including the St. Louis Symphony, Opera Theatre Saint Louis and the Muny Orchestra. She teaches violin and chamber music at Washington University and maintains a large private studio at her home. Hannah received her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music with Linda Cerone and William Preucil. Mc Kayla Talasek performs on both viola and violin as an orchestral and freelance musician in St. Louis. She currently performs on a “Wojtyszyn” viola from 1978 and a “Talasek” violin from 2014. Since 2011, she has performed for orchestras located in Texas, Nevada, California, Michigan, Illinois, and Missouri. Currently, she is a member of The Reno Philharmonic, Reno Chamber Orchestra, and The Missouri Symphony Orchestra; regularly performing with St. Louis Symphony, The Metropolitan Orchestra of Saint Louis, and St. Louis Chamber Soloists, too. Mc Kayla holds a full private home studio and also teaches at these St. Louis organizations: Webster University: Community Music School; Kirkwood School District: Beginner Violin; Gateway Music Outreach, MStrong Studio; and Forsyth School. When she is not performing or teaching, she enjoys attending concerts, finding new places to enjoy tasty cuisines, and taking her daily walks in Forest Park with her dog and cat, Hana and Peaches. Tara Santiago Anello is a teacher and freelancer in St. Louis. She holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in music from New England Conservatory, where she studied with Natasha Brofsky and Cleveland Quartet cellist Paul Katz. Originally from Wisconsin, she has performed as a guest soloist with the Milwaukee, Fox Valley, and Sheboygan Symphonies. Prior to moving to St. Louis, she was a member of the Florida Grand Opera. She now teaches Suzuki cello at Webster University’s Community Music School and performs and records regularly with singer Erin Bode.
Cultivating Dignity and Belonging Together
Repeated, tiny actions create real change. #empoweredtogether #ethicalSTL
The Dignity and Belonging Team exists to promote an inclusive, welcoming, and equitable environment for all members and visitors at the Ethical Society of St. Louis. In this interactive presentation, you will hear from Louise Jett, Jim Jordan, and Ari Wynn about the team’s goals for the upcoming year and suggestions for improving member and visitor engagement within ESSL. Bring your smart phones so you can participate. Topics will include coordination with other ESSL teams and the importance of small groups that allow visitors and members to connect more deeply with one another. Throughout the Platform, you will have the chance to provide live feedback about the presented ideas and suggest additional priorities you would like to see the Dignity and Belonging Team focus on. Stay tuned also for a survey allowing more detailed feedback, as well as a follow-up Forum with the D&B Team in May. We are excited to learn from each of you about how our team can better support this community! Louise Jett (she/her) is an Ethical Humanist Leader, educator, and creative strategist committed to building communities rooted in dignity, belonging, and ethical action. She advances Humanist values through leadership development, community programming, and storytelling. Jim Jordan has been a member of the Ethical Society of St. Louis for 17 years. He chaired the Accessibility Committee and has led sessions focusing on people of all abilities and people-first language. Jim is a retired environmental and STEM educator and his graduate research focused on responsible environmental behaviors and issues. Jim joined the D&B Team to bring a voice for people of different abilities. Ari Wynn (they/she) is a newer member of the Ethical Society and is active on the Dignity and Belonging Team as well as the Visitor Connect Team. Most recently, they became the leader of Being Queer Together, a new LGBTQIA+ affinity group at ESSL. Professionally, they teach statistics and research methods courses online through Missouri State University and Harrisburg University of Science and Technology. Violinist Hannah Frey is a freelance musician and educator in St. Louis. She is first violinist of the Perseid Quartet, and plays regularly with various shows at the Fox Theater, The Metropolitan Orchestra of Saint Louis and The St. Louis Chamber Soloists. She was concertmaster of Winter Opera St Louis for over a decade and has performed with many other area groups including the St. Louis Symphony, Opera Theatre Saint Louis and the Muny Orchestra. She teaches violin and chamber music at Washington University and maintains a large private studio at her home. Hannah received her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Cleveland Institute of Music with Linda Cerone and William Preucil. Mc Kayla Talasek performs on both viola and violin as an orchestral and freelance musician in St. Louis. She currently performs on a “Wojtyszyn” viola from 1978 and a “Talasek” violin from 2014. Since 2011, she has performed for orchestras located in Texas, Nevada, California, Michigan, Illinois, and Missouri. Currently, she is a member of The Reno Philharmonic, Reno Chamber Orchestra, and The Missouri Symphony Orchestra; regularly performing with St. Louis Symphony, The Metropolitan Orchestra of Saint Louis, and St. Louis Chamber Soloists, too. Mc Kayla holds a full private home studio and also teaches at these St. Louis organizations: Webster University: Community Music School; Kirkwood School District: Beginner Violin; Gateway Music Outreach, MStrong Studio; and Forsyth School. When she is not performing or teaching, she enjoys attending concerts, finding new places to enjoy tasty cuisines, and taking her daily walks in Forest Park with her dog and cat, Hana and Peaches. Tara Santiago Anello is a teacher and freelancer in St. Louis. She holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in music from New England Conservatory, where she studied with Natasha Brofsky and Cleveland Quartet cellist Paul Katz. Originally from Wisconsin, she has performed as a guest soloist with the Milwaukee, Fox Valley, and Sheboygan Symphonies. Prior to moving to St. Louis, she was a member of the Florida Grand Opera. She now teaches Suzuki cello at Webster University’s Community Music School and performs and records regularly with singer Erin Bode.
Cultivating Dignity and Belonging Together
Art helps us share the worlds inside us. ❤️ #empoweredtogether
We don’t build our community as a refuge from the world, but as a promise to it. #empoweredtogther
We are water troublers! 👏 #empoweredtogether #ethicalstl #ethicalhumanism
Join American Ethical Union-certified Leader Louise Jett to reflect on how the scale and immediacy of global crises can overwhelm our emotional capacity, distancing us from the realities that sustain everyday life. While modern media often reduces complexity to spectacle, meaningful ethical engagement begins with attentive presence: noticing what is near, human, and actionable. By reframing attention as a shared practice of care, Louise suggests that collective resilience grows not from mastering vast problems at once, but from cultivating sustained, relational awareness that reconnects individuals to one another and to the conditions that make dignity possible. Speaker Louise Jett An American Ethical Union–Certified Leader, Louise serves as creative director for the Ethical Society of St. Louis and as Illinois statewide branding manager, leading initiatives that connect public service with purpose. A former community college professor, she specializes in connection, ethical reflection, and helping communities move toward shared understanding and collective flourishing. Music Cherry & Jerry “Cherry & Jerry” is Isaac Cherry on percussion and Jerry Rabushka on piano; they focus mainly on music from 1900-1920: ragtime, early blues and jazz, and popular songs from back in the day. The St. Louis duo has toured music of the ragtime era throughout the region, appearing at libraries, museums, pubs and restaurants, special events, and more. Appearances include the Illinois State Fair, the George Washington Carver National Monument, the DuSable Black History Museum in Chicago, the Big River Steampunk Festival, and the Missouri History Museum.
When the World Feels Too Big
Jan Kiefer comes to us today in her role as a dynamic storyteller as well as former art teacher. Through an old folktale from Haiti as well as her own personal experiences, she presents the imagination as a path towards empathy, which she identifies as “deep knowledge.” Speaker Jan Kiefer Jan Kiefer counts herself fortunate for having grown up in a diverse environment. She was raised in Vienna, Austria, where she attended the American International School, a school that drew its teachers and students from the world over. She has a background in the arts, education, and ministry, and holds a doctorate in Art and Theology. She loves dogs, being in Nature, and sparking the creative spirit that lives within us all. She is a member of TWA and the Tuesday morning meditation group. Music Katarra This Platform will feature music from Katarra. From mesmerizing ballads to electrifying beat sets, Katarra Parson is a powerhouse singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer whose music transcends genres. This St. Louis native weaves soul, R&B, jazz, hip-hop, and classical influences into unforgettable performances that resonate deeply with audiences nationwide.
Imagination – A Path to Deep Knowledge
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