OHA 2021: Lyndon Storey
Lyndon Storey
Lyndon and I met in 2015 as Lyndon was starting the Canberra Humanists’ discussion group, at a time when I had just discovered that the word for what I am is “Humanist”. He helped me see how Humanism could give a fuller shape to my life, and fill it with meaning and purpose. He has been my Humanist mentor. The discussion groups continue today, and I am sure they have added richness to the lives of the people who keep coming to explore interesting and challenging ideas.
He built Canberra Humanists into the ACT Humanist Society, but more importantly, into a community of people who continue to care for each other.
He set up a framework for Humanist Care Workers that has lent support to Justin Murray, Gryff Jamieson-Ballard, Joe Seehee and Charles Foley. That framework is still being used today, in Collin Acton’s battle to extend secular chaplains to all branches of the ADF.
He suggested a register of Community Friends, to provide a caring support network for our Canberra Community, which continues to be available to those suffering from crisis and has been particularly useful during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He stepped up to become the President of the Council of Australian Humanist Societies, with innovative ideas for reversing the decline of Humanism nationally. His paper on Building the Second Wave of Humanism gave us inspiration, and hope that Humanism could become a force for building a better society in Australia and the world, through promulgating Humanist ethics, building and engaging communities, and policy advocacy. He backed that up in a practical way by writing submissions and letters to Government, in a number of policy areas including school chaplains, voluntary assisted dying, marriage equality and religious discrimination. I’ll never forget the day Lyndon and I fronted up to Philip Ruddock and the members of the Religious Freedom Review Panel!
Lyndon continues to have firm, clear and insightful ideas about the role Humanism has to play in shaping a better world. He has been working for many years towards an international Human Union, to spread democracy and human rights around the world as an antidote to nationalism and authoritarianism. This came to the fore amongst Australian Humanists in 2019 as one of five campaign themes presented at the Australian Humanists conference on the Future of Humanism in Australia. He inspired Canberra Humanists with those five themes at our planning day after the conference, which, with the support of Humanists Victoria, led to the creation of the Human Union Campaign Platform, as one of the four projects selected at the planning day.
His paper Five Campaign Themes for 21st Century Humanism was accepted by CAHS and is now published on the CAHS website. Those five themes are the backbone of the Human Union Campaign Platform, which will continue to work towards societal improvements, while attracting people into the Humanist movement. The Human Union project is now under the auspices of Humanists Australia and will be an important platform for reaching out to people who do not yet know they are Humanists.
The new Humanists Australia organisation has been profoundly influenced by Lyndon’s vision for the future of Humanism in Australia. I am looking forward to a more dynamic Australian Humanism, where Humanists work together to build supportive communities and exert more influence on the direction of society through campaigns and policy advocacy.
Lyndon has much to be proud of, and I am grateful for all he has done for our Humanist movement. His influence will continue long into the future.
Mary-Anne Cosgrove
Chair
Humanists Australia