Processing Kirk’s Death in Community What happened when 40 humanists hopped on Zoom to talk it out

When recent events in America make you feel overwhelmed, scared, and confused, what do you do?

If you were one of the forty people I gathered with on Thursday night, you hopped on an AHA Zoom call with like-minded humanists, supported by The Humanist Society chaplains.

Some of the questions that came up from attendees were: When someone you are against, are in opposition to, or maybe even see as “evil” dies, am I allowed to feel good about it? If I do, what does that say about my humanity? How does humanism help me address and move forward with these emotions? Some just needed a space to name that they are scared of our country spiraling out of control.

Thursday morning, after the recent assassination of Charlie Kirk, some folks in the AHA Discord’s celebrant-chaplain channel were asking for help and discussing their conflicting emotions. Our great staff support, Becca Ray, pointed out these conversations in the Humanist Society discord and asked if any of our chaplains could offer support. After a quick glance through the channel, it was clear that this was not something that could effectively be addressed via text chat. We needed to provide tangible, emotionally-safe community for our humanists.

Research around trauma-informed care suggests that this support needed to happen as soon as possible to be the most effective. In about an hour of sending out the plan, the staff of the AHA and several Humanist Society chaplains had organized a Zoom gathering hosted by the AHA and moderated by the Humanist Society Chaplains that very night.

Approximately 40 people showed up that night. We randomly divided into small groups and spent time processing together. Asking tough questions about ourselves and each other, and hearing that we were not alone in these feelings. Attendees reported feeling seen, supported, and connected after our time together. There may not have been a lot of answers to give, but community was made, and we were reminded that we were not alone, and that there are many points of hope during escalating political violence. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive. People asked for more of these kinds of events.

THS and AHA leadership will certainly work together to create more opportunities for folks to drop in and process what feels like an overwhelming world. The timing and details of those are still to be worked out. But this event demonstrates the power of humanism to make connections, provide comfort in community, and hope. You can be good without god; you can find meaning without god; you can find hope without god.

If you’d like to join AHA’s online Discord community for future offerings like this, you can become a member here. If you’re interested in becoming a humanist celebrant or chaplain, you can learn more at The Humanist Society.