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Leaders of the Ethical Society of St. Louis The Ethical Society of St. Louis has had six Leaders since it was founded in 1886. To find out more about our Leaders, click on the links below:
Walter Sheldon, Inaugural Leader, 1886-1907Born: 1858 Died: 1907. Education and Background: Raised as an evangelical Christian in Vermont, Sheldon as a youth aspired to a career in the ministry. His studies at Princeton and travels in Egypt, Palestine, and Europe, however, opened his eyes to other pursuits, and he engaged in graduate studies at the in philosophy, psychology, and literature at the University of Berlin. He also studied political and social science at Columbia University and returned to Berlin for a year of medical school before Felix Adler, the founder of the Ethical Culture movement, appointed Sheldon Leader of the Ethical Society of St. Louis. He was just 28. Significant Contributions to the Society: A seminal thinker in the development of Ethical Culture, Sheldon shared with the congregation his devotion to free-thought, his desire to edify working-class citizens, and his pioneering work in the education of children in the importance of living ethically. While the Ethical Culture movement lagged and even disintegrated in other parts of the country, it flourished in St. Louis, due mainly to Sheldon's forceful, passioned commitment to the movement and its philosophy. Of Special Consideration:
"Think that life is worth living, no matter how hard it is to live. Think that your life is in danger and that it rests with you to save it. If you do not take care, you will miss the purpose of life and make a failure of it." 
Percival Chubb, Leader, 1912-1933 Born: 1860 Died: 1960 Education and Background: Chubb began searching as a young man in his native England for a way to make sense of, overcome, and change the intolerable human conditions brought on by the Industrial Revolution. In 1883, he founded "The Fellowship of the New Life," an intellectual discussion and study group dedicated to developing models of alternative societies. A complementary group, the Fabian Society, advocated ways to implement these model ideas in through the current political system. When the Fellowship foundered, Chubb discovered the Ethical Culture movement. In 1889, he sailed to America, teaching English in a Brooklyn high school before accepting a post with the New York Society's Ethical Culture School. During this period he established his reputation for the dramatic arts, using pageants and festivals as a pedagogical tools. In 1910, five years after his wife, Louise, died of tuberculosis, Chubb married Anna Sheldon, the widow of Walter Sheldon. He became Leader of the Ethical Society of St. Louis in 1911. Significant Contributions to the Society: Chubb believed that the primary service of religion is to bring people together, and in this spirit he introduced a cycle of festivals to celebrate the rites and seasons common to all cultures. The Society still celebrates most of these original festivals yearly. During his tenure, the Women's Auxiliary was formed; its community outreach made it the Society's most charitable group. Of Special Consideration:
"The old light burns low; but, ere it sinks and fails, we kindle from it the crescent flame of a new light. And so, once more, we renew the sacred light of life from year to year, from generation to generation and from age to age." – from the Winter Festival Candle-Lighting Ceremony 
J. Hutton Hynd 1933-1950Education and Background: Born and raised in Scotland, Hynd received a degree in philosophy from the University of Perth and later studied engineering at the University of Glasgow. In World War I he served as a mechanic in the Royal Air Force. After studying at Edinburgh's Congregational College and Germany's Merburg University, Hynd was ordained a minister in the Congregational Church of Scotland. He came to the U.S. after assisting Stanton Coit for four years in London's Ethical Church. Significant Contributions to the Society: Hynd's ability to synthesize the arts and the sciences inspired members of the St. Louis Society. His platforms, which were deeply influenced by Coit's reverential style and creative use of ceremony, offered ongoing education in history, literature, philosophy, and comparative religion. In the Sunday School, he backed the teaching of "the three R's" in religious education: Reason, Reverence and Responsibility. The overriding theme of his oratory was that authentic religious values are those that are immediately apprehended--not those that rest on belief in revelation or cultural mythology. Defining Quote: "Religion is an active enthusiasm for a fine quality of life." 
J.F. Hornback 1951-1980Born: 1919 Education and Background: The son of a Methodist minister, Hornback graduated from Central Methodist College in Fayette, Mo. and pursued post-graduate studies in philosophy at the University of Chicago and Columbia University. He graduated in 1994 from the American Ethical Union's then-experimental training program for Leaders and served as Leader of the Westchester Society starting in 1947. He was selected to lead the St. Louis Society in 1951. In 1983, Hornback submitted his dissertation, The Philosophic Sources and Sanctions of the Founders of the Ethical Society, to Columbia. Significant Contributions to the Society: Under Hornback's leadership, the Society built and moved to its current building on Clayton Road in 1964. The Society continued to use the Sheldon Memorial building for social outreach programs and chamber music concerts for the next 10 years. In 1975, James S. McDonald established the St. Louis Society's Humanist of the Year Award, which is bestowed upon St. Louis community members each year in Hornback's honor. Defining Quote: "We should all be working toward a new faith in which family and vocation, religion and politics, art and culture, would all be bound together." 
John Hoad 1980-1994 Born: 1927 Education and Background: Baptized and confirmed in the Church of England, Hoad studied at the Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture in Trinidad and planned a career in education before deciding to enter the ministry. After pursuing ministerial studies in Sheffield, at Cambridge University and at universities in Germany and Switzerland, Hoad was formally ordained a minister of the Methodist Church in 1956. After working in South America and Kingston, Jamaica, he received his doctorate in pastoral counseling at Princeton Theological Seminary, where he also worked as a psychotherapist and clinical superintendent in a counseling agency. His interest in freethinking led him to the Ethical Culture movement, and he was appointed Leader in St. Louis in 1980 while Hornback was on a sabbatical, and he served in co-leadership with Hornback until the latter retired in 1984. Significant Contributions to the Society: Hoad brought exceptional leadership skills to his service of the Ethical Culture movement. He was especially known for his addresses, seminars, and pastoral counseling. Through--and beyond--his addresses and writing, he sought to bolster the Society's organizational strength. Drawing on years of study and experience in social psychology, he avidly nurtured leadership, communication, and cooperation within the Society's political and economic structures. Following his tenure as leader, he continued to be a powerful presence in the movement and in the St. Louis Society, speaking yearly at Platform and the 9:45 Forum. Defining Quote: "Keep a growing edge, forever learning and experimenting." ." 
Judy Toth, 1995-2002Born: 1947 Education and Background: The first woman to lead a large, program-size Ethical Society, Judy Toth spent her childhood in Washington, D.C. The oldest of six children, Toth was raised a Catholic. While earning her B.A. in psychology at American University, however, she began learning about alternative views and belief systems, ultimately coming to call herself an agnostic. A desire for the compassion and intellectual challenge that comes from being part of a community brought her to the Washington Ethical Society during the summer of l980. Before long, she was training to be a leader. Toth led at the Washington Society for 15 years before becoming Senior Leader at the Ethical Society of St. Louis. Significant Contributions to the Society: Judy Toth was instrumental in a capital campaign was conducted to build an addition onto the west wing of the Society building. In her role as head of staff, she was able to increase services with addition of part-time staff without greatly increasing expenditures. Toth introduced the position of Adjunct Leader, in which a cadre of 7/8 members were trained to provide services for those who prefer nondoctrinal ceremonies. She was active in the Pledge Canvass, and participated in the Interfaith Council of St. Louis and in formulating a mentoring program with Dunbar Elementary School. Toth worked to increase unity of message in Platform with both music and address. She has also worked with the AEU Leadership Training Committee. She was known for leading many workshops for singles. She instituted FunRaisers, small group activities which have been a successful way to bring in additional revenue and to build community among the membership, the latter being one of her most important goals. Defining Quote: “Building a strong, caring, Ethical Society community is the first charge of the Leader and of its members. This can be an exciting journey of self-discovery for each member as the mood and tone of the Society lightens and changes as gains are made toward this vision.“ 
Don Johnson, 2002-2005Born: 1942 Education and Background: Don Robert Johnson has spent his entire career in the vocation of religious leadership. Formally trained in college, seminary and university graduate school in history and biblical languages and scholarship, he extended his learning and practice to philosophy, social issues, poetry and the arts. A Baptist and Methodist minister for almost 20 years, Mr. Johnson later served as Chaplain, Dean of Religious Life and Director of Volunteer Services for Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri. In 1986 Mr. Johnson became the youngest Senior Leader in the history of the New York Society of Ethical Culture in Manhattan, where he served for 12 years. Mr. Johnson began his tenure as the Leader here in St. Louis on June 1, 2002. While spending his early years in Kansas, he has also lived in Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, New York, North Carolina and Texas. His family roots were grounded in labor and economic concerns, liberal thinking and causes, and agnosticism. Don and his wife, Beverly Collier, retired and moved to live near the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. Significant Contributions to the Society: Mr Johnson is the only Leader in Ethical Culture history to serve both the New York and the St. Louis Society. Under his leadership the St. Louis Society initiated Great Book discussions. His integration of scholarship and the arts (particularly poetry) fused reason and emotion very well into the Sunday platforms. He was especially concerned about development of the society as a community and strengthened pastoral care among the membership. He considered the St. Louis Society his most rewarding experience of his entire career. Defining Quote: “Each human being is unique and precious. Yet we also share common needs. We need to be our own selves, sovereign and autonomous. We all also yearn to be a part of something beyond the self, such as a cause or community. We seek to love and be loved. And we long to make a difference, to have contributed to the good of others.“ |
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