Archives for October 2025

On October 25, HSS celebrated 15 years since the Society’s founding and held a Secular Assembly that encouraged attendees to infuse life with meaning. 

Secular Assembly: Finding Meaning

The afternoon began with a lively Secular Assembly that offered approaches for finding meaning in life when one feels unable to progress. 

Leading an interactive workshop and sharing session on the topic of “Finding Meaning When You Feel Stuck in Life”, Registered Counsellor Deborah Koh guided attendees to discover and reconnect with their personal values as the fundamental building blocks of a fulfilling life. 

The session showed us that while the instinctive reaction to feeling stuck may be to withdraw from challenges, this reaction can be addressed with various strategies. These include:

• accepting that uncertainty and failure are part of a meaningful life;
• detaching yourself from thoughts that are unhelpful;
• and self-reflection to achieve clarity on your core values.

15th Anniversary Gathering: A Look Back and Forward

With attendees energised by the workshop, the mood swiftly shifted to one of celebration for the Society’s 15^th Anniversary Gathering!

A major highlight was an intimate fireside chat featuring past and present HSS leadership. Moderated by current HSS Vice-President Xiang Hong, the speakers comprised the Society’s founding and early Executive Committee (Exco) members (Eugene, Jianyue and Huifen) alongside current HSS President (Melvin). This intergenerational conversation brought to light memorable moments from the past and shared aspirations for the Society’s next chapter.

Speakers candidly shared insights on topics that included:

• HSS’ notable achievements. As examples of major achievements by the Society, speakers cited the international Humanist conferences hosted by HSS and its various collaborations with government statutory boards over the years. These events have helped HSS make its mark and reflect that it has a level of trust from local authorities.
• Vision for the Society’s public image. President Melvin spoke on his hope for the Society to be better connected to Humanist communities in the region, and to be seen as a bastion of critical thinking. 
• How to keep HSS going. Speakers suggested:
  • An Exco that is willing to learn and experiment and that keeps the trust of attendees and volunteers
  • Continually holding events to bring in new members
  • Looking to other long-running groups for applicable lessons

The Exco also honoured a number of HSS members for their contributions to the Society with awards for Best Member, Best Volunteer, Community Builder and Best Newcomer. Our sincere congratulations to all the worthy recipients! Your gifts of time and effort—along with those of every volunteer—are the driving force of our Humanist community, and we are profoundly grateful for your service.

The gathering wrapped up with a spread of finger food, including homemade dishes contributed by members, and a special birthday cake. The cake celebrated both recent birthdays (in line with our Secular Assembly tradition) and the landmark achievement of 15 years of serving as a voice for the non-religious in Singapore.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for this special day. Your presence, participation, and stories are what make our Humanist community vibrant. Here’s to many more years of promoting reason, compassion, and meaningful living!

Burnout from work stress is a common problem in our fast-paced city. How can individuals prevent burnout and what role can non-religious organisations play? At our eighth Secular Assembly of the year, held on 27 September, these topics were explored by our guest speaker Kit Koh, a career coach and mental health counsellor.

First, a definition of burnout. For this, Kit cited the World Health Organisation (WHO), which defines burnout as a condition “resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed”.  It comprises three aspects: “feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion; increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job; and reduced professional efficacy”. When burnout sets in, Kit noted that it could lead to more problems such as depression, weakened immunity and strained relationships.

Regarding strategies an individual could use to prevent burnout, Kit shared that these include minimising sources of stress (e.g., by setting physical and digital boundaries), addressing deeper dysfunctional cognitive patterns, and engaging in activities that produce “happy hormones”. These hormones – dopamine, endorphins, oxytocin and serotonin – are known to be powerful contributors to positive emotions.

Oxytocin facilitates feelings of trust and connection, and is often produced during activities that involve interpersonal bonding. Thus, to promote oxytocin and the positive emotions associated with it, Kit suggested that a secular society like HSS could hold group activities that are “psychologically safe, emotionally positive [and] mentally restful” – such as group singalongs and events for appreciating people (e.g., celebrating good deeds). Not so coincidentally, these suggested activities are typically part of the Secular Assembly.

On the flip side, Kit also suggested what NOT to do: namely, if social bonding is the goal, we should avoid turning every space into one for critical discussion and debate – a frequent temptation for opinionated humanists!

Other highlights of the programme:

• Before the main Assembly, a group of attendees went on a guided tour of the Harmony in Diversity Gallery (HDG), kindly made possible by our HDG partners. Read more about the Gallery here.
• For the first time at the Secular Assembly, live singing AND music! James, an HSS volunteer, provided skilful vocals and guitar to lead us in singalongs of Imagine and other classic songs.
• A gratitude exercise led by Dan, Secular Assembly programme director, encouraged thankfulness and reflections on our interconnectedness.

Join us at the next HSS event, where we’ll continue to build the humanist community!