January 2012 Freethinker Meeting

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Dardedar
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January 2012 Freethinker Meeting

Post by Dardedar »

Hello Freethinkers! It's time to gather for our January Freethinker meeting. We wanted to start the year off with a bang and we have a *very* interesting program lined up this month.

First off, please note that the Fayetteville Library was not available to us so we will be meeting at the Jones Center in Springdale. Also, since we know our meeting dates for 2012, tentatively, we have included these at the bottom of this email.

At our January meeting:

A.J. will tells us about the high points of the Occam's Razor lecture by Darrel Ray on how religion spreads like a virus (this got bumped at our November meeting).

In our second half, Dr. Jim Cherry will give a presentation about homosexuality. What does the latest science tell us? Is it a choice like many of the religiously inclined claim? Or is it genetic, environmental or some combination of these factors?

Our main presentation, will be given by guest speaker Jerry DeWitt. We are bringing him in all the way from Louisiana to tell us about his recent transition:

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From Holy-Roller to Rational Humanist

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Jerry DeWitt became an atheist after more than twenty-five years of Pentecostal ministry in his home state of Louisiana. His ministry experience begin at the early age of seventeen and included evangelizing across the United States and being the assistant pastor of two United Pentecostal churches and one Apostolic church. During his dilemma with doubt Jerry ultimately held the senior pastorate of two very unique congregations, one charismatic dominionist and the other non-denominational fundamentalist.

He also holds the distinction of being the first graduate of, and a spokesman for The Clergy Project, a private, invitation-only “safe house” community of current and former ministers who no longer hold the supernatural beliefs of their religious traditions. The Clergy Project was started by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins and former minister and author Dan Barker.

Most recently, Jerry was appointed Executive Director of Recovering from Religion which was foundered by Dr. Darrel Ray the author of The God Virus: How Religion Infects Our Lives and Culture.The RR mission is to coordinate and facilitate face-to-face meeting for those who desire support in leaving their religion. RR also facilitates on-line forums and resources in cooperation with other secular organizations and groups.

Former minister Jerry DeWitt brings a broad understanding of the religious lifestyle and its effects on personal wellbeing to the non-theist movement. He’s a dynamic and entertaining public speaker with a heartfelt compassion for those struggling to completely free themselves from their religion.

Jerry will also be speaking at the American Atheist National Convention following the Reason Rally in Washington D.C., March 24th, 2012.
***

Our meeting room will hold about 65 (maybe a little more), so come early if you want to be sure and get a good seat! And if you wish, bring a couple bucks for Jerry, he's travelling 10 hours one way and taking up three days to share his very interesting story with his. We are going to pay his fuel expenses from our kitty and put him up at Freethinker Headquarters, but we want to compensate him for his time as well. When you hear his story and what he has gone through in this transition, you'll understand.

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January Fayetteville Freethinker Meeting Details:

When: Saturday, January 28, 2012.

Where: The Jones Center, 922 E Emma Ave, Springdale, AR. (ph. 756-8090)

Time: 2:00 pm

Room: We will be in adjoining rooms 219 (Atlanta) and 221 (St. Louis), same as in the past. You can go through the front lobby of the Jones Center, at the T take a right, go about forty feet and open a door on your right that goes into the computer education area. Take the first hallway to your left and our room is on the left. Or, it's easier to just come in the right front side of the building. You can always ask for directions at the information desk. They have a small store where you can buy a snack and drink.

Map here.

The Jones Center is not hard to find. It's a sprawling complex on the corner of Emma and Hwy 265 and there is lots of parking in front (and on the north end where we'll be).

The following are our Freethinker meeting dates for 2012 (these may change but probably won't). Note, except for January all of these are at the Fayetteville Library. All meetings begin at 2:00pm.
For March and April we have had to stray from our usual "last Saturday of the month" routine. Our April meeting will be on a Sunday.

January meeting: Saturday Jan. 28, 2:00pm --Jones Center

Saturday February 25
Saturday March 24 (not the usual weekend) 2:00pm
Sunday April 22 (not the usual weekend) 2:00pm
Saturday May 26
Saturday June 30
No meeting in July
August meeting date (not determined)
Saturday September 29
Saturday October 27
Saturday November 24
No meeting in December, solstice dinner night not yet determined.
"I'm not a skeptic because I want to believe, I'm a skeptic because I want to know." --Michael Shermer
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Dardedar
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Re: January 2012 Freethinker Meeting

Post by Dardedar »

Freethinker notice...

We filled the room at the Jones Center during our January meeting with 65 attending. Everyone enjoyed our main presentation with our guest speaker and former Pentecostal minister Jerry Dewitt. Also, we managed to come up with, on the spot, a very impressive $311 in donations to help him out as he works tirelessly with the Clergy Project.

Darwin Day is on February 12 and there are some events you may want to know about starting this Friday the 10th. We've put up two posters in our forum that give you all the details, simply click here: viewtopic.php?p=25020#p25020

The Occam's Razor's, our local freethought group at the University of Arkansas, is hosting two guest speakers on the 17th: Greta Christian and JT Eberhard. You can read about the details on their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/299184780117497/

Folks may not know that Freethought NWA has an atheist meetup group that gets together for a "Friday Night Social." It's an informal gathering for those who want to socialize without the pressures of religious proselytizing. Their next one is:

Friday, February 10, 2012, 6:00 PM
Iron Horse Coffee Co.
220 S 1st St, Rogers, AR

To learn more, sign up here: http://www.meetup.com/FreethoughtNWA/

As promised, here links to the clips we played at our January meeting:

How Cindy reversed a hysterectomy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2-5eq_WVMI

Snake Handlers at Jolo, West Virginia: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUdc5h10zTo

The Gay Rights Movement: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u62OtM_vt5k

When did you choose to be straight? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJtjqLUHYoY

I can't find the link for the "Old Pentecostal Training" clip, so if anyone needs it, just send a note and we'll email the file to you.

Our next Fayetteville Freethinker meeting will be at the Fayetteville library on February 25th.
"I'm not a skeptic because I want to believe, I'm a skeptic because I want to know." --Michael Shermer
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