Free Workshop and Performance Opportunity

feeds@yuku.com (JohnCollinsMcCormick) — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 12:46:12 GMT

Join composer, improviser, and interdisciplinary artist, Erik DeLuca, for a brief lecture on the history of phonographs and the mechanics of a record player. The lecture will be followed by a workshop on how to build our own record players with homemade items such as pencils, sewing needles, paper, and tape. Anyone who attends the workshop will be invited to perform their record player with DeLuca the next day at Sweetwater Sound. By performing, you will receive free admission to the national...

FFW Coffee Klatch

feeds@yuku.com (neuralgourmet) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:21:42 GMT

Hey all,

Sorry I couldn't get to the meeting yesterday. I just had too much stuff to get done here before heading out to D.C. later on tonight.

However, I just got the minutes from last night's meeting from Tom and just wanted to touch on one point:

* The next topic of discussion was the coffee klatch.

* There were some issues with the Mocha Lounge venue. Andy W would like to move toward the Firefly on N Anthony. Members...

Adding structure to meetings.

feeds@yuku.com (99percenter) — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 12:42:35 GMT

If it is not already apparent to you, trust me when I say that there is tremendous talent and intelligence in our little Freethought group. I'm proud of that. It's wonderful to see and it's exciting to be a part of. But our meetings need more focus.

Our group is large enough now that we can't just sit around and make small-talk. I think it's time to introduce some formal structure to our meetings. To that end, here is a first-pass at what the structure might look...

membership?

feeds@yuku.com (SlowDoc) — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 20:24:18 GMT

I would like to learn more about your organization. I'd seen postings around town but never had a face to connect it to until I came across Dr. Price's lecture on public access. His lecture was extremely interesting and I especially appreciated his analogy of religion to art as well as his respect for the right of an individual or group to worship the Iliad and its host of gods as long as they were not trying to form a national government out of the mores and values of the work....

Robert Price Presentation

feeds@yuku.com (agnohumanist) — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 22:22:54 GMT

Thanks to all who arranged Mr. Price's visit. (I think Theo and Skeptigator were the main ones, and Andy seemed to be in charge of the tech stuff. Hope I didn't leave any key players out.) Auditorium was great, crowd was good, people were into the topics and asked great questions--just all in all a great night for freethought in the area! I really enjoyed it and wish I could've joined all of you at Henry's. I'm sure the discussions continued. I think the whole thing is...

PZ plugs Freethought Fort Wayne

feeds@yuku.com (neuralgourmet) — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 14:24:41 GMT

For any who might have missed it, PZ gave our little group a nice plug yesterday in relation to the upcoming talk by Robert M. Price.

thought on neutral speakers

feeds@yuku.com (Skeptigator) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 11:34:58 GMT
I have a poorly and only half formed idea that maybe we could get some local astronomy teachers or NASA Edudation Ambassadors to come speak to our group. They will probably do it for next to nothing and would be a fascinating discussion.

Here's a page with Indiana and Fort Wayne NASA ambassadors. Anyway, this is more brainstorm/random idea than anything else.
http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/ambassador/IN.html

Dr. Robert M Price visit has been scheduled

feeds@yuku.com (Theo Doersing) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:19:11 GMT
It's my pleasure to announce that Dr. Robert Price has agreed to join us for a special meeting on Wednesday, August 6th @7pm in Meeting Room A of the Main Branch ACPL.

He will be discussing his current book "Top Secret: The Truth behind Today's Pop Mysticisms" and trying to answer our many questions.

We have offered a small honorarium of $200 to help cover expenses for his visit. If anyone would like to donate towards this, you can bring whatever you...

Movie Suggestions

feeds@yuku.com (Skeptigator) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 13:19:34 GMT
Here's a spot to put your suggestions for a movie for the group to watch at our July movie.

The running time should be 60 to 90 minutes, tops. We'll talk about the movie afterwards. We should also look to bring some snacks again, you know I'm always good for the cheezy goodness of some cheez-its

I automatically veto Jesus Camp

John Loftus Online Campaign

feeds@yuku.com (Skeptigator) — Mon, 19 May 2008 10:51:17 GMT
Here's the place to talk about ideas for promoting FFW within the online freethought community, using the recent John Loftus talk as a point of interest
http://freethoughtfortwayne.org/2008/05/19/john-loftus-speech-to-freethought-fort-wayne/

Some ideas would be getting this post on some blog carnivals, I'm thinking

Carnival of the Godless...

Excellent meeting

feeds@yuku.com (mightymjolnir) — Fri, 16 May 2008 12:43:11 GMT
I have to admit I was reluctant to even attend John W. Loftus' presentation last Wednesday, especially after the unexpected press we received. (I had someone in my office - whom I would never expect to have heard about us - ask "Did you hear there's a former preacher that's gonna teach people how to be atheists at the library?") As of about 5:30 Wednesday evening, I still wasn't sure. I'm very glad I decided to go.
...

John Loftus interview

feeds@yuku.com (Skeptigator) — Tue, 13 May 2008 15:30:22 GMT
Just in case you haven't read the website (shame on you) John Loftus was interviewed about his book and upcoming speaking event with us, we even received a little publicity
http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080513/NEWS/805130313

I would however recommend that "we" at least in any official (I mean openly identified as a member of...

Dues - Mission Statement - Constitution - Please Read and Respond

feeds@yuku.com (mightymjolnir) — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 07:12:40 GMT
I think that we need to have a more formalized structure in place before we start charging dues. Specifically, we should have a charter or constitution. Before we begin that process, we need some type of established leadership. I propose the following:

Two temporary caretakers to see us through the charter/constitution process. Why two instead of just one? For backup and a check-and-balance system, however rudimentary. With so many new members, I'm thinking a vote...

atheismonline.com

feeds@yuku.com (Theo Doersing) — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 00:33:25 GMT
I've taken the liberty of adding Freethought Fort Wayne to the list of organizations on atheismonline.com

I used the tentative mission statement provided by neuralgourmet (which I thought was pretty good).
I used my gmail address for contact info, but is there a better one we can use?
I didn't give an address ofcourse, but is this something we will need to have if we ever become an official nonprofit org?
Any info can be edited, so I'm not worried. I just...

The next meeting is May 14th in Meeting Room B, Downtown Library

feeds@yuku.com (Skeptigator) — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 15:25:43 GMT
As many of you found out at last night's meeting, John Loftus has agreed to give a presentation to us from his forthcoming book, Why I Became an Atheist. I'm waiting for a blurb from John before I post on the "official" website.

Everyone please plan on contributing $5-$10 (that could add up to $100) as an honorarium for his speech. I think agnohumanist said it best last night, to paraphrase, he's coming from an hour away and giving his time to the group, with...

What would be an appropriate Mission Statement for the group

feeds@yuku.com (Skeptigator) — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 13:53:38 GMT
We probably need 2

1) We need one for our website, here's the current statement, if you can call it a mission statement

Freethought Fort Wayne is a member-based organization dedicated to the citizens of Fort Wayne, Indiana and its neighbors. We are affiliated with the Center for Inquiry - Indianapolis whose mission statement says it best

The Center for Inquiry Indiana offers an opportunity to put your principles into practice by...

Should we charge dues???

feeds@yuku.com (Skeptigator) — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 13:42:23 GMT

I'm posting the question, should FFW charge dues? Here are my notes from the meeting.

$20-$25 seemed like a minimal commitment amount, it doesn't scare people away like $60 does.
We decided not to make a decision at that moment but to post it to the forums for comments.
I believe someone suggested taking up an offering at the meetings ;) Ok it wasn't put like that but the idea is the same. It's not a bad idea, if we want to do something...

Freethought Fort Wayne's Online Presence

feeds@yuku.com (Skeptigator) — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 13:33:47 GMT
I made a concerted effort at lunch today to make sure that Freethought Fort Wayne's online presence was a little more fully fleshed out, here's where we can be found on the Internet (w/ notes), when we get a logo and mission statement, I'll make sure that everything gets updated to reflect a consistent position.

Most of these things have calendars, I will make sure that they stay up to date as meetings happen.

Official Website

Care package for our atheist in a foxhole

feeds@yuku.com (Skeptigator) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 08:07:42 GMT
My wife had a good idea. What would the group think about creating a care package to send to our own atheist in a foxhole. I don't know him but I believe Mighty (and Narly?) know him. We would need his full name and where to send the package as well.

Plus any suggestions would be good, I don't really know what you can and cannot put in these things, but I can find out. I'll bring this up at the meeting as well.

Wed April 9th at 7PM Meeting at the Main library. The room number will be annouced soon.

feeds@yuku.com (AndysCatHouse) — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 13:55:30 GMT
The assignment for this meeting will not be reading this time. Please watch Richard Dawkin's "The Root of all Evil?" on Google video. (Both part I and II.) You can view part I here and part II

Meeting Discussion and Announcements

Free Workshop and Performance Opportunity

FFW Coffee Klatch

Adding structure to meetings.

membership?

Robert Price Presentation

PZ plugs Freethought Fort Wayne

thought on neutral speakers

Dr. Robert M Price visit has been scheduled

Movie Suggestions

John Loftus Online Campaign

Excellent meeting

John Loftus interview

Dues - Mission Statement - Constitution - Please Read and Respond

atheismonline.com

The next meeting is May 14th in Meeting Room B, Downtown Library

What would be an appropriate Mission Statement for the group

Should we charge dues???

Freethought Fort Wayne's Online Presence

Care package for our atheist in a foxhole

Wed April 9th at 7PM Meeting at the Main library. The room number will be annouced soon.