We now have a new local group meeting in Cedar Falls/Waterloo! These events will be included in the monthly news and events but you can also sign up through the Meetup to get more information and to RSVP for events in that area. Please visit the Meetup site here. Thanks to Jill for getting this organized!

Friday, October 3. Cedar Rapids. First Friday Social. Java Creek Café, 588 Boyson Rd NE. For more information and to RSVP, please visit the Meetup site here.

Friday, October 3. Des Moines. Movie Opening - Bill Maher’s Religulous. While the exact showtimes are not available yet, Century Theaters at the Jordan Creek Town Center has confirmed that they will be showing Bill Maher’s Documentary, Religulous when it opens on Friday, October 3rd.
Since the nature of this documentary may draw protests or other uncomfortable situations, strength in numbers is probably a good policy for attending. For that reason, the Des Moines Iowa Secularists will be meeting at Jordan Creek Mall to attend the opening as a group, to provide safety, comfort and ease to our members and any other secular-minded people who wish to join us! For more information and to RSVP, please visit the Meetup site here.

*Update* Century 20 at Jordan Creek Town Center was unable to secure the movie; it will be at Fleur Cinema instead, Fleur Dr, Des Moines

Friday, October 3rd. Iowa City. Dr. Paula Doress-Worters presents: Ernestine Rose, Early Women’s Rights and Anti-Slavery Activist
Brown Bag Lunch at the Women’s Resource and Action Center in Iowa City with Historian Dr. Paula Doress-Worters on Friday, October 3 at 12:00pm-1:00pm.
Join us for a presentation by Dr. Paula Doress-Worters, as she shares information from her work on Ernestine Rose, an early women’s rights and anti-slavery activist and atheist.
Dr. Paula Doress-Worters is the author/editor of Mistress of Herself: Speeches and Letters of Ernest L. Rose, Early Women’s Rights Leader.

Women’s Resource & Action Center (WRAC)
130 N. Madison St
Iowa City, IA 52245
319/335-1486

http://www.uiowa.edu/~wrac/events/ErnestineRose.htm

Saturday, October 4. Meeting of the Board of Directors.

Thursday, October 9. Iowa City/Coralville Meetup 7pm Old Chicago Pizza in Coralville. For more information and to RSVP, please visit the Meetup site here.

Saturday, October 11. Cedar Rapids. Corridor Cleanup Effort (aka Operation: Rampant Destruction and Godless Mayhem). The responses to these Cleanup efforts have been awesome — our members have been getting a lot done for this great city, and it’s really helping to spread the word. We’ll be meeting at the Salem Church (225 1st Ave, at 10AM) as with the last few events. There is lots of work to be done, including gutting houses for inspection, mowing lawns, moving possessions (sometimes large) out of the houses, distributing food and water, and more. Winter is approaching soon, so there is no time to waste! Please RSVP as soon as you know whether you’ll be able to make it or not. This will help in deciding what the best use of our group will be. For more information and to RSVP, please visit the Meetup site here.

Sunday, October 12. Cedar Rapids. Defeating the ‘No Religion’ Test Clause - with Brian Sabel, Executive Director of the Iowa Secularists. Brian will explore the idea that our cultural insistence of discussing the faiths of our political figures effectively defeats the Constitution’s prohibition of no religious tests for public office. What impact does this have on the political process? How does this affect the freedoms of all Americans? How can we respond to help preserve the Constitution’s guarantees of religious freedom? Peoples Church, Unitarian Universalist, 600 Third Avenue SE, Cedar Rapids. 9:45am.

Thursday, October 16. Cedar Rapids Area Dinner. Leonardo’s Pizza, 2228 16th Ave SW. For more information and to RSVP, please visit the Meetup site here.

Thursday, October 16. West Des Moines. Des Moines Meetup 7pm Firkin and Fox, 1451 22nd St. For more information and to RSVP, please visit the Meetup site here.

*updated* Saturday, October 25. Iowa City Coffee and Breakfast. 10am Capanna Coffee, 136 S. Dubuque St., downtown Iowa City. For more information and to RSVP, please visit the Meetup site here.

*updated* Tuesday, October 28. Cedar Falls/Waterloo Meetup 7pm Location to be determined. For more information and to RSVP, please visit the Meetup site here.

We have had a change in location for the Parenting Beyond Belief Seminar in Iowa City this weekend. Instead of at the library, we will be at the Robert A. Lee Recreation Center in meeting room A on the main level. The address for the Rec Center is 220 S. Gilbert St., Iowa City. The seminar will still take place from 1-5pm. I am sorry for the last minute nature of this change!

The details for the Des Moines seminar remain the same.

As many of you know, we have recently added a level of membership know as the Lifetime member. This membership comes with all of the benefits of the Contributing membership but with a one-time payment of $1000. This level of membership was created especially for those who are committed to the cause of the organization and would like to contribute to its future. We have also added a Lifetime membership for couples - defined here as partners living in the same household for a one-time payment of $1500. Each partner will receive all of the benefits of the Lifetime membership. We have finally added this option to the Join page where all other levels of membership are also available. You can learn more by clicking on the Join and Contribute link on the right side of this page or by visiting http://iowasecularist.org/join/

Friday, September 5 Cedar Rapids, First Friday Social. For more information and to RSVP, please visit the Meetup site here.

Saturday, September 6 Iowa Secularists at the Des Moines Farmers’ Market - Anyone interested in volunteering for this event should contact Bob Ready.

Monday, September 8 Interfaith Dialogue - Religion in the Workplace - Brian Sabel, Executive Director, will participate on a panel and board members will be present for an education/information session.

Thursday, September 11 Coralville, Iowa City/Coralville Meetup 7pm The Edge. For more information and to RSVP, please visit the Meetup site here.

Saturday, September 13 Coralville, Weekend Disc Golf, 2pm Turkey Creek. For more information and to RSVP, please visit the Meetup site here.

Thursday, September 18 West Des Moines, Des Moines Meetup 7pm Firkin and Fox. For more information and to RSVP, please visit the Meetup site here.

Saturday, September 27 Iowa City, Parenting Beyond Belief Seminar with Dale McGowan, Iowa City Public Library 1pm-5pm. For more information and to register, please visit the site here.

Sunday, September 28 West Des Moines, Parenting Beyond Belief Seminar with Dale McGowan, The Learning Center 1pm-5pm. For more information and to register, please visit the site here.

Sunday, September 28 Ames, Should Gay Rights Prevail Over Traditional Biblical Sexual Ethics? A Debate: Jan Mickelson and Hector Avalos
7:00 pm in the Sun Room at the Memorial Union on the ISU campus
Jan Mickelson of WHO’s “Mickelson in the Morning” is a talk show host who covers a range of controversial topics from city and state government to entertainment and educational issues. He was named one of the 100 Most Important Radio Talk Show Hosts in America, 1997, by Talkers Magazine. Hector Avalos is a professor of religious studies at Iowa State University whose books include The End of Biblical Studies and Fighting Words: The Origins of Religious Violence. He received a Master of Theological Studies from the Harvard Divinity School and a doctorate in biblical studies at Harvard.

We are pleased to announce that Dale McGowan, editor of Parenting Beyond Belief, will be in Iowa for two Parenting Beyond Belief seminars. You can learn more about the seminars and the book at the website here. The first will be held in Iowa City on Saturday, September 27th and the second will be held in West Des Moines on Sunday, September 28th. Pre-registration is required.

To register for the Iowa City event, please visit this site.

To register for the Des Moines event, please visit this site.

You can also download a flier for these event at the above links.

These will be great events and a great way for parents to interact with others working on raising children without belief.

Saturday, August 9, Hiawatha Bike Road at Cedar Valley Nature Trail - Boyson Rd. at 9:30am. For more information and to RSVP visit the website here.

Monday, August 11, Cedar Rapids Disc Golf at Fay Clark Park at 6pm. For more information and to RSVP visit the website here.

Thursday, August 14th, Iowa City/Coralville Meetup at The Edge in Coralville at 7pm. For more information and to RSVP visit the website here.

Thursday, August 21st, Des Moines Freethinker Social at Firkin and Fox at 7pm. For more information or to RSVP visit the website here.

Thursday, August 21st, Cedar Rapids Dinner at Biaggi’s at 7pm. For more information and to RSVP visit the website here.

Saturday, August 23rd, Iowa City Coffee and Breakfast at Capanna Coffee on the pedestrian mall at 10am. For more information and to RSVP visit the website here.

Saturday, August 23rd, Cedar Rapids Kelly’s Going Away Party in Cedar Rapids at 6pm. For more information and to RSVP visit the website here.

Coming in September…
Dale McGowan will be visiting to lead his Parenting Beyond Belief seminar. We have scheduled Iowa City for Saturday, September 27th at the Iowa City Public Library from 1-5 and Des Moines for Sunday, September 28th at the Learning Center from 1-5. Pre-registration will be required but is not yet available. Please check back for more details as they arrive.

The third annual Iowa Secularists Conference will be held July 12, 2008 at the Iowa State Center in Ames, IA. Our keynote speaker will be Lori Lipman Brown, Executive Director of the Secular Coalition for America.

About our Keynote Speaker: Lori Lipman Brown is a lawyer, an educator, and a former Nevada State Senator. Since 2005, she has served as the director of the Secular Coalition for America. Brown and her colleagues lobby Congress for church/state separation explicitly representing nontheists. She is also a frequent commentator in various media and speaking engagements. Browns awards include Civil Libertarian of the Year from the ACLU of Southern Nevada, Friend of the Center Award from the Southern Nevada Gay and Lesbian Community Center, Legislator of the Year from the Nevada Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, and the Mark DeWolfe Award from Interweave Continental.

I’ll Be There!
Registration is closed as of July 1, 2008.

Tentative Conference Schedule (May be subject to change)

9:30 am - 10:00 am Registration for Annual Meeting
10:00 - 11:30 Annual Meeting of the Members - Associate and Contributing members are eligible to participate in IS business. This meeting will include an election for two seats of the Board of Directors.

11:30 - 1:00 Break for Lunch on your own

12:30 - 1:00 Registration
1:00 - 1:30   Introduction/Opening Remarks
1:30 - 2:15    Session 1: Values and Ethics Without a God - a facilitated discussion
2:15 - 3:00   Session 2: Maintaining our First Amendment Rights in Iowa - Ben Stone, Executive Director, Iowa ACLU
3:00 - 3:15   Break
3:15 - 4:00   Session 3: Future Secularists - Parenting and Mentoring the Next Generation - a facilitated discussion
4:00 - 5:00  Session 4: The Future of the Iowa Secularists
5:00 - 6:00  Cocktail Hour (cash bar)
6:00 - 8:00  Keynote Dinner featuring Lori Lipman Brown

Keynote Speech: A Place at the Table: The Nation’s First Congressional Lobbyist for Nontheists Enjoys the Feast

Brief Description: Lori Lipman Brown, director of the Secular Coalition for America, the nation’s first Congressional lobbying organization explicitly representing nontheistic Americans reports on how the nontheist voice is being received by lawmakers, the media, and theistic church/state separation allies, and what we can do to help.

Lodging
We have reserved a block of rooms at the Gateway Hotel in Ames. The rooms are available for Saturday, July 12th and the hotel is just down the street from the Iowa State Center. Call 515-292-8600 to make a reservation. Room Rates are as follows: Superior Double or King $102, executive king $112, executive jr. suite $132. These rates do not include hotel tax and sales tax.

A list of additional hotels in the area is posted in the forum.

Friday, June 6th, Cedar Rapids First Friday Social at 7pm at Lori’s house. For more information and to RSVP visit the website here.

Thursday, June 12th, Iowa City/Coralville Meetup at Old Chicago in Coralville at 7pm. For more information and to RSVP visit the website here.

Thursday, June 19th, Des Moines Meetup at Felix and Oscars, 4801 Westown Parkway, West Des Moines at 7pm. For more information or to RSVP visit the website here.

Thursday, June 19th, Cedar Rapids Meetup. Location to be determined. For more information and to RSVP visit the website here.

Saturday, June 28th, Iowa City Meetup, Capanna Coffee Co., 136 S. Dubuque St., downtown Iowa City. For more information and to RSVP visit the website http://atheists.meetup.com/587/.

As an organization, the Iowa Secularists strive (1) to support a community and network of atheists, agnostics, freethinkers, and other non-religious persons and also (2) to build the resources necessary to actively support the Separation of State and Church in the state of Iowa by encouraging members to stay in touch with legislators, providing action items for specific threats, and by reaching out to form alliances with other organizations, including faith-based organizations, which have similar goals.

In order to reach these goals, we aim (1) to be a positive, articulate, well-reasoned, and respected voice for secularists in Iowa, (2) to educate the public on the value of secular ideals, separation of state & church, and living without religion, (3) to improve the image of secularists by reaching out to, finding common ground with, and building alliances with organizations with views that differ from ours and by positive contributions to our communities through service and involvement. In addition, we call for our representatives (1) to avoid sarcastic, negative, or vitriolic language when articulating our views and (2) To avoid the perception that the Iowa Secularists is against religion or religious organizations.

Overall, we hope to advance the Enlightenment ideal that freedom of conscience is of paramount importance to a free people.

*Comments and suggestions regarding these goals may be submitted for consideration to Jaime Sabel.