A New Location

Many of our members have been letting me know that our move to Saturdays has been a tough one.  Sunday’s afternoons are a really convenient time to get together as a group.  To that end I have been hunting for an alternate or new location for us to hold regular meetings.

Places of interest:

• Appleton Public Library
  • Great location, great spaces available but they are close on Sundays from May 26 – September 1 every year.
• Thompson Community Center
  • Again great location and rooms but the are funded by the Lutheran Social Services which I’m assuming would not be open to hosting an Atheist group.
• Fox Valley Unitarian Universalists
  • Same thing here location rooms but I’m not fi we would fit in.  On their site it says that welcome those of any creed or faith, but I’m not sure about those who have no faith.

About Lutheran Social Services

LSS conducts its ministry on behalf of 500,000 Wisconsin and Upper Michigan Lutherans in nearly 800 congregations in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

In 2011, LSS offered over 340 programs at over 250 sites in 90 communities throughout Wisconsin and Upper Michigan.  LSS has an agency-wide office in Milwaukee and offices throughout Wisconsin and Upper Michigan.

Fox Valley Unitarian Universalists

We are a liberal religion and a vibrant community welcoming all who wish to grow spiritually, no matter what your background is. Unitarian Universalism is a liberal religious community which doesn’t identify with any one creed or belief system. Unitarian Universalism includes people who are inspired by Christianity, Buddhism, atheism, agnosticism, Hinduism, Humanism, Judaism, Islam, Paganism, and other diverse and divergent spiritual inclinations. As a faith, we don’t identify exclusively with any of these, but offer ways of deepening spirituality on whatever path each individual chooses. We help our children develop their spiritual curiosity and appreciation for life’s gifts through celebrating and learning from all of the world’s religions. You are invited to join us on this journey. Whether you are a member, friend or visitor, you are welcome to attend our services and other events.

Given that all of these places are either closed on Sundays or are religiously affiliated I’m not sure I could really consider having us meet consistently at any of them.

There’s a recent movement that started in London (which is a lot like ours) called The Sunday Assembly.  Honestly some it seems a bit too “churchy” for my tastes but it’s good to see movements like this springing up.

A wild thought in my mind “why are we looking for a place to borrow when we could find a place of our own?”  It would be a big adventure but it might be worth it in the long run to start looking for building of our own now.  The atheists & agnostic population is growing in the United States (data from Wikipedia):

• A 2004 BBC poll showed the number of people in the U.S. who don’t believe in a god to be about 9–10%.^[20]
• A 2008 Gallup poll showed that a smaller 6% of the U.S. population believed that no god or universal spirit exists.^[38]
• The most recent ARIS report, released March 9, 2009, found in 2008, 34.2 million Americans:
  • 15.0% claim no religion
  • 0.7% Atheist 0.7%
  • 0.9% Agnostic
  • this is nearly double the previous 2001 ARIS survey figure of 0.9% (Atheist & Agnostic combined).^[39]
• According to a study conducted by Gallup in May 2010, 16% of Americans declared they have no religious affiliation.^[41]
• The American Religious Identification Survey gave nonreligious groups the largest gain in terms of absolute numbers: 14.3 million (8.4% of the population) to 29.4 million (14.1% of the population) for the period 1990–2001 in the U.S.^[59][89]
• A 2012 study by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life reports:
  • The number of Americans who do not identify with any religion continues to grow at a rapid pace.
  • One-fifth of the U.S. public – and a third of adults under 30 – are religiously unaffiliated today
  • It the highest percentages ever in Pew Research Center polling^[87]

It might be time to start thinking about how we move out of the coffee houses and into our own places.  Leave comments below and let me know what you think.