In The Field

It’s been a busy few weeks in the field department as we prepared for AU’s annual meeting that took place November 8-10, in Washington, DC.  I would like to thank our wonderful chapter leaders and activists who traveled to DC for the events.

The annual meeting began with a wonderful grassroots training session on: “Creating and Sustaining Chapters that Work: 10 Steps to Successful Leadership Development.”  The workshops were led by trainer Hans Johnson, of Progressive Victory.  Hans used a travel scenario to outline the key functions of a chapter, basic “rules of the road” for organizing, and how to navigate challenging situations to get to your final destination.

ILLINOIS

If you live in the windy city be sure and check out the North Shore AU Chapter event: "Church-State Separation in the Classroom -- Teacher Rights & Responsibilities."  The event takes place October 22, at 7:00PM at Northbrook Library, 1201 Cedar Lane, Northbrook, IL 60062.  The guest speaker is Hemant Mehta, a math teacher at Neuqua Valley, targeted by the Illinois Family Institute because he maintains a personal blog - The Friendly Atheist (www.friendlyatheist.com).  Mehta will talk about his close encounter with the religious right.

KANSAS

Hey, the Greater Kansas City Chapter meets the second Saturday of every month, 5:00PM at the Black Dog Coffee House at 12815 W. 87th St. Pkwy in Lenexa, KS 66215.  Be there or be square!

PENNSYLVANIA

Bucks County Chapter President Ed Joyce is speaking at Temple University's Friday afternoon teach-in to be held November 13 at 3:30 pm in Anderson Hall Room 821 on the Temple University Campus in Philadelphia.  These are well-attended events focusing on the historical background of contemporary issues.  The title of Ed's talk is "The Evolution of a Concept: A Brief History of Church/State Separation."

The Tuscaloosa Chapter is hosting an event tonight featuring AU Executive Director Rev. Barry W. Lynn. The event begins at 7:00PM at the Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham.  Lynn will speak on the topic, "A Day Without Separation of Church and State."  The event is free and open to the public and will include time for Q&A at the end.

Lynn will address various threats to church-state separation and explain why this concept benefits all Americans, religious and non-religious. “If the United States backs away from its historic commitment to real religious liberty, we'll see a lot more than a return of government-drafted prayers in public schools,” Lynn said. “If separation of church and state is lost, the civil rights and liberties of the majority of Americans will be in jeopardy.” 

Check out the Events Calendar on AU's web site for more details. You won't want to miss this! 

The Bucks County Chapter of Americans United hosted a wonderful symposium on Saturday.  The event featured fourteen speakers from a wide variety of disciplines and viewpoints. Topics included same-sex marriage (discussed by both a minister of a progressive church and a philosophy professor), the role of church and state in Islam, the judicial agenda of the Christian Right, whether politicians’ embrace of religion risks diluting the Christian faith, and issues of constitutional law.  The talks were informative and sometimes provocative, and the audience was very engaged.

If you weren't able to attend, the topics and speakers are listed below: