The
Cowtown Humanist
The Official E-Mail Publication of the Humanists of Fort Worth
http://www.hofw.org;
E-mail: info@hofw.org
A chapter of the American Humanist Association,
and allied with the Council for Secular Humanism
November 2002 Volume 4, No. 8
___________________________________________________
NEXT MEETING
The speaker for our next meeting on
November 13 is Paul Boller, Professor Emeritus of History at TCU. Prof. Boller
is a native New Yorker who also taught at the University of Massachusetts and
SMU, before coming to TCU in 1976, where he remains.
The title of his talk is "Faith of
Our Fathers." Prof. Boller will talk about the true political and
spiritual beliefs of the founding fathers, and their intent to maintain a
separation of church and state. He will also point out how Fundamentalists
today are dominating public policy, and threatening to reshape our government
as well as our Constitution.
The meeting will be held as usual at 7 PM,
at the Westside Unitarian Universalist Church at 6901 McCart Ave. in Fort
Worth. A brief association business meeting will precede the speaking session.
The pre-meeting Dutch-treat dinner will be
at 5:30 PM, at the Bamboo Garden restaurant, at 6415 McCart Avenue.
PREVIOUS MEETING TOPICS
The speaker for the October meeting
was Don Fielding. Don, a scientist and Unitarian Universalist minister in both
Denton and Oakcliff, spoke briefly about "The Sea of Faith" (SOF)
organization. SOF is a new "religious" movement in England and New
Zealand based on the thoughts of the Cambridge philosopher of religion Don
Cupitt. It is composed mainly of Anglicans, Quakers, Unitarians, and humanists,
but welcomes people of all faiths, or of no faith.
Mr. Fielding said that the term "Sea
of Faith" came from a poem, "Dover Beach," written by Matthew
Arnold in the 19th century. It likened the decline of organized religion to the
outgoing tide of "the sea of faith." Mr. Fielding noted that church
participation in England has steadily declined from around 46% at the beginning
of the 20th century, to a current figure of less than 4%.
Most of the allotted time was consumed by
the playing of a video first broadcast in the 1980s on the British Broadcasting
Co. (BBC) network. This tape, titled "The Sea of Faith: The Mechanical
Universe," was the first of six episodes, and explored some of the history
of religion and the effects of its beliefs.
More details of the SOF will be explored
on the Humanists e-mail discussion forum (HumanistsFW@yahoogroups.com). You can
learn more about the "Sea of Faith" on your own on the web at www.sofn.org.uk.
MEMBERSHIP MEETING REPORT
Chairman Mike Haney asked for more
volunteers to assist in the planning of social activities, chapter publicity,
and Humanist outreach programs. Anyone with the desire and the little bit of
time required, should contact Mike at one of his input devices listed below.
There were announcements for then-pending
informational programs, and the setting of the next trash pickup date for
"our" portion of Old Granbury Rd. It will be on Saturday, November 2,
at 7 AM. We meet on the corner of S. University Drive and Old Granbury Rd. If
you want to scavenge for possible lost treasures, plus enjoy the fellowship of
your fellow members at a "free" breakfast, contact Mike.
Mike will host the picker-uppers with a
picker-upper breakfast at his home following the cleanup. (Mike lives at 824
Roaring Springs Rd. (north Horne St, north of I-30 west.)
CHAIRMAN'S REPORT
Chairman Haney announced that, in
addition to the American Humanist Association's Membership Chapter opportunity
reported last month, the national organization with which we are affiliated,
the Council for Secular Humanism, is now restructuring the way it relates to
local groups such as ours. More information on these developments will be
provided subsequently.
FROM THE CHAIR
As announced elsewhere in this
edition, we are planning another cleanup of our adopted section of Granbury
Road on Saturday, November 2. The first time our group attempted this was in
September 2000. Looking back through my calendar, I counted eight times that
our little band has accomplished this feat, which happens to exactly meet the
City's minimum requirement of four cleanups per year. Since some members have
recently questioned the value of this project, I decided to try to learn more
about it from the City's perspective. Was it in fact still a viable program?
Does anyone else do this? A search of the City's web site revealed nothing but
an article from an August 1999 newsletter announcing the program. After several
transfers, my call to the City reached the appropriate person, and I was told
that the Adopt-A-Street program is alive and well, although very "low
key", because the City has no budget to publicize it. The woman in charge
was actually glad to hear from us, since we had somehow neglected to send in
the forms required to report our progress and renew our participation after the
first year. She said there are about 10 - 12 other adopted streets in Fort
Worth. So, join us if you can. You will be performing a useful service -- and
get a free breakfast to boot. -- Mike Haney
YOUR OFFICERS, AND HOW TO REACH THEM
Chairman: Mike Haney, 924 Roaring Springs Rd., Fort Worth 76114; Ph.
817-737-7047;
mhaneyinfw@charter.net
Vice Chair and Newsletter Editor: Wallace Harrison, 4163 Sarita Dr.,
Fort Worth 76109;
817-923-4698; w.s.harri@att.net
Secretary: Reed Bilz, 6316 Walburn Ct., Fort Worth 76133; 817-292-7974,
rbilz@earthlink.net
Treasurer: Dolores Ruhs, 1036 Hilltop Pass, Benbrook 76126-3848;
817-249-1829,
ruhsd@myexcel.com
Immed. Past Chair: Shane Taylor, 3922 Rawlins, #113, Dallas 75219;
214-526-8258;
s-t-t@juno.com
Bulletin Board
HOFW REMINDER
Mark your calendar: The Humanists of
Fort Worth will hold it's monthly meeting Wednesday, November 13, 2002 at the
Westside Unitarian Universalist Church at 6901 McCart Ave., Suite 125, Fort
Worth. The business meeting will begin at 7 PM, with the discussion topic to
follow immediately afterward. The pre-meeting dinner/get-together will be at
Bamboo Garden, 6415 McCart Avenue at 5:30 PM.
FREEDOM FROM RELIGION CONVENTION
The 25th annual convention of the
Freedom From Religion Foundation will be held November 22-24 in at the Westin
Horton Plaza Hotel in downtown San Diego CA.
The convention gets underway on Friday the
22nd with the presentation of the "Freethinker of the Year Award" to
Michael Newdow, M.D., the plaintiff in the 9th Circuit Court's "Under
God" pledge case. That will be followed by Julia Sweeney, comedian and
actress (Saturday Night Live), advising how to "Let Go of God."
Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist, Steve Benson, and musician/composer Dan
Barker will close out Friday with their entertaining "Tunes 'n Toons"
program.
Speakers and honorees on Saturday include
Nobel Laureate Paul Boyer; novelist, poet, and journalist Taslima Nasrin;
science writer Robert Sopolsky; student activist Blake Trettien; and
after-dinner speakers Philip and Marjorie Appleman.
The annual FFRF membership meeting is
slated for Sunday morning.
The only group meals are the Saturday
Nonprayer Breakfast and the banquet dinner.
Convention registration is $75 for
non-members, or $50 for members (plus $20 and $40 respectively for the meals).
For more information, contact the editor
(contact info above), or FFRF at www.ffrf.org.