Welcome to this week’s Secular Sunday.
In this issue:
- News
- Upcoming Events
News
- Atheist Ireland’s Annual General Meeting has been confirmed for a weekend in mid-September. We haven’t finalised the date because we’re waiting on the availability of Sanal Edamaruku (president of Rationalist International and unrepentant blasphemer), whom we hope to have speaking. The AGM will be held in the morning and will be for Atheist Ireland members only (it will be possible to join on the day). This will be followed by an afternoon session which will be open to the public. We’ll have a confirmed date, location, agenda and speaker list very soon.
- Our community outreach project is off to a good start. Our Kiva team has raised over US$500 so far in loans for individuals and small businesses in the developing world. We’ve set a goal of $1000 by the end of the month. If you’re new to Kiva your first loan is free so even if money is tight you can help us reach our goal – and more importantly, help people work their way out of poverty – without any cost to yourself. Web app Kiva Lens allows you to filter loans by a number of criteria including the all-important one of whether the field partner is religious.
We are continuing to look into other ways of fundraising and volunteering. Please email us with any suggestions or come along to our meeting next Sunday.
Upcoming Events
- Thursday 9 August, 7:30 pm, The Bankers, Dublin 2 (map)
Atheists in the Pub: Difficult Exits. Vahid Bokharaie will discuss being an atheist in Iran while Victor Diac will talk about how close he came to becoming a priest. Plus the comedy stylings of Edinburgh Fringe veteran and Celebrity Mastermind finalist Abie Philbin Bowman. - Sunday 12 August, location to be confirmed, Dublin
The second meeting of our Community outreach project. We already have a number of people involved but would welcome further input from anyone interested in helping out. Keep an eye on the website and Facebook page for details. - Wednesday 15 August, 8:00 pm, Absolute Hotel, Sir Harrys Mall, Limerick (map)
The Mid-West Humanists will be meeting to discuss their campaign for a secular constitution. - 31 August – 2 September, Carlingford Heritage Centre, Co. Louth
All-Ireland Humanist Summer School, organised jointly by the Humanist Association of Ireland and the Humanist Association of Northern Ireland. Facebook event page - Saturday 8 September, 1:00 pm, Bórd Gais Energy Theatre, Grand Canal Square, Dublin 2 (map)
TEDxDublin. The biggest TEDxDublin to date: 15 speakers will take to the stage to share ideas and explore the unexpected. The theme is ‘A City of Ideas’. Tickets are €30.
That’s it for this week. I’ll leave you with an appropriate quote from the recently departed Gore Vidal:
“The idea of a good society is something you do not need a religion and eternal punishment to buttress; you need a religion if you are terrified of death.” – Gore Vidal, 1926-2012
Till next week,
Derek Walsh
Editor, Secular Sunday
Atheist Ireland