posted Dec 19, 2011 4:41 AM by John Fruetel
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updated Dec 19, 2011 4:45 AM
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Well done! We just turned in 25 toys and $240 in Toys for Tots donations, which made it our best campaign so far! A big "thank you" to all who participated - your kindness and generosity are greatly appreciated.
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posted Dec 3, 2011 10:56 AM by John Fruetel
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updated Dec 3, 2011 11:25 AM
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Audio from the Drake Interfaith Dialog held on December 2nd, 2011 |
posted Nov 28, 2011 4:28 AM by John Fruetel
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updated Dec 7, 2011 6:03 PM
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 This holiday season, Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers is once again participating in Toys for Tots campaign. We encourage all of you to consider donating to this cause on behalf of IAF. Although directly linked to a religious holiday, Toys for Tots campaign is not promoting religion but is designed to help children in need. You can bring your donations to any of our meetups between now and December 15. The time is short, so please make your donation soon. The toys should be new, unwrapped, and please stay away from the following categories: stuffed animals, military/weapon toys, edible items, and chemical kits. As before, we would like to concentrate on toys promoting science and learning. Who knows, maybe by exposing a child to science in a fun and exciting way today, sometime in the future we will welcome a new freethinker to our ranks! Cash and check donations are also gladly accepted and you can donate via PayPal right here, on IAF website. To use the PayPal option, click on “Make a Donation” logo on this page. These donations are tax-deductible and receipts will be available. Thank you for participating! |
posted Aug 14, 2011 5:28 PM by John Fruetel
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updated Aug 14, 2011 6:12 PM
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 IAF Member speaks with President Obama
IAF co-founder and member Amanda Knief of the Secular Coalition for America asks President Obama about discrimination in hiring non-believers by organizations supported by the 'Faith Based Initiative'. Good job Amanda! |
posted Jul 22, 2011 6:36 PM by John Fruetel
Gerald “Jerry” Carpenter November 15, 1932 - July 15, 2011 Gerald “Jerry” Carpenter, 78, died Friday, July 15, 2011 at his home in Indianola. He was born November 15, 1932 to Orvalle and Pauline (Roe) Carpenter.
Jerry attended Drake University, as well as working fulltime at Firestone and serving in the Iowa National Guard. He earned his degree and went on to be a much sought after chemical engineer for many large corporations in Indiana, Tennessee, New Jersey and Texas.
Jerry married the love of his life, Marilyn Anderson, in November of 1954. Together they raised four children, Don (Leigh) of Prole, Karen (Mike) Phillips of Prole, Craig of Des Moines and Douglas (David) of Indianapolis.
Later, in his final home in Indianola, Jerry was a member of the Indianola Noon Lions Club, the morning coffee club at the Corner Sundry, and a founding member of Iowa Atheists and Free Thinkers.
Jerry was a dedicated member of the Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers who put a lot of himself into the organization. He combed the newspapers every day for interesting and useful articles and would bring a stack of clippings when he came to meetings, which led to many interesting discussions. He helped out in other ways, including chauffeuring a highway cleanup crew, taking photographs, and making reservations for events. Jerry could also be counted on for a smile - even when things weren’t going so well.
His enthusiasm, dependability and hard work are greatly appreciated so the Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers honored Jerry with their first Distinguished Service award in the spring of 2011.
As per his wishes, cremation has taken place and a private graveside service will be held in the Resthaven Cemetery in Des Moines at a later date.
Besides his children, Jerry is survived by his mother, Pauline; brother, Kenneth; seven grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and many other friends and relatives.
Jerry was truly a gentleman and will be greatly missed by all who knew him.
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posted May 22, 2011 9:28 AM by John Fruetel
 On May 21st 2011, the Rapture will occur according to followers of Harold Camping and Family Radio.
Come
celebrate being “Left Behind” as all those right wing fundamentalists
are raptured away to heaven leaving the planet to unbelievers like us!
According
to Rev. Camping, we’ll have 5 months to do what we want before the
Earth is destroyed, so Iowa Atheists & Freethinkers is going to kick
off the “end times” with a party!
The public is welcome to join the IAF for either:
- A celebration of the departure of the faithful, leaving the planet to fortunate unbelievers.
OR (far, far more likely)
- The “Judgement Day” people are wrong yet again.
Either way is a reason to celebrate like there’s no tomorrow!
The party begins at 8PM on May21, 2011 at "The Underground" in downtown Des Moines Iowa. .
The public is welcome to attend. To RSVP to the event, please visit the Facebook event page here.
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posted May 8, 2011 11:06 PM by John Fruetel
Join
Iowa Atheists & Freethinkers and welcome author and speaker Doctor
Hector Avalos, Professor of Religious Studies at Iowa State University,
for his presentation "Religion and Violence: A New Theory for an Old
Problem".
Dr.
Avalos is a former Pentecostal preacher and child evangelist. He has
earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Hebrew Bible and Near Eastern Studies
from Harvard University (1991), a Master of Theological Studies from
Harvard Divinity School (1985), and a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology
from the University of Arizona (1982). His presentation is based on his
book, “Fighting Words: The Origins of Religious Violence.”
We will be meeting at 6:30PM Thursday, May 5h at the West Des Moines Public Library, 4000 Mills Civic Pkwy West Des Moines, IA |
posted Feb 15, 2011 6:19 PM by John Fruetel
For Immediate Release:
(Des Moines, IA, January 2nd, 2011)
For the third year in a row Iowa atheists are raising concerns with the Iowa Legislature about the practice of opening each daily session with a prayer. The issue, according to Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers, is the use of prayer to open each day’s session and also the use of taxpayer dollars to reimburse the invited clergy’s expenses. The letter is being sent to all 150 State Representatives
and Senators before the 2011 legislative session begins. This year Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers is coordinating with the national Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF.org) in the effort to remove prayer from government sanctioned events and sessions.
According to Randy Henderson, President of Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers, this letter is part of an ongoing campaign by the group to raise public awareness about the presence of atheists in the Iowa community. The group feels that opening each day with a prayer is a governmental endorsement of religion over non-religion and further, because the prayers are often sectarian in nature, of one religion over all others. “This kind of action does not represent all theistic and nontheistic citizens in Iowa and also provides preferential treatment to certain religious sects.” He continues, “we hope that this letter signals to our legislators that holding certain religious activities as part of the legislative session is not in the best interest of Iowans and causes more divisiveness in an already divided political landscape”
The legislators, who invite the clergy from their home districts, passed Senate Concurrent Resolution 2 in 2009. This resolution authorizes a payment $10 for each prayer conducted by the clergy member and also reimburses them for their round-trip mileage at the same rate that legislators receive for travel expenses.
This is not a new issue. The controversy caused by opening legislative sessions in Iowa with a prayer goes all the way back the Iowa Constitutional Convention in 1844. When that convention opened there was a heated debate about whether or not to open meetings with prayer. Ultimately, the convention did decide to open with prayers.
IAF’s letter to the legislators demands that prayers be removed from the daily legislative schedule and that no money be spent on invited clergy. The letter points out that IAF does not wish to dictate when the legislators pray, but that prayers are inappropriate and divisive when they are conducted as part of a governmental event.
Iowa Atheists & Freethinkers is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation focused on education and working to provide a community of support and friendship for atheists, freethinkers, secular humanists, agnostics, and other nonreligious people. Past actions include DART bus ads featuring the “Don’t believe in God? You are not alone” during the 2009 Iowa State Fair as well as appearances on local radio stations.
For more information contact:
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posted Dec 21, 2010 8:19 PM by John Fruetel
This holiday season Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers is renewing the effort to dispel the stereotype that religion has monopoly on caring and benevolent spirit. Encouraged by the positive results last year, IAF members have decided once again to participate in Toys for Tots campaign. We encourage all of you to consider donating to this cause on behalf of IAF. Although directly linked to a religious holiday, Toys for Tots campaign is not promoting religion but is designed to help children in need.
As we did last year, we would like to concentrate on toys promoting science and learning. Who knows, maybe by exposing a child to science in a fun and exciting way today, sometime in the future we will welcome a new freethinker to our ranks!
We will collect donations through December 12, 2010. The time is short, so please make your donation soon. The toys should be new, unwrapped, and please stay away from the following categories: stuffed animals, military/weapon toys, edible items, and chemical kits. Cash and check donations are also gladly accepted and - new this year! - you will be able to donate via PayPal here, on the IAF website. To use the PayPal option, click on “Make a Donation” button on this page. These donations are tax-deductible and receipts will be available.
You can bring your donations to any of our meetups between now and December 12. Thank you for participating! |
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