Freethinkers having an office, library and meeting place?
Posted: Fri May 25, 2012 12:45 pm
It's been a few years ago now since the topic of whether or not the freethinkers might not consider getting our own space was brought up but I remember being surprised at the number of people who were supportive of the idea. I think that this is an idea that is still worth continuing to explore. I know that, as Darrel has said, it is much, much cheaper to continue simply using the library.
But here are my reasons for thinking that we should talk about the idea. The Christians, and other faiths, have erected hundreds of buildings in NW Arkansas. If there are enough Christians who can support that many buildings then I suggest it would be worth discovering whether or not there are not a sufficient number of free thinkers in the area to support at least ONE building. I think that if there were, Christians and others would be suitably impressed; it would be another sign that we are serious about what we are doing. A building would allow us to be much more visible; it would be a place where we could be regularly available to interested persons, where we could have an office, library, meeting rooms, and class rooms. I think that a number of people would be willing to support a building with educational opportunities even though they either do not like to attend meetings or do not have sufficient time to do so. We could call it something like Northwest Arkansas (Fayetteville?) Center for Free Inquiry. What I envision (if we did decide to do this) is looking for an abandoned church building (that doesn't look too churchy) that is both visible and accessible.
I think further that if we were more highly visible in the area, it might well be an encouragement for those "in the closet" to come out; they would have a place where they could test the waters, so to speak.
I invite opinions both supportive and critical of this idea.
Leonard Schulte
But here are my reasons for thinking that we should talk about the idea. The Christians, and other faiths, have erected hundreds of buildings in NW Arkansas. If there are enough Christians who can support that many buildings then I suggest it would be worth discovering whether or not there are not a sufficient number of free thinkers in the area to support at least ONE building. I think that if there were, Christians and others would be suitably impressed; it would be another sign that we are serious about what we are doing. A building would allow us to be much more visible; it would be a place where we could be regularly available to interested persons, where we could have an office, library, meeting rooms, and class rooms. I think that a number of people would be willing to support a building with educational opportunities even though they either do not like to attend meetings or do not have sufficient time to do so. We could call it something like Northwest Arkansas (Fayetteville?) Center for Free Inquiry. What I envision (if we did decide to do this) is looking for an abandoned church building (that doesn't look too churchy) that is both visible and accessible.
I think further that if we were more highly visible in the area, it might well be an encouragement for those "in the closet" to come out; they would have a place where they could test the waters, so to speak.
I invite opinions both supportive and critical of this idea.
Leonard Schulte