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SEA Monthly Roundtable – 6 December 2011: Politics

Nov 302011

After the General Meeting portion on December 6, we’ll be discussing politics. It’s been on the to-do list for a while now for the SEA to send out candidate questionnaires during elections. With a provincial one on the horizon, now is a good time to get everyone’s input.

- What issues would you like us to ask candidates about?

- What issues do you think the SEA should be more actively involved in, and how should we go about doing that?

A sample list of questions can be found here.

Please keep in mind that the SEA has no intention of endorsing any particular party or candidate, but figuring out how they would address concerns that our members have, and taking positions on specific issues are within the SEA’s mandate.

Upcoming Events

Events, SEA Events No Responses »

Nov 202011

Here’s what’s coming up in the next while for the SEA:

Friday, Nov 25, 8pm – Joint holiday party with other local atheist and skeptic groups. Accent Lounge (8223 – 104 Street). Please RSVP http://www.eventbrite.com/event/1962914129/

Saturday, Nov 26, 11am - Blood Drive. To make an appointment or ask if you’re eligible to donate, please call Canadian Blood Services: 1-888-2-DONATE (1-888-236-6283). Edmonton donation location: 8249-114th Street (South of the U of A Hospital).

Sunday, Dec 4, 1pm – Stitch & Bitch. Remedy, upstairs (8631 109 Street). Bring along some kind of portable handicraft and meet some fellow atheists! We’ll try to claim the upstairs couches.

Tuesday, Dec 6, 7pm – Monthly Discussion and General Meeting. Our December round-table will start with a brief general meeting lasting about 30 minutes (7:00 – 7:30 pm) to fill a vacancy on the board and vote on a change to the membership fee. The discussion topic is not yet announced.

Sunday, Dec 11, 9am – Brunch. Albert’s Family Restaurant @ Bonnie Doon Mall. Come join us for brunch at a family friendly restaurant.

SEA Monthly Roundtable and SEA General Meeting – 6 December 2011: topic TBA

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Nov 152011

Tuesday, 6 December 2011, 7:00pm – 9:00pm

Room 7, 6th Floor, Stanley A Milner Library, 7 Sir Winston Churchill Square, Edmonton, Alberta.

This month’s round table discussion topic is still TBA.

Our December round-table will start with a brief general meeting lasting about 30 minutes (7:00 – 7:30 pm). We have two specific items to address in this meeting:

1. Electing a new director to fill a vacancy. If you’d like to contribute to the direction of the SEA and help us organize events, please consider running for this position.

2. Voting on a proposal to increase the membership fee to $20/yr. effective January 1st, 2012. Memberships purchased in the last few months and until the end of the year (at $10) will be valid until the end of 2012.

You must be a member in good standing (that means you’ve purchased a membership for $10 this year) in order to vote. You may purchase a membership at the start of the meeting or online. Members may vote by proxy, provided that the Secretary is informed at least 48 hours in advance.

Round table discussion will start at or before 7:30 pm once our business is concluded .

The meeting continues informally at Elephant and Castle afterwards at 9:00 pm.

All are welcome to both events!

Facebook RSVP here

http://www.edmontonatheists.ca/

Still ongoing: Sturgeon Heights school prayer issue

News, Secularism, St. Albert School Issue No Responses »

Nov 122011

The Sturgeon Heights school prayer issue is still ongoing, and the board seems to be trying to draw it out long enough that the parents will get tired and wander away.

http://www.stalbertgazette.com/article/20111112/SAG0801/311129971/-1/sag/sturgeon-heights-school-prayer-issue-still-undecided

Holiday Party, and Venue Change for Nov 25 Pub Night

News, SEA Events No Responses »

Nov 112011

In some rather wonderful timing, the SEA will be holding a joint secular and skeptical holiday party with the Greater Edmonton Skeptics Society, CFI Edmonton, and the University of Alberta Atheists and Agnostics. This will replace the pub night that was planned for November 25, and as a result, please come to Accent Lounge after 8pm that evening instead!

Accent Lounge will have food, wine and draft beer specials for the evening, and while there is no door charge to get into the event, we do encourage all attendees to bring Edmonton Food Bank items. We’ll also have a photo booth, and a trivia contest, with the winner deciding the charity receiving the money raised.

Please see further details and RSVP at the link below, so that we know how many people to plan for!

http://www.eventbrite.com/event/1962914129/

Hope to see you there!

Blood Drive – November 26

Events, SEA Events No Responses »

Nov 022011

Donating blood – scientifically proven to save lives!
A group of SEA members decided that donating blood and eating cookies and juice is more fun in a group. If you would like to join us, please make an appointment on November 26, close to 11 am. But, if people can’t get an appointment right at that time, we’ll stick around to keep them company (please book early, Saturdays fill up quickly). If you can’t make it that day, please donate sometime in the two weeks following and catch up with us on the next date.

To make an appointment or ask if you’re eligible to donate, please call Canadian Blood Services: 1-888-2-DONATE (1-888-236-6283)
Edmonton donation location: 8249-114th Street (South of the U of A Hospital)

Next donation date: February 4, 2012

SEA Monthly Roundtable – 1 November 2011: Randal Rauser on “What hath God to do with the Flying Spaghetti Monster?”

Christianity, People, SEA Events 11 Responses »

Oct 252011

Tuesday, 1 November 2011, 7:00pm – 9:00pm

Room 7, 6th Floor, Stanley A Milner Library, 7 Sir Winston Churchill Square, Edmonton, Alberta.

This month’s roundtable discussion will feature guest speaker Randal Rauser, evangelical theologian, discussing “What hath God to do with the Flying Spaghetti Monster?”

Randal recently spoke with us in June 2011 and he and the attendees all had a great time!

Round table discussion at 7:00 pm. The meeting continues informally at Elephant and Castle afterwards at 9:00 pm.

All are welcome to both events!

Facebook RSVP here

http://www.edmontonatheists.ca/
http://randalrauser.com/

Randal’s blogpost for this event

The Madness of Education in Alberta

Christianity, St. Albert School Issue 4 Responses »

Oct 192011

By Luke Fevin

As I slowly learn more about this crazy education system of ours in Alberta, sometimes there are moments of clarity where the fog lifts and the madness is truly self-evident. Let me try to share a moment with you.

I live in one of the best places in Canada to raise a family and in St. Albert; I pay the taxes to prove it. So what are my education options for my 3 young children in one of the wealthiest and most highly taxed communities in Canada?

My public school division is Greater St. Albert Catholic Schools (GSACRD - pronounced G-Sacred, really). The problem is not only do these schools permeate Catholicism (which is not really for me), they actually require that I sign a form saying I understand that Catholicism fully permeates all of the divisions schools teaching – and even though it is my public school division, and it is unconstitutional, I am not allowed to opt my children out of the religious indoctrination.

(Yes GSACRD, the School Act applies to you the same as all other schools. You get to do the Lords Prayer and 30 minutes religious instruction at the end of the day. You are not special and have been openly flouting the law and, as per the legislation, your failure to meet these requirements will cause your “office to be void” – or it would if Alberta’s Education Ministers weren’t either staunch Catholics or “void” in the cojones department.) Continue reading »

This week in the news

Christianity, News, St. Albert School Issue Comments Off

Oct 172011

Luke Fevin was in the news again this week discussing the Sturgeon Heights prayer issue, and standing up for his right to a secular education for his children. In case you missed the original announcement, there is a petition to stop publicly funding separate schools in Alberta, set up by Dave King (former education minister).
http://www.separateschooleducation.ca/petition.php

CTV news clip before the meeting – October 12, 2011
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150328263757683

CBC summary of the school board meeting – October 13, 2011
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/story/2011/10/13/edmonton-sturgeon-morinville-lords-prayer.html

Should the Lord’s prayer be heard in public school? – October 14, 2011
http://life.nationalpost.com/2011/10/14/school-on-the-edge-of-edmonton-in-row-over-morning-prayers/
Continue reading »