Once again election time is close at hand. On October the 27th, at 7:00pm, join other thoughtful citizens in the Gill Foundation Building located at 315 E. Costilla. The Freethinkers of Colorado Springs will be holding an open discussion hoping to gain a greater understanding of the issues on the November 2 ballot. FTCS does not take any official positions on the issues, but strongly hold that each of us are entitled to our individual opinions.

Metro State Atheists is hosting a talk by Dan Barker, secular activist, musician, author, and Co-President of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, or FFRF.   The event is Friday, September 24, at 6pm.

Join the Freethinkers of Colorado Springs as we learn what the Atheist Alliance International Organization is doing for you. Regional Ambassador Sean Curley will join us at 7:00pm on Wednesday night September 22nd. The meeting is open to all (membership is not required) and is held at the Gill Foundation building located at 315 E. Costilla in Colorado Springs.

A debate on "Does God Exist" will take place between Pastor John Bryne of the Rock of the Southwest Church in Littleton and Marvin Straus cofounder of the Boulder Atheists. The debate is sponsored by the Metro State Atheist student group and a Christian student group. I do not yet have the name of the group.

When: Sunday, September 12th, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Where: Room 440/540, Tivoli Hall, Auraria Campus, Metro State College.

Admission: Free.

Light refreshments will be available after the debate, during the question and answer session.

What is it that our children are being taught about human sexuality in the public schools of Colorado Springs? Is "abstinence only" the predominate, or perhaps the only message? What about the sexuality of gay and lesbian students? Join us on August 25th as Duncan Forbes, the Education Program Manager of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, discusses these and other questions.

Come and enjoy good food and great conversation with other Freethinkers! Bring a dish to share, bring your spouse and/or friend, and bring water, soft drinks, a bottle of beer or wine, or whatever you'd like to drink. Coffee and tea will be provided by the host(s). Socials begin at 6:00 PM and usually break up around 9:00 PM. Remember to mark your calendar; socials are on the second Saturday of the month. For complete details about the next social, please click on "Read more" below:

Hi Hiking Freethinkers,

Weather permitting, there will be a hike on Saturday July 31st and a different hike on Sunday August 1st. There will be five hikes from which to choose.

Hike 1) Spruce Mountain. This is a relatively easy 5 1/2 mile round trip hike with an elevation gain of a few hundred feet. A portion the hike to the top of Spruce Mountain is of moderate steepness, but almost everyone should be able to do this hike. I consider this to be a relatively easy hike. We would be carpooling from my house.

Medical Marijuana is quite the buzz in Colorado Springs, come learn the details as seen by Bob Wiley. Mr . Wiley has long been a Medical Marijuana (MMJ) activist and is a member of the MMJ Patients Advocate organization. Learn more about them at http://www.marijuanapatientadvocates.com . Any and everyone with an open mind and curiosity is invited. As always this meeting takes place at the Gill Foundation Building, 325 East Costilla St., Colorado Springs July 28, 2010 beginning at 7:00 PM

Join the Recovering From Religion Pikes Peak Region and the Pikes Peak Skeptics for a movie night.

Can the love between two people ever be an abomination? Is the chasm separating gays and lesbians and Christianity too wide to cross? Is the Bible an excuse to hate? This film deals with these questions in a thoughtful introspective way. It also covers some of the ways that conservative Christianity has contributed to the needless suffering of thousands of people who happen to belong to a sexual minority along with some thoughtful suggestions on how to minimize or eliminate this problem.

AUTHOR OF PROVOCATIVE NEW BOOK ON RELIGION TO ADDRESS

The Pikes Peak Skeptics and Recovering from Religion of Colorado Springs

The Pikes Peak Skeptics Society and Recovering From Religion groups are having the first of their monthly movie nights at the Gay and Lesbian Foundation.

The Freethinkers of Colorado Springs is excited to be hosting Kristy Milligan, the Development Director and Program Manager of Citizens Project, as our guest speaker on Wednesday, June 23rd. Citizens Project (CP) began in 1992, partially in response to the passage of the ill-conceived Amendment 2, but always with an eye toward maintaining the separation of church and state, and the safeguarding of academic integrity in our public schools.

There will be a hike on Sunday, May 30th. It is the Greenland Open Space Loop. Part of this hike is actually also the Santa Fe Trail north of Palmer Lake. It is a relatively easy 8 1/2 mile hike. Everyone is welcome on this hike! We will carpool from my house to the trail head (on County Line Road just east of Palmer Lake), see directions below. Anyone who does not think that they will be able to do the entire loop can easily do only part of the hike and go back to their car. We will leave my home at 9:00 AM.

Please bring enough water and snacks for the hike.

There will be a hike on Sunday, May 16th in Aiken Canyon. A well-maintained, four-mile-loop hiking trail begins at the entrance. An additional 3/4 mile trail branches off from the loop and makes its way through the canyon. 410 ft elevation gain. About 16 miles south of Colorado Springs, about 20 miles north of highway 50 just off highway 115. I consider this a moderately easy hike. We will carpool from the park-n-ride under Interstate 25 between Tejon and Nevada. We will leave the parking area at 10:00 AM.

Please bring enough water and snacks for the hike.

SMART Recovery

Steven Raycraft

Wednesday May 26, 2010

315 East Costilla

7:00 PM

Join the Freethinkers of Colorado Springs, 7:00 pm on Wednesday May 26th at the Gill Foundation Building 315 E. Costilla, as Steven Reycraft enlightens us as to the existence of an addiction recovery program based in sound science combined with rational thought.