darwinfish Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 As many on this forum know. I recently came out to my wife as an atheist. That's truly been a roller coaster ride, that's involved everything from yelling at each other to being more open and close then we've ever been in the past eight years of marriage. Now, that I'm finally out as an atheist, I've been trying to find a local group to connect with. I found out that a local Recovering from Religion group was just getting started in my area. The first meeting was scheduled for March 3. I thought I'd discuss how everything went for those that might be interested in finding a group in your area. Here's the site to look for a local group: http://recoveringfro...pages/findgroup Since this group is just getting started, only six of us attended the first meeting. The organizer defined what the focus of the group was to be, which was ultimately is this is a place where we can come together, talk about our experiences leaving religion, and share in each other's lives. You don't have to have no beliefs in the spiritual to attend, the focus is more about leaving organized religion. Also, the organizer didn't want the group to be just a place to come and bash on religion or religious people. He said it's fine to vent, but as long as the context is more about getting something off your chest. We then spent the rest of the time introducing ourselves and explaining are upbringing and what led us out of our beliefs. The upcoming meetings will be more directed than this one was, since it was the first meeting. And, it was even suggested, that we can do a meetup at a coffee shop or bar in the future, to have a change in environment. I'm really excited to find a group to connect with, since I don't have any atheist friends that live around me right now. Hope this description was helpful to some of you out there. If you find yourself in an area where this isn't a local group, and you'd like to have one. You can start your own. Here's a site to get you started with that: http://recoveringfro...ges/StartAGroup 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Llwellyn Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 There will be a national humanistic "meet-up" at the end of this month in Washington, DC. I would have loved to attend, but it conflicts with my work schedule: "The Reason Rally is an event sponsored by many of the country’s largest and most influential secular organizations. It will be free to attend and will take place in Washington, D.C. on March 24th, 2012 from 10:00AM – 6:00PM at the National Mall. There will be music, comedy, speakers, and so much more." http://www.reasonrally.org/ Also, I use to attend the meetings of the local "Center for Inquiry" which amounts to a meeting of ex-Christians (at least where we were). Here is a list of branches near you: http://www.centerforinquiry.net/about/branches Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serendipity Rose Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Hey illulsion, I was just wondering how your RR group was going. We're thinking of starting one up here maybe this next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeasabird Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 None in STL. That sucks. I kept going back and forth on joining a local group but wanted it to be the right one, like you said where the focus is not on bashing religion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darwinfish Posted June 22, 2012 Author Share Posted June 22, 2012 Hey illulsion, I was just wondering how your RR group was going. We're thinking of starting one up here maybe this next year. The group is going well. They meet once a month. There's generally a topic of discussion and a period of time to ask how everyone is doing. It's mostly an open forum for everyone to interact with each other in a safe environment. If you don't have one in your area, I would suggest that you take the reigns and try to start one up. A good place to start, of course is by going to the Recovering from Religion site and contacting them. Then connect with the local atheist groups and see if you can get the word out, also a bit of advertising around your local collage would help to get people interested. It's really interesting to find how many people went through life, like me, believing all this stuff, only to discovery none of it is real. Then you feel isolated from everyone around you. The group is definitely a good way to connect with people and share experiences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serendipity Rose Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 We don't have one here, yet, but we have some plans for starting one. It's part of a bigger plan that we're working on. I hadn't talked to anyone that had actually participated in one yet so it's good to hear it's going well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darwinfish Posted June 22, 2012 Author Share Posted June 22, 2012 We don't have one here, yet, but we have some plans for starting one. It's part of a bigger plan that we're working on. I hadn't talked to anyone that had actually participated in one yet so it's good to hear it's going well. I can get you in touch with our organizer if you want. Let me know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serendipity Rose Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 I can get you in touch with our organizer if you want. Let me know. Thanks illusion, it's going to be a while before we get to it but I'll keep this in mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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