Thank you to everyone at Pride. Your overwhelming attitude of love and inclusion was an inspiration to everyone! And, thank you to all of our volunteers, and pirates for making Seattle Pride so memorable! The Flying Spaghetti Monster was once again welcomed with open arms, and His followers rejoiced.

Thanks to Amanda, Andrew, Becky, Brit, Casey, Daniel, Deanna, Eric, Gypsy,  Hannah, JC (no, not that JC), Jennifer, Jennifer, Jerry, Kami, Kyle, Laurie, Lexie, Matt, Michael, Michele, Naomi, Neth, Obie, Parlan, Vulka, Ranjan, Rich, the intrepid and brave Pirates of the North Pacific, Randy, Simon, Susan, and all other pastafarians!

All faithful Pastafarians are welcome to join Seattle Atheists in the parade! Keep an eye out for direction from Becky and Kyle.

DETAILS

9:00 a.m.
FSM moving assembly begins at the staging area on 4th Ave between Columbia and Cherry streets.  We will need help with assembly.

10:30 a.m.
Pirates should arrive at 4th and Cherry St. and be ready by 10:30. Leave lots of time for crowds. Come on foot via James or Columbia. If being dropped off from the north or west, approach via University; if from the south, approach via Cherry/6th Ave; if from the east, approach via Madison. If you can, take the bus. King Country Metro is giving out free all-day passes to downtown. Prepare for tough traffic, detours, and impossible parking. The KOMO4 News garage near the Seattle Center is reasonably cheap.

11:00 a.m.
Parade start at 4th and Union, to 4th and Denny. Pirates should be ready and present. Becky will tell you what to do!

2:00 p.m.
We need people to help break down the FSM at 4th & Denny.

Bring
Water, sunscreen, comfortable shoes. Wagons for supplies and baby pirates are welcome.

Pirate Escorts: Becky F., Kyle H., Matt B., Naomi C., Taylor H., Jennifer L., Susan R., Laurie B., Amanda B., Ranjan B., Michael L., Jordan W., Casey G., Michele G., Tyson J., Beth L., DebbieAnn A., etc.

Send an e-mail to seattleatheists@seattleatheists.org to sign up for a shift! Also, check out our volunteer page for other opportunities!

Thanks to the following Seattle Atheists who helped at The University District Street Fair in May: Jami, Randy, Bob S., Mike G., Michael S., Jerry, Tony, Constance, Clint, April, Tom, Becky, Sam, Chad, & Case!

The Fremont Fair, Saturday June 19 (10 a.m. – 8 p.m.):

• Set-up, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. (Amanda, Ranjan, Jerry S.)
• 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. (Amanda, Ranjan, Michael S., Bob S.)
• 4 to 8 p.m. and packing up (Mike G., Randy R., Jerry S.)

The Fremont Solstice Parade, Saturday June 19 (Noon):

• FSM set-up and take-down, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (Case is lead, Operators: Becky F., Michele G., Tyson, Cassandra G.,)
• Pirate escorts in full pirate regalia to escort the FSM — as many as we can muster!  Kids are welcome!  (Tony F., Casey G., Beth L., Shabnam B., Andy P., Ed C., Libbie M., Dawn B., Deanna L., Rich L., Diana M., Valerie D. and Auggie the Parrot, J.C., Taylor H., Chad C., etc.)
  

The Fremont Fair, Sunday June 20 (11 a.m. – 6 p.m.):

• Set-up, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (DebbieAnn A. & Ed. C., )
• 2 to 6 p.m. and packing up (Tom M. and Becky F)

The Pride Parade, Sunday June 27 (4th Ave., downtown, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.):

• FSM set-up and take-down, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (Becky is lead, Amanda, Ranjan, Tyson, Matt B., Michele G.)
• Pirate escorts in full pirate regalia to escort the FSM — as many as we can muster!  Kids are welcome! (Michael L., Jordan W., Casey G., Beth L., DebbieAnn A., etc.)

PrideFest, Sunday June 27 (Seattle Center, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.):

• Set-up, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. (Jerry S. and 1 more volunteer)
• 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. (Michael S. and 1 more volunteer)
• 4 to 8 p.m. and packing up (Hannah P., Britain, Becky F.)

Where: Puget Sound Blood Centers
When: Thursday, May 6 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Register at http://www.psbc.org

NOTE: If you have concerns about transportation to/from any of our events, please contact Becky, Member Relations committee chair, at secretary@seattletheists.org.

Seattle Atheists member Casey Doran will present a talk entitled “Epistemology: A Critical Approach to Apologetics” for our March membership meeting.

This presentation will be a basic overview of the philosophical notion of epistemology, more commonly known as the “theory of knowledge,” and how thinkers from Ancient Greece to the Enlightenment and through the Modern Era have approached the question of how it is that we come to “know” anything. Casey will focus specifically on belief as a component of knowledge, how all of us (atheists included) rely heavily on beliefs to understand the world around us, and how standards of evidence that we use to justify our beliefs can differ drastically. Lastly, he will address common theological arguments and help arm quick-witted atheists with some counter-apologetics when someone claims to *know* that “God exists.”

Following a Q&A session with Casey, we will have a short break and reconvene for our Membership Volunteer Fair. This is a great opportunity to learn about how you can participate in the wide range of activities, events, and projects Seattle Atheists is embarking on this year!

We encourage you to bring non-perishable food items for our year-round Seattle Atheists SeasonLESS Food Drive. We donate items we collect to Family Works, Northwest Harvest, and Volunteers of America food banks in the name of Seattle Atheists.

Seattle Atheists will be donating over $800 to The Childrens Hospital Fund thanks to the efforts of gift wrappers and the generosity of all the bookstore patrons who donated!  Also this month Seattle Atheists collected 57 lb. of food for Northwest Harvest.  Thank you, and remember to bring non-perishable goods to SA meetings and events!

Operation Paperback collects gently used books and sends them to American troops deployed overseas. Since 1999, we have shipped over 950,000 books to locations around the globe.

Many of our troops are serving far from home and living in facilities that provide few of the comforts of home. At the end of the duty day, the opportunity to escape into a good book is welcomed. Every week we receive thanks from troops who are glad to be appreciated and remembered.

Our service members make sacrifices every day for our country. It takes so little to let them know that we appreciate what they are doing for us. When you donate to Operation Paperback, you will let our troops know that you support them, and you have not forgotten them.

To get a head start collecting books at home, here are some instructions:

Troops have requested the following genres: action, bestsellers, biographies and memoirs, fantasy, history, horror, mysteries, science-fiction, true crime. Do not send romances unless specifically requested by the individual! Our troops have received a disproportionate amount of this genre and they aren’t very happy about it. Be sure that the books you collect are in very good condition.

Downtown Borders Books & Music:

Mon., Dec. 21, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Wed., Dec. 23, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Thurs, Dec. 24, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

For information on how to be involved, contact Wendy at (425) 269-9108.  You can also visit the Meetup site for more information about this event.